South Dakota · BLS May 2025
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 1,290 bus drivers, school working in South Dakota. Here is what they are paid, what the median leaves after federal and FICA tax, and what that is worth against local prices.
Median pay · South Dakota
$39,730A year, or $19.10 an hour.| Percentile | Annual | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentileEntry and lowest-paid | $33,480 | $16.10 |
| 25th percentile | $36,980 | $17.78 |
| MedianHalf earn more, half less | $39,730 | $19.10 |
| 75th percentile | $46,340 | $22.28 |
| 90th percentileMost experienced and senior | $50,530 | $24.29 |
| MeanThe average, pulled up by the top | $41,380 | $19.89 |
Method occupation-wage-v1Data bls-oews-2025-05-v1, us-tax-2026-v1, bea-rpp-2024-v1, census-acs5-2024-v1
A $39,730 salary in South Dakota, for one single filer taking the standard deduction in 2026.
Prices in South Dakota sit at 88.6 against a national average of 100, so $39,730 earned here buys what $44,849 buys at national average prices.
Common questions
The median wage for school bus drivers in South Dakota is $39,730 a year, or $19.10 an hour.
Half earn more than that and half earn less. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage survey for May 2025.
On the median wage of $39,730, one filer taking the standard deduction keeps about $34,103 a year, or roughly $2,842 a month.
That is after federal and FICA tax, an effective rate of 14.2%.
South Dakota levies no state income tax on wages, so nothing is withheld for it.
No. The median in South Dakota is 17.1% below the national median of $47,920.
Nominal pay is only half the comparison: prices in South Dakota sit at 88.6 against a national 100, so the gap in what the money buys is different from the gap in the salary.
It is 0.53 times the median household income of $75,081. A household often has more than one earner, so a single salary at this level goes further than the ratio alone suggests.
Prices in South Dakota run at 88.6 against a national average of 100, with rents at 67.6, so $39,730 here buys about what $44,849 buys at national average prices.
The top tenth earn $50,530 a year or more, against $33,480 at the bottom tenth.
Experience, specialism, employer and the part of South Dakota someone works in all move a wage inside that range; the survey reports the spread, not the reason for it.
The survey counted 1,290 of these jobs in South Dakota for May 2025.
That makes the occupation 9% more concentrated here than in the country as a whole. It counts wage and salary jobs, so the self-employed are outside it.
Sources