What does the top of the RN pay scale look like in South Dakota?

The 90th percentile lands at $92,570. That tier typically reflects senior roles, specialty certifications, high-cost-of-living metros within the state, or union-negotiated rate cards. Below that, the P75 quartile is $80,490.

How many RNs does South Dakota employ?

BLS OES counts 14,500 RNs employed in South Dakota in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.

Why is the BEA RPP for South Dakota different from a single CPI number?

BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. South Dakota's overall index of 88.1 reflects rents 64.8, services 81.3, and goods 97.4.

What are the limits of these RN salary numbers?

BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.

Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for South Dakota?

The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within South Dakota.

Is South Dakota an NLC compact state for RN licensure?

Yes — South Dakota participates in the Nurse Licensure Compact, so RNs holding a multistate license from another compact state can practice in South Dakota without applying for a separate license. This materially lowers the cost and timeline of cross-state moves.

Travel RN vs staff RN in South Dakota — which earns more on a real basis?

Travel RN gross weekly is usually higher, but the real comparison nets out housing stipends (which are tax-advantaged but state-dependent), per-diem premiums, and the lack of staff-side benefits and pension accrual. In South Dakota, the real-wage gap is narrower than the headline contract numbers suggest.

South Dakota Registered Nurse Salary: BLS $70K Median, Real $79K (2026)

TL;DR

Median RN salary in South Dakota: $69,510 nominal, $78,855 real (BEA RPP basis).
Cost of living below the national index lifts real wage by $9,345 over the nominal — a take-home arbitrage that nominal-ranking tables miss.
BLS percentile breakdown: P10 $51,980 · P25 $62,510 · P75 $80,490 · P90 $92,570.
South Dakota accepts the NLC multistate license; cross-state mobility is materially cheaper here than in non-compact states.
RN ranking: #51 on the BLS table, #51 once cost of living is in.

Wage breakdown — South Dakota

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$51,980	$58,968
P25 (lower quartile)	$62,510	$70,914
P50 (median)	$69,510	$78,855
P75 (upper quartile)	$80,490	$91,311
P90 (top tier)	$92,570	$105,015
Mean	$72,210	$81,918
Employment	14,500 RNs in South Dakota

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	South Dakota index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	88.1
Goods	97.4
Services	81.3
Rents	64.8

South Dakota sits below the national baseline (RPP 88.1), so nominal pay translates to a higher real wage than the BLS median suggests — particularly visible in rents at 64.8.

After-tax take-home — South Dakota (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)

Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (RN)	$69,510	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$6,539	9.4% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	$0	no state income tax
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$5,318	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$57,653	82.9% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$65,404	÷ (88.1 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the South Dakota state-tax burden means for RN take-home

South Dakota levies no state income tax on wages, which is worth roughly $3,476 a year for a RN at the BLS median compared with the national-average state burden (≈5%). After the favorable cost of living, real take-home is $65,404 — higher than the nominal after-tax figure because RPP is below 100.

Computed from 2026 IRS federal brackets (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), 2026 state DOR brackets, and 2026 FICA rates. Single filer, standard deduction, no other adjustments. See methodology · tax for limitations (married filers, ITM/SALT itemizers, retirement deferrals, HSA, dependent credits, etc.).

National context

Across the United States, BLS reports a national median of $93,600 for RNs with mean pay of $98,430 and total employment of 3,282,010. South Dakota sits at #51 on nominal pay and #51 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. Nominal and real ranking are the same — cost of living and pay scale together.

Licensure — South Dakota (NLC)

South Dakota participates in the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC), with effective participation since 2017. RNs holding a multistate license issued by another Compact state may practice in South Dakota without applying for a separate South Dakota license. South Dakota-issued multistate licenses are reciprocally recognized in 36 other Compact states (37 jurisdictions total in 2026), eliminating the per-state endorsement workflow ($100–$500 + 4–16 week processing) for travel and per-diem RN work.

South Dakota has been a Compact participant for 9 years as of 2026, putting it among the long-tenured members where the Compact pathway is the established norm at most employers and travel agencies.

Source: NCSBN compact implementation tracker — re-synced quarterly. See NLC reciprocity hub for the cross-state matrix and changelog for status changes.

Frequently asked questions

What does the top of the RN pay scale look like in South Dakota?: The 90th percentile lands at $92,570. That tier typically reflects senior roles, specialty certifications, high-cost-of-living metros within the state, or union-negotiated rate cards. Below that, the P75 quartile is $80,490.
How many RNs does South Dakota employ?: BLS OES counts 14,500 RNs employed in South Dakota in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.
Why is the BEA RPP for South Dakota different from a single CPI number?: BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. South Dakota's overall index of 88.1 reflects rents 64.8, services 81.3, and goods 97.4.
What are the limits of these RN salary numbers?: BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.
Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for South Dakota?: The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within South Dakota.
Is South Dakota an NLC compact state for RN licensure?: Yes — South Dakota participates in the Nurse Licensure Compact, so RNs holding a multistate license from another compact state can practice in South Dakota without applying for a separate license. This materially lowers the cost and timeline of cross-state moves.
Travel RN vs staff RN in South Dakota — which earns more on a real basis?: Travel RN gross weekly is usually higher, but the real comparison nets out housing stipends (which are tax-advantaged but state-dependent), per-diem premiums, and the lack of staff-side benefits and pension accrual. In South Dakota, the real-wage gap is narrower than the headline contract numbers suggest.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 29-1141, 2024 reference period.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities, 2023 vintage (all-items, goods, services, rents).
Real-wage figures = nominal BLS wage ÷ (state RPP / 100).
See the methodology page for full computation details and limitations.

By Marcus Liang · Founder & Editor · Last synced 2026-05-05.

Cross-comparison: see how South Dakota RN pay ranks against the other 254 state × occupation pages on the Real Wage Atlas → — four-way ranking by real wage, after-tax take-home, state-tax savings, and cost-of-living arbitrage.