How much does a Software Engineer make in South Dakota?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $87,770 for Software Engineers in South Dakota as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $76,540 and the 75th-percentile is $104,880.

How many Software Engineers does South Dakota employ?

BLS OES counts 2,190 Software Engineers 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.

How wide is the wage spread in South Dakota?

P10 to P90 spans $59,510 to $130,610. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.

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.

How does remote work affect software engineer pay in South Dakota?

Remote-first companies typically anchor pay to one of three reference markets (Bay Area, NYC, or a national average) regardless of where the engineer lives. South Dakota-resident engineers working remotely for high-CoL companies can earn well above the in-state BLS median; the BEA RPP-adjusted real wage advantage is meaningful. Conversely, location-adjusted remote bands compress the spread.

Contractor vs W-2 software engineer in South Dakota — which pays more?

Hourly contractor rates in South Dakota typically run 25-50% above the salaried equivalent on a gross-hourly basis. The real comparison nets out self-employment tax (~15.3%), self-paid health insurance, lack of paid leave, and 401(k) match. Net-of-overhead, the gap narrows to roughly 10-20% in most South Dakota markets.

South Dakota Software Engineer Salary: BLS $88K Median, Real $100K (2026)

TL;DR

$87,770 is the BLS median wage for Software Engineers in South Dakota; $99,570 is the BEA-adjusted purchasing-power equivalent.
State ranks #50 nationally on nominal wage, #51 on real (RPP-adjusted) wage.
Below-100 RPP flips this state above its nominal rank in real-wage terms; the gap is about $11,800.
Bottom quartile $76,540, top quartile $104,880. The P90 ($130,610) is roughly 2.2× the P10 ($59,510).

Wage breakdown — South Dakota

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$59,510	$67,511
P25 (lower quartile)	$76,540	$86,830
P50 (median)	$87,770	$99,570
P75 (upper quartile)	$104,880	$118,980
P90 (top tier)	$130,610	$148,170
Mean	$93,390	$105,946
Employment	2,190 Software Engineers 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 (Software Engineer)	$87,770	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$10,556	12.0% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	$0	no state income tax
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$6,714	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$70,499	80.3% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$79,977	÷ (88.1 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

South Dakota levies no state income tax on wages, which is worth roughly $4,389 a year for a Software Engineer at the BLS median compared with the national-average state burden (≈5%). After the favorable cost of living, real take-home is $79,977 — 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 $133,080 for Software Engineers with mean pay of $144,570 and total employment of 1,654,440. South Dakota sits at #50 on nominal pay and #51 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, South Dakota falls 1 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Software Engineer make in South Dakota?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $87,770 for Software Engineers in South Dakota as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $76,540 and the 75th-percentile is $104,880.
How many Software Engineers does South Dakota employ?: BLS OES counts 2,190 Software Engineers 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.
How wide is the wage spread in South Dakota?: P10 to P90 spans $59,510 to $130,610. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.
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.
How does remote work affect software engineer pay in South Dakota?: Remote-first companies typically anchor pay to one of three reference markets (Bay Area, NYC, or a national average) regardless of where the engineer lives. South Dakota-resident engineers working remotely for high-CoL companies can earn well above the in-state BLS median; the BEA RPP-adjusted real wage advantage is meaningful. Conversely, location-adjusted remote bands compress the spread.
Contractor vs W-2 software engineer in South Dakota — which pays more?: Hourly contractor rates in South Dakota typically run 25-50% above the salaried equivalent on a gross-hourly basis. The real comparison nets out self-employment tax (~15.3%), self-paid health insurance, lack of paid leave, and 401(k) match. Net-of-overhead, the gap narrows to roughly 10-20% in most South Dakota markets.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 15-1252, 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 Software Engineer 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.