Top 100 highest-paying jobs in South Dakota

Table 1 compares the top 100 highest-paying jobs in South Dakota, ranked by annual average salary. For each job, the table displays the number of employees with that job, as well as the job's entry-level salary. (The entry-level salary is calculated based on the 10% of paid workers with the lowest salaries.)

Based on the table, we see that the highest-paying jobs in South Dakota are those of dermatologist, with an average annual salary of $238,950. The second highest-paying jobs are those of emergency medicine physician, with an average salary of $232,430.

All of the shown salary and employment information for South Dakota has been computed using data published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in April 2023. Notably, the highest-paying occupations change from year to year. Tables 2, 3, and 4 show the top 10 highest-paying occupations in South Dakota in 2021, 2020, and 2019.

Table 1. Top 100 highest-paying jobs in South Dakota (2022 survey)

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	No. of Empl i
1	Dermatologists	$238,950	$170,990	30
2	Emergency Medicine Physicians	$232,430	$196,630	80
3	Family Medicine Physicians	$217,500	$106,350	450
4	General Pediatricians	$212,850	$152,410	40
5	Nurse Anesthetists	$197,970	$178,680	350
6	Psychiatrists	$196,210	$115,140	30
7	Chief Executives	$182,540	$155,330	460
8	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$154,650	$108,730	240
9	Computer Network Architects	$154,290	$84,890	780
10	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$147,350	$102,770	240
11	Financial Managers	$142,330	$98,520	730
12	Sales Managers	$135,140	$71,480	490
13	Pharmacists	$131,940	$101,840	1,220
14	Natural Sciences Managers	$131,370	$83,820	160
15	Marketing Managers	$128,670	$98,960	100
16	General Dentists	$128,610	$80,530	260
17	General and Operations Managers	$126,050	$77,530	3,720
18	Physician Assistants	$122,550	$98,610	570
19	Personal Financial Advisors	$119,080	$78,280	430
20	Purchasing Managers	$115,230	$80,250	80
21	Training and Development Managers	$111,330	$76,180	40
22	Data Scientists	$108,310	$70,780	110
23	Nurse Practitioners	$108,250	$93,050	810
24	Postsecondary Education Administrators	$107,200	$78,650	210
25	Actuaries	$105,610	$98,550	60
26	Medical and Health Services Managers	$104,940	$77,000	960
27	Other Psychologists	$103,790	$26,730	30
28	Industrial Production Managers	$102,980	$75,220	630
29	Optometrists	$102,890	$65,940	140
30	Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products Sales Representatives	$102,660	$59,900	1,740
31	Human Resources Managers	$102,390	$74,500	320
32	Construction Managers	$101,450	$76,630	440
33	Information Security Analysts	$101,130	$70,400	710
34	All Other Managers	$101,030	$48,910	410
35	Postsecondary Engineering Teachers	$97,500	$66,920	100
36	First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers	$96,580	$61,980	740
37	Veterinarians	$92,580	$59,260	240
38	Architects (Except Landscape and Naval)	$92,000	$68,050	140
39	Sales Engineers	$91,340	$67,840	80
40	Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers	$91,120	$70,940	280
41	Environmental Engineers	$91,120	$51,520	70
42	Facilities Managers	$90,740	$60,340	240
43	Audiologists	$89,730	$80,100	40
44	Engineers, All Other	$87,680	$51,780	80
45	Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors	$87,650	$63,130	40
46	Administrative Services Managers	$87,390	$63,100	340
47	Computer Occupations, All Other	$87,300	$61,210	220
48	Financial Examiners	$87,130	$50,920	120
49	Insurance Underwriters	$86,210	$52,290	170
50	Lawyers	$85,980	$59,140	1,080
51	Computer Systems Analysts	$85,130	$62,840	890
52	Electrical Engineers	$84,490	$56,590	290
53	Physical Therapists	$84,260	$68,860	930
54	Other Therapists	$83,640	$50,260	50
55	Industrial Engineers	$83,180	$60,890	740
56	Financial Risk Specialists	$82,920	$62,110	110
57	Mechanical Engineers	$82,810	$60,620	680
58	First-Line Supervisors of Fire Fighting and Prevention Workers	$82,640	$58,000	100
59	Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers	$82,490	$48,580	710
60	Elementary and Secondary School Education Administrators	$82,220	$63,320	640
61	Other Education Administrators	$81,680	$62,520	80
62	Civil Engineers	$81,480	$59,790	1,330
63	Surveyors	$80,780	$52,000	130
64	Clinical and Counseling Psychologists	$80,610	$55,660	130
65	Postsecondary Physics Teachers	$80,530	$60,890	40
66	Database Administrators	$80,520	$51,740	150
67	Postsecondary Biological Science Teachers	$80,410	$52,510	150
68	Radiation Therapists	$80,380	$66,170	50
69	Software Developers	$80,290	$61,320	1,840
70	Postmasters and Mail Superintendents	$79,860	$63,020	100
71	Other Social Workers	$79,350	$56,530	120
72	Postsecondary Chemistry Teachers	$78,920	$50,770	60
73	Financial Analysts	$78,610	$55,050	620
74	Funeral Home Managers	$78,560	$58,560	50
75	Management Analysts	$78,360	$50,910	2,750
76	Web and Digital Interface Designers	$78,160	$56,490	70
77	Riggers	$78,050	$67,130	30
78	Electronics Engineers (Non Computer)	$77,960	$63,060	150
79	Landscape Architects	$77,930	$47,990	70
80	Social and Community Service Managers	$77,710	$62,180	280
81	Real Estate Sales Agents	$77,560	$38,250	450
82	Hydrologists	$77,380	$54,720	40
83	Atmospheric and Space Scientists	$76,670	$52,120	90
84	Occupational Therapists	$76,400	$62,740	410
85	Dental Hygienists	$75,810	$65,090	570
86	Entertainment and Recreation Managers, Except Gambling	$75,430	$55,420	90
87	Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door	$75,320	$51,340	140
88	First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers	$73,870	$50,300	1,350
89	Other Business Operations Specialists	$72,820	$45,610	730
90	Other Financial Specialists	$72,820	$44,720	90
91	Social Scientists and Related Workers	$72,820	$54,720	80
92	Postsecondary Economics Teachers	$72,590	$49,990	50
93	Chiropractors	$71,430	$61,020	240
94	First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives	$71,390	$56,620	200
95	Occupational Health and Safety Specialists	$70,840	$45,780	180
96	Loan Officers	$70,640	$49,470	1,890
97	Geoscientists (Except Hydrologists and Geographers)	$70,620	$53,400	70
98	All Other Healthcare Diagnosing or Treating Practitioners	$70,620	$66,210	60
99	Network and Computer Systems Administrators	$70,370	$50,130	1,790
100	Postsecondary Computer Science Teachers	$68,810	$49,380	150

Table 2. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in South Dakota – 2021 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Nurse Anesthetists	$195,380
2	Psychiatrists	$166,360
3	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$150,920
4	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$134,120
5	Financial Managers	$131,200
6	General Dentists	$128,190
7	Pharmacists	$127,930
8	Marketing Managers	$126,500
9	Sales Managers	$125,770
10	Sales Engineers	$125,490

Table 3. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in South Dakota – 2020 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	General Pediatricians	$205,590
2	Nurse Anesthetists	$192,000
3	General Dentists	$190,220
4	Sales Engineers	$144,700
5	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$138,660
6	Marketing Managers	$137,680
7	Financial Managers	$133,920
8	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$132,720
9	Sales Managers	$128,240
10	Pharmacists	$123,330

Table 4. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in South Dakota – 2019 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Nurse Anesthetists	$188,430
2	General Dentists	$161,710
3	Marketing Managers	$139,360
4	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$136,120
5	Sales Engineers	$131,230
6	Financial Managers	$127,900
7	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$126,780
8	Sales Managers	$123,270
9	Pharmacists	$120,200
10	Purchasing Managers	$116,090

Also see The most popular jobs in South Dakota.