South Dakota · NAICS 48-49 · Annual, 2025
Transportation and Warehousing in South Dakota
Employment, establishments and average pay for NAICS 48-49 in South Dakota, 2004–2025, from DTG's QCEW-based estimates.
In 2025, Transportation and Warehousing (NAICS 48-49) employed about 15,400 people in South Dakota across roughly 1,740 establishments, with average annual pay of $56,890.
Employment in Transportation and Warehousing in South Dakota grew 21.3% from 2020 to 2025. The industry is less concentrated in South Dakota than in the nation as a whole (location quotient 0.69). Employment reached its 2004–2025 peak in 2025, at about 15,400. Quarterly values, full industry 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.
- 15,400Employment, 2025
- 1,740Establishments
- $56,890Avg. annual pay
- 3.4%Share of South Dakota jobs
- 0.69Location quotient
The 2025 figures above are a DTG estimate: Estimated · 1.00. † Not disclosed in QCEW; DTG estimate.
Employment, 2004 to 2025
Annual average · all ownerships
Annual employment, 2004–2025: 2004 11,300; 2005 11,400; 2006 12,000; 2007 12,200; 2008 12,300; 2009 11,800; 2010 11,600; 2011 11,600; 2012 11,700; 2013 11,700; 2014 12,300; 2015 12,600; 2016 12,500; 2017 12,600; 2018 12,700; 2019 12,900; 2020 12,700; 2021 13,100; 2022 13,500; 2023 14,800; 2024 15,100; 2025 15,400.
Last ten years
Annual · 10 years
| Year | Employment | Estab. | Avg. annual pay | Change | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 15,444 | 1,740 | $56,890 | 2.2% | est. · 1.00 |
| 2024 | 15,112 | 1,749 | $55,554 | 2.1% | est. · 1.00 |
| 2023 | 14,805 | 1,759 | $54,488 | 9.9% | est. · 1.00 |
| 2022 | 13,476 | 1,787 | $53,031 | 2.6% | est. · 1.00 |
| 2021 | 13,140 | 1,767 | $50,409 | 3.2% | pub. |
| 2020 | 12,731 | 1,731 | $48,679 | 1.4% | pub. |
| 2019 | 12,907 | 1,709 | $46,062 | 1.6% | est. · 1.00 |
| 2018 | 12,709 | 1,721 | $45,341 | 1.3% | est. · 1.00 |
| 2017 | 12,551 | 1,710 | $43,948 | 0.3% | est. · 1.00 |
| 2016 | 12,512 | 1,689 | $43,560 | 0.4% | est. · 1.00 |
† Not disclosed in QCEW; DTG estimate.
The full history from 2004 and quarterly values are available with a free account.
By subsector, 2025
3-digit NAICS · 9 shown
| Code | Subsector | Employment | Share of transportation and warehousing | LQ | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 481 | Air Transportation | 79 | 0.5% | 0.05 | est. · 0.96 |
| 484 | Truck Transportation | 4,717 | 30.5% | 1.08 | pub. |
| 485 | Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation | 1,322 | 8.6% | 0.53 | pub. |
| 486 | Pipeline Transportation | 121 | 0.8% | 0.72 | pub. |
| 487 | Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation | 107 | 0.7% | 1.15 | pub. |
| 488 | Support Activities for Transportation | 1,373 | 8.9% | 0.52 | est. · 0.98 |
| 491 | Postal Service | 1,829 | 11.8% | 1.03 | est. · 1.00 |
| 492 | Couriers and Messengers | 2,628 | 17.0% | 0.79 | pub. |
| 493 | Warehousing and Storage | 3,269 | 21.2% | 0.58 | pub. |
† Not disclosed in QCEW; DTG estimate.
Where these numbers come from
Reading these figures
The figures on this page come from one named vintage, stated below, and are annual values for all ownerships combined. Where QCEW withheld a value, the marked figure is an estimate that DTG produced under the constraints of the published record; suppression is a property of QCEW, not of DTG, and a withheld value is marked rather than silently omitted. Two things DTG itself holds back, and says so where it does: an estimate that cannot be given a reliability score is not shown, and average pay is not shown where fewer than three jobs are reported. The row is marked withheld, with the reason in a note beneath the table. The mark is on every row that carries a value: the headline, the yearly history, the subsectors and the other states. An estimated value that rounds below one is shown as less than one, not as zero. Quarterly figures, county figures and projected years are in the app.
How this figure was built
Employment is the average of the three monthly counts in each quarter, averaged across the year, and establishments are averaged across the year the same way. Average annual pay is the year’s total wages divided by that average employment. Each of these is DTG’s value: QCEW’s published figure where QCEW disclosed it, and DTG’s estimate, marked, where it did not. How withheld values are estimated, and what the reliability score beside a figure means, are described on the industry data and disclosure and provenance pages.
Notes
Data Tactical Group is an independent company and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any federal agency.
Transportation and Warehousing in South Dakota, quarterly, at full depth
This page shows annual figures for transportation and warehousing in South Dakota. A free account shows every detailed industry beneath it, quarterly, for every state, with projections to ten years. No card.
County figures, file export and the API are on paid plans.