South Dakota · All industries · Annual, 2025

Employment in South Dakota

Name: Employment in South Dakota
Creator: Data Tactical Group
License: https://datatactical.group/legal/terms

Employment, establishments and average pay across all industries in South Dakota, 2004–2025, from DTG's QCEW-based estimates.

In 2025, employers in South Dakota had about 460,400 people on their payrolls across roughly 40,818 establishments, with average annual pay of $60,580.

Total employment in South Dakota grew 10.4% from 2020 to 2025. Employment reached its 2004–2025 peak in 2025, at about 460,400. Quarterly values, full industry and occupation detail and projections to 2036 for South Dakota are included with a free account. County-level detail is part of every paid plan, or one county free for seven days.

460,400Employment, 2025
40,818Establishments
$60,580Avg. annual pay

The 2025 figures above are a DTG estimate: Estimated · 1.00.

Employment, 2004 to 2025

Annual average · all industries · all ownerships

Employment by sector, 2025

NAICS sector · 20 sectors

Code	Sector	Employment	Share of South Dakota	LQ	Source
11	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	7,636	1.7%	2.09	est. · 0.99
21	Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction	1,076	0.2%	0.64	est. · 0.96
23	Construction	30,593	6.6%	1.23	est. · 0.98
31-33	Manufacturing	44,327	9.6%	1.19	est. · 1.00
22	Utilities	2,221	0.5%	0.86	est. · 0.96
42	Wholesale Trade	22,334	4.9%	1.25	est. · 1.00
44-45	Retail Trade	54,058	11.7%	1.18	est. · 1.00
48-49	Transportation and Warehousing	15,444	3.4%	0.69	est. · 1.00
51	Information	5,285	1.1%	0.60	est. · 0.96
52	Finance and Insurance	22,493	4.9%	1.20	est. · 1.00
53	Real Estate and Rental and Leasing	5,052	1.1%	0.70	est. · 0.98
54	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	19,251	4.2%	0.60	est. · 0.99
55	Management of Companies and Enterprises	5,248	1.1%	0.68	pub.
56	Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services	13,881	3.0%	0.51	est. · 0.99
61	Educational Services	37,608	8.2%	0.95	pub.
62	Health Care and Social Assistance	78,837	17.1%	1.06	est. · 1.00
71	Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation	9,865	2.1%	1.10	pub.
72	Accommodation and Food Services	42,908	9.3%	1.02	pub.
81	Other Services (except Public Administration)	13,428	2.9%	0.96	est. · 1.00
92	Public Administration	28,865	6.3%	1.24	est. · 0.98

† Not disclosed in QCEW; DTG estimate.

One public page per sector and per 3-digit subsector, annual, with the mark on every value. A sector name is a link where its page is built.

Last ten years

Annual · all industries · 10 years

Year	Employment	Estab.	Avg. annual pay	Change	Source
2025	460,416	40,818	$60,581	0.4%	est. · 1.00
2024	458,558	40,307	$58,306	1.3%	pub.
2023	452,705	39,657	$56,067	2.2%	pub.
2022	443,127	38,716	$54,055	2.9%	pub.
2021	430,806	36,635	$51,254	3.3%	pub.
2020	417,092	35,005	$49,167	3.0%	pub.
2019	430,117	34,232	$45,150	0.8%	pub.
2018	426,927	33,720	$43,694	1.1%	pub.
2017	422,489	33,279	$42,432	0.5%	pub.
2016	420,459	32,980	$41,178	1.1%	pub.

Employment by occupation group, 2025

SOC major group · 22 groups

Code	Occupation group	Employment	Share of South Dakota	LQ
11-0000	Management occupations	17,214	3.7%	0.53
13-0000	Business and financial operations occupations	25,864	5.6%	0.84
15-0000	Computer and mathematical occupations	9,627	2.1%	0.63
17-0000	Architecture and engineering occupations	6,531	1.4%	0.85
19-0000	Life, physical, and social science occupations	4,842	1.1%	1.12
21-0000	Community and social service occupations	7,943	1.7%	1.02
23-0000	Legal occupations	2,210	0.5%	0.57
25-0000	Educational instruction and library occupations	26,766	5.8%	0.99
27-0000	Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations	5,041	1.1%	0.82
29-0000	Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	35,951	7.8%	1.24
31-0000	Healthcare support occupations	16,335	3.5%	0.70
33-0000	Protective service occupations	7,367	1.6%	0.67
35-0000	Food preparation and serving related occupations	44,567	9.7%	1.10
37-0000	Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	17,167	3.7%	1.27
39-0000	Personal care and service occupations	12,034	2.6%	1.26
41-0000	Sales and related occupations	46,078	10.0%	1.17
43-0000	Office and administrative support occupations	55,031	11.9%	1.01
45-0000	Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	1,880	0.4%	1.45
47-0000	Construction and extraction occupations	26,284	5.7%	1.38
49-0000	Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	20,119	4.4%	1.12
51-0000	Production occupations	31,989	7.0%	1.25
53-0000	Transportation and material moving occupations	39,578	8.6%	0.97

Occupation values are DTG estimates built on OEWS and DTG's industry data. They carry no published or estimated mark and no reliability score, because there is no published occupation census to mark them against.

Where these numbers come from

What this page shows

Every industry sector in the state, and every occupation group, with annual employment for the most recent complete year in the current vintage, and the state’s own total over every actual year. Figures are for all ownerships combined and are not seasonally adjusted. County figures, quarterly figures and the full industry and occupation depth are in the app; the nation and every state are free there.

Reading the table

A state value is DTG’s value for the state: the value the Bureau of Labor Statistics published where QCEW disclosed it, and DTG’s estimate where QCEW withheld it. It is not a sum of the state’s counties. Where a value was withheld in QCEW it is marked as estimated rather than left blank, with its reliability score, and the legend beneath the table names the marker. Every figure on the page comes from one named vintage, stated beside the page, and does not change until the next release.

Estimated by Data Tactical Group from BLS QCEW, with CES/SAE and projection inputs described in the methodology. Method: Disclosure, Industry, Occupation.

Notes

Data Tactical Group is an independent company and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any federal agency.

Every industry in South Dakota, quarterly, at full depth

This page shows South Dakota annually, by sector. A free account shows South Dakota and every other state at full industry and occupation depth, quarterly, with projections to ten years. No card.

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