Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers Salary in South Dakota

At $58,690 a year, the median for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers in South Dakota is close to the national median of $58,640 (0%); South Dakota ranks 27th of 51 states by median. Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers earn 25% more than the median across all occupations in South Dakota ($47,080). Among neighbouring states, Minnesota, North Dakota, Wyoming and Montana pay more (up to $61,990 in Minnesota) and Nebraska and Iowa pay less (down to $58,070 in Iowa). South Dakota employs 6,470 heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers, 14.2 per 1,000 jobs, the 45th largest count of any state. A location quotient of 1.07 is close to the national share.

South Dakota vs the United States, May 2025

Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers: wage percentiles, mean, employment, jobs per 1,000 and location quotient in South Dakota and nationally, May 2025
Area	Basis	Percentile wage					Mean	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient
Area	Basis	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th	Mean	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient
South Dakota	Hourly	$19.99	$23.26	$28.21	$31.00	$37.80	$28.15	6,470	14.15	1.07
South Dakota	Annual	$41,590	$48,370	$58,690	$64,480	$78,610	$58,550	6,470	14.15	1.07
United States	Hourly	$19.30	$23.06	$28.19	$33.23	$38.17	$28.71	2,062,040	–	–
United States	Annual	$40,140	$47,960	$58,640	$69,120	$79,380	$59,710	2,062,040	–	–

South Dakota annual wage at the 10th, 25th, 50th (median), 75th and 90th percentiles; the line marks the US median. The same numbers are in the table above.

Rank by median: 27th of 51 states
Rank by employment: 45th of 51 states
Location quotient: 1.07
Jobs per 1,000: 14.15

Ranks count the 50 states and DC with a published value. The location quotient is the occupation's share of South Dakota's employment divided by its national share; 1.00 means the same share as the nation. Take-home pay at these wages: FastCalc's take-home pay calculator.

Metropolitan areas in South Dakota

3 metropolitan areas and 2 nonmetropolitan areas touching South Dakota publish a row for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers, sorted by median. Areas crossing a state line are listed under every state they touch; a linked metro has its own profile.

Area	Median hourly	Median annual	10th pct (annual)	90th pct (annual)	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient
Sioux Falls, SD-MN	$29.24	$60,820	$44,730	$74,630	2,540	14.23	1.07
Rapid City, SD	$28.42	$59,110	$45,120	$79,890	740	10.06	0.76
Sioux City, IA-NE-SD	$24.78	$51,540	$38,450	$79,320	2,820	37.65	2.84
West South Dakota nonmetropolitan area	$26.00	$54,080	$38,790	$78,270	790	12.60	0.95
East South Dakota nonmetropolitan area	$25.77	$53,610	$38,720	$79,940	2,360	17.74	1.34

Neighbouring states

State	Median hourly	Median annual	Employment	Location quotient
South Dakota	$28.21	$58,690	6,470	1.07
Iowa	$27.92	$58,070	35,040	1.69
Minnesota	$29.80	$61,990	38,770	0.99
Montana	$28.30	$58,870	7,830	1.15
North Dakota	$29.29	$60,910	11,870	2.08
Nebraska	$28.07	$58,390	23,160	1.70
Wyoming	$28.99	$60,310	6,050	1.63

See the national page for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers (every state ranked) and the South Dakota wage profile (every occupation in the state).

Source and notes

Data: BLS OEWS May 2025, released 2026-05-15. Cross-industry estimates, all ownerships. BLS page: OEWS South Dakota estimates.

Annual wages assume 2,080 hours a year at the hourly rate; occupations BLS publishes on one basis only show an en dash (–) on the other.
Employment is rounded to the nearest 10 by BLS. Where BLS withholds a cell, nothing is estimated in its place.