State SD
Period May 2025
Price level 88.6
Data updated October 25, 2026

Highest-paying jobs in South Dakota

The highest published median in South Dakota is for radiologists, at $586,010 a year. For 4 more occupations, BLS reports the median only as “$239,200 or more”; they are listed below the table. The median for all occupations in the state is $47,080, against $50,980 nationally.

South Dakota · all occupationsMay 2025

Median / yr: $47,080
Mean / yr: $57,610
Price level (U.S.=100): 88.6
Median, price-adjusted: $53,146
Adjusted rank: 23 of 51
Jobs: 457,380

Price-adjusted = median ÷ (BEA 2024 regional price parity ÷ 100). Compare all states.

The 50 best-paid occupations in South Dakota

SD · Src BLS-OEWS · May 2025Top 50 of 559

Top 50 occupations in South Dakota by median annual wage
No.	Occupation	Median in SD	U.S. median	Employed in SD
1	Radiologists	$586,010	$420,860	70
2	Emergency Medicine Physicians	$393,870	$335,550	170
3	Obstetricians and Gynecologists	$297,610	$292,910	80
4	Chief Executives	$280,900	$213,990	510
5	General Internal Medicine Physicians	$280,520	$256,560	160
6	Nurse Anesthetists	$263,930	$236,590	400
7	Pediatricians, General	$257,610	$210,040	80
8	Family Medicine Physicians	$239,970	$244,180	550
9	Psychiatrists	$226,180	$281,870	60
10	Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric	$211,990	$300,080	130
11	Marketing Managers	$167,750	$166,790	220
12	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$164,330	$171,270	310
13	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$162,240	$175,140	380
14	Financial Managers	$159,700	$166,570	1,000
15	Dentists, General	$158,140	$170,950	390
16	Computer Network Architects	$153,390	$134,050	420
17	Pharmacists	$146,790	$140,910	1,280
18	General and Operations Managers	$137,400	$105,770	4,280
19	Database Architects	$136,540	$139,500	40
20	Sales Managers	$136,360	$148,270	450
21	Physician Assistants	$133,200	$135,880	680
22	Psychologists, All Other	$132,170	$110,840	30
23	Power Distributors and Dispatchers	$130,270	$106,730	30
24	Nurse Practitioners	$128,840	$132,300	1,020
25	Personal Financial Advisors	$128,720	$105,070	620
26	Purchasing Managers	$128,670	$148,080	70
27	Natural Sciences Managers	$128,140	$167,220	180
28	Education Administrators, Postsecondary	$126,160	$104,590	240
29	Training and Development Managers	$124,150	$133,000	50
30	Medical and Health Services Managers	$122,050	$123,860	1,140
31	Managers, All Other	$119,470	$141,900	570
32	Sales Engineers	$119,110	$124,900	100
33	Construction Managers	$118,380	$114,990	1,070
34	Human Resources Managers	$117,930	$149,280	420
35	Information Security Analysts	$116,640	$129,180	770
36	Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers	$116,320	$109,910	—
37	Engineers, All Other	$112,260	$122,930	110
38	Education Administrators, All Other	$108,990	$95,200	110
39	Industrial Production Managers	$107,490	$126,060	720
40	Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers	$107,410	$107,230	370
41	Administrative Services Managers	$106,410	$114,130	450
42	First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers	$105,680	$87,520	680
43	Computer Occupations, All Other	$105,370	$116,580	240
44	Architects, Except Landscape and Naval	$102,500	$99,280	180
45	Optometrists	$102,320	$136,570	190
46	Lawyers	$102,040	$159,670	1,360
47	Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay	$101,830	$103,020	40
48	Gas Plant Operators	$101,450	$87,820	90
49	Computer Hardware Engineers	$101,400	$161,740	160
50	Facilities Managers	$101,280	$106,660	370

Median reported only as “$239,200 or more” in South Dakota: Surgeons, All Other, Anesthesiologists, Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric, Physicians, All Other. The exact figures are not published, so these are not ranked.

Dashes mean the employment estimate was not published.

Best-paid occupations with at least 1,000 jobs in South Dakota

Financial Managers — $159,700 (1,000 jobs)
Pharmacists — $146,790 (1,280 jobs)
General and Operations Managers — $137,400 (4,280 jobs)
Nurse Practitioners — $128,840 (1,020 jobs)
Medical and Health Services Managers — $122,050 (1,140 jobs)
Construction Managers — $118,380 (1,070 jobs)
Lawyers — $102,040 (1,360 jobs)
Computer Systems Analysts — $99,790 (1,110 jobs)
Civil Engineers — $98,700 (1,440 jobs)
Software Developers — $96,310 (2,380 jobs)

Sources

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, state file.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by state, 2024.