Based on the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS data — updated September 10, 2026.
| South Dakota | National | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median annual salary | $96,310 | $142,991 | -33% |
| Median hourly wage | $46.30 | $68.75 | -33% |
Adjusted for local price levels (100 = national average), the cost-adjusted median is $108,702.
| City | Median | Entry Level | Experienced | Cost of Living |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| City-level data coming soon. | ||||
The median annual salary for a Software Engineer in South Dakota is $96,310, or about $46.30 per hour, according to BLS OEWS data.
The national median for Software Engineers is $142,991. South Dakota is -33% below the national median.
Entry-level software engineers in South Dakota typically earn from varies by experience depending on the city and employer.
With 2,380 software engineer jobs on record and a median salary of $96,310, South Dakota offers competitive pay compared to the rest of the country.
By median annual wage, software engineers rank 66 of the 563 occupations reported in South Dakota — higher than 88% of them.
Among occupations in the same job family, Computer Network Architects at $153,390, Database Architects at $136,540, Information Security Analysts at $116,640 — all figures are median annual wages for South Dakota.
No. Every figure on this page is a gross (pre-tax) wage. South Dakota has no state income tax on wages, so take-home pay is closer to the gross figures shown here. The state's cost of living index is 93.0 (100 = national average).
By median annual wage, software engineers rank 66 of the 563 occupations reported in South Dakota — higher than 88% of them.
| Occupation in the same job family | Median in South Dakota | Jobs |
|---|---|---|
| Computer Network Architects | $153,390 | $420 |
| Database Architects | $136,540 | $40 |
| Information Security Analysts | $116,640 | $770 |
| Computer Occupations, All Other | $105,370 | $240 |
| Computer Systems Analysts | $99,790 | $1,110 |
| Data Scientists | $96,150 | $220 |
South Dakota has no state income tax on wages, so take-home pay is closer to the gross figures shown here. The state's cost of living index is 93.0 (100 = national average).
Ranking and comparison figures come from the same BLS OEWS release as the rest of this page, which covers 563 occupations in South Dakota.