Cooks, Restaurant Salary in South Dakota
The median annual wage for cooks, restaurant in South Dakota is $36,220 ($17.42 per hour) — -3.1% vs. the national median of $37,390. Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025 estimates.
- Median annual wage
- $36,220
- Mean annual wage
- $36,720
- Median hourly wage
- $17.42
- Employment in SD
- 1,890
1,890 employed · 4.1 per 1,000 jobs
Wage percentiles in South Dakota
| Percentile | Annual wage | Hourly wage |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $30,140 | $14.49 |
| 25th percentile | $33,040 | $15.89 |
| Median (50th) | $36,220 | $17.42 |
| 75th percentile | $38,910 | $18.71 |
| 90th percentile | $44,990 | $21.63 |
What this salary is worth in South Dakota
- Cost-of-living adjusted salary
- $40,887
- Median rent burden
- 31.3%
- Est. affordable home price
- $132,128
South Dakota prices are 88.6 vs. U.S. average = 100 (BEA RPP, 2024)
Median gross rent in South Dakota: $946/mo (ACS 2020-2024). 30% of income = $906/mo
At 6.67% 30-yr rate (FRED, 2026-08), 20% down, 28% front-end DTI, 1.5%/yr taxes+insurance
For context, the median home value in South Dakota is $257,400 (ACS 2020-2024).
Estimates from documented formulas — see methodology. Not financial advice.
Cooks, Restaurant salary in other states
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Other salaries in South Dakota
- Accountants and Auditors in South Dakota
- Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks in South Dakota
- Business Operations Specialists, All Other in South Dakota
- Cashiers in South Dakota
- Construction Laborers in South Dakota
- Customer Service Representatives in South Dakota
- Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education in South Dakota
- Fast Food and Counter Workers in South Dakota
- First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers in South Dakota
- First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers in South Dakota
- First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers in South Dakota
- General and Operations Managers in South Dakota
- Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in South Dakota
- Home Health and Personal Care Aides in South Dakota
- Human Resources Specialists in South Dakota
- Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners in South Dakota
- Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand in South Dakota
- Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers in South Dakota
- Light Truck Drivers in South Dakota
- Maintenance and Repair Workers, General in South Dakota
- Management Analysts in South Dakota
- Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists in South Dakota
- Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants in South Dakota
- Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators in South Dakota
- Nursing Assistants in South Dakota
- Office Clerks, General in South Dakota
- Project Management Specialists in South Dakota
- Receptionists and Information Clerks in South Dakota
- Registered Nurses in South Dakota
- Retail Salespersons in South Dakota
- Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel in South Dakota
- Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products in South Dakota
- Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education in South Dakota
- Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive in South Dakota
- Security Guards in South Dakota
- Software Developers in South Dakota
- Stockers and Order Fillers in South Dakota
- Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary in South Dakota
- Waiters and Waitresses in South Dakota
About this data
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics — data period May 2025, retrieved August 13, 2026.
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics — data period May 2025, retrieved August 13, 2026.
- Regional Price Parities — data period 2024, retrieved August 13, 2026.
- American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates — data period 2020-2024, retrieved August 13, 2026.
- Federal Reserve Economic Data — data period 2026-08, retrieved August 17, 2026.
Figures are shown exactly as published by the source or derived by the documented formulas on our methodology page. Where a source suppresses an estimate, we show “—” rather than a substitute value.