The highest paying job in South Dakota is Podiatrists, with a median salary of $234,480 per year. Below is the complete ranking of the top 25 careers in SD based on 2024 Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Data: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2024
Ranked by median annual salary. Click any job to see the full salary breakdown including percentile data and state-by-state comparisons.
| Rank | Occupation | Median Salary | Mean Salary | Workers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Podiatrists | $234,480 | $243,820 | 30 |
| 2 | Nurse Anesthetists | $223,650 | $229,840 | 370 |
| 3 | Pediatricians, General | $217,990 | $241,800 | 80 |
| 4 | Family Medicine Physicians | $217,460 | $223,520 | 600 |
| 5 | Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric | $174,160 | $303,320 | 30 |
| 6 | Dentists, General | $162,860 | $166,690 | 270 |
| 7 | Computer and Information Systems Managers | $160,850 | $166,250 | 330 |
| 8 | Architectural and Engineering Managers | $152,540 | $159,900 | 250 |
| 9 | Financial Manager | $152,020 | $168,970 | 870 |
| 10 | Computer Network Architects | $149,300 | $150,720 | 580 |
| 11 | Marketing Manager | $145,390 | $161,010 | N/A |
| 12 | Pharmacist | $140,190 | $137,460 | 1,290 |
| 13 | Sales Manager | $133,590 | $142,110 | 450 |
| 14 | General and Operations Managers | $133,440 | $150,020 | 4,440 |
| 15 | Psychologists, All Other | $128,560 | $121,650 | 30 |
| 16 | Physician Assistants | $128,130 | $128,300 | 650 |
| 17 | Database Architects | $127,460 | $121,220 | 60 |
| 18 | Financial Advisor | $123,380 | $174,340 | 500 |
| 19 | Nurse Practitioners | $122,600 | $122,300 | 950 |
| 20 | Training and Development Managers | $120,760 | $120,380 | 50 |
| 21 | Natural Sciences Managers | $120,310 | $130,840 | 130 |
| 22 | Optometrists | $118,980 | $119,420 | 200 |
| 23 | Medical and Health Services Manager | $116,210 | $128,110 | 1,140 |
| 24 | Purchasing Managers | $115,730 | $126,890 | 80 |
| 25 | Construction Manager | $113,520 | $121,860 | 980 |
Average Salary in South Dakota · All South Dakota Jobs · Build Your Resume →
The top-paying careers in South Dakota are concentrated in Healthcare Practitioners fields. The #1 job, Podiatrists, pays $172,799 more than the state average of $61,680 per year.
Among the top 25, the minimum median salary is $113,520, meaning all jobs on this list pay significantly above the national average.
See how South Dakota's top salaries compare to other states.
Rankings are based on median annual salary from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2024 estimates. We use median rather than mean salary because it better represents typical earnings and is less affected by outliers.
Only occupations with state-level data published by BLS are included. Some specialized or rare occupations may not have data for every state. For full methodology details, see our Methodology page.