Data Scientist salary in South Dakota

Official occupation: 15-2051 Data Scientists · Reference period May 2025 · Data updated · Confidence 60/100

In South Dakota, the median data scientist earns $96,150 a year, 20% below the United States median of $120,230.

It ranks 36th of 49 states with a published figure.

Pay is relatively compressed, with the 10th percentile at $67,510 and the 90th at $145,510 (a ratio of 2.2).

With 220 jobs and a location quotient of 0.29, the role is less common here than in the United States as a whole.

For context, the median across all occupations in South Dakota is $47,080, so this role pays 2.0 times the local typical wage.

Published figures

Published and derived pay figures
MeasureSouth DakotaNational
Median annual pay Observed$96,150United States: $120,230
Mean annual pay Observed$102,450United States: $126,800
10th percentile Observed$67,510United States: $67,240
25th percentile Observed$83,810United States: $85,660
75th percentile Observed$123,260United States: $158,880
90th percentile Observed$145,510United States: $199,130
Median hourly pay Observed$46.22United States: $57.80
Employment (jobs) Observed220
Jobs per 1,000 employees Observed0.489
Location quotient Observed0.29
Difference from United States median ($120,230) Derived−20%
Rank among 49 states Derived36
Ratio to South Dakota all-occupation median ($47,080) Derived2.04×
90th / 10th percentile ratio Derived2.16

Nearby in the ranking

  1. 34. Kansas$98,130
  2. 35. Missouri$97,090
  3. 36. South Dakota$96,150
  4. 37. New Mexico$95,850
  5. 38. Iowa$95,830

Largest cities in South Dakota: Sioux Falls, Rapid City, Aberdeen, Brookings, Watertown (GeoNames). Figures are for the whole state, not individual cities.

More pay data

Source, method and data quality

  • Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 (Public domain (U.S. Government work)). Reference period: May 2025. Updates: Yearly (spring release).
  • Observed figures are copied from the published table without adjustment. Derived figures (rankings, ratios and differences) are calculated by us from those observed figures. No figure on this page is modeled or estimated.
  • Relative standard error (PRSE) published per estimate.
  • Confidence score: 60/100. Based on the published sampling error and job count. We only publish region pages scoring 60 or more that have at least 6 observed figures.
  • Place hierarchy from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Data last updated: .
  • Full method: methodology.