South Dakota Minimum Wage 2026
Figure basis: Official South Dakota Department of Labor & RegulationSouth Dakota's minimum wage is $11.85 per hour in 2026, set by the state and above the federal minimum of $7.25. This South Dakota minimum wage calculator turns that hourly rate into the numbers that actually matter to you: weekly, monthly and yearly pay. At $11.85 an hour, someone working a full 40-hour week earns about $474.00 before tax, or roughly $24,648.00 across a full year. Enter your own hours per week and weeks worked to see your gross pay, and edit the rate if you are paid above the minimum. The minimum wage is a floor, not a ceiling: employers can pay more, and some cities in South Dakota set their own higher local minimums. Tipped workers can be paid a lower cash wage as long as tips bring them up to the minimum; see the tipped calculator for that. The figure here is the state rate for 2026, sourced directly from the South Dakota Department of Labor & Regulation; the pay calculation is simply hours times the rate.
South Dakota's 2026 minimum wage is $11.85 per hour. Full time (40 hrs/week) that is about $474.00 a week and $24,648.00 a year before tax.
How South Dakota minimum wage pay is calculated
weekly pay = hourly rate x hours per week
annual pay = hourly rate x hours per week x weeks per year
overtime = hourly rate x 1.5 (hours over 40 in a week, FLSA)
These are gross figures before federal and South Dakota income tax, Social Security and Medicare. Your take-home pay is lower; see our South Dakota paycheck calculator for the after-tax amount.
A voter-built wage that only moves up
South Dakota's $11.85 minimum wage, effective January 1, 2026, exists because voters put it there. Initiated Measure 18 in 2014 raised the rate and, importantly, tied it to annual inflation with a one-way ratchet: the wage is recalculated every January using the Consumer Price Index and can rise but never fall, even in a year of deflation. That is why South Dakota's floor drifts steadily upward while neighboring Wyoming and North Dakota sit at the $7.25 federal level.
Voters also settled the tipped question directly. When the 2014 measure passed, lawmakers tried to carve out a lower training wage for workers under 18, and voters struck it down at referendum in 2016. Today the tipped cash wage is set by a clean formula: exactly half the minimum, or $5.925, which the state rounds to $5.93. Tips must carry a server's total to $11.85, and the employer covers any shortfall.
The takeaway for planning is that this number is a moving target by design. Because it indexes each January, the $11.85 rate you see now will very likely be higher next year, unlike the fixed federal $7.25 across the border. A full-time worker at $11.85 earns about $474.00 a week and roughly $24,648.00 a year before tax. Enter your own hours in the calculator, and re-check the rate with the Department of Labor and Regulation each January when the new figure is published.
South Dakota minimum wage: frequently asked questions
What is the minimum wage in South Dakota in 2026?
South Dakota's minimum wage is $11.85 per hour in 2026, set by the state and above the federal minimum of $7.25. At $11.85 an hour, a full-time worker (40 hours a week) earns about $474.00 a week and $24,648.00 a year before tax. This rate took effect on January 1, 2026.
How much is full-time minimum wage in South Dakota per year?
At South Dakota's $11.85 minimum wage, 40 hours a week for 52 weeks is 2,080 hours, which comes to about $24,648.00 a year ($2,054.00 a month) in gross pay before tax and deductions. Part-time hours scale down from there; use the calculator to enter your own hours.
Does South Dakota's minimum wage change every year?
Yes. South Dakota adjusts its minimum wage each year for inflation (cost of living), so it typically rises a little every January. Indexed to CPI each Jan 1 (never decreases). Always check the current figure with the South Dakota Department of Labor & Regulation before relying on it.
What is the tipped minimum wage in South Dakota?
South Dakota lets employers pay tipped workers a lower cash wage of $5.93 an hour and count up to $5.92 of tips toward the minimum (a "tip credit"). If cash wage plus tips does not reach $11.85 an hour, the employer must make up the difference. See our South Dakota tipped minimum wage calculator for the full breakdown.
Is South Dakota's minimum wage higher than the federal minimum wage?
Yes. South Dakota's $11.85 is $4.60 an hour above the federal minimum of $7.25, which works out to about $9,568.00 more a year for a full-time worker.
Official sources
- South Dakota 2026 minimum wage rate: South Dakota Department of Labor & Regulation, as at July 11, 2026.
- Federal minimum wage ($7.25) and overtime rules: US Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division.
Reviewed by the CalculatorHub team, edited by James Graham, 11 July 2026. See our methodology. General information, not legal or financial advice. Minimum wage $11.85 effective January 1, 2026; tipped wage is exactly half ($5.925).