- The middle half earn between $18.50 and $27.52 an hour.
- South Dakota ranks 35th of the 50 states with published figures for median pay in this trade.
- South Dakota pays more than 4 of its 6 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 100 appliance technicians on payrolls in South Dakota.
- At the state median wage, an appliance repair business needs to bill about $110.56 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Appliance Technician pay in South Dakota, bottom to top
BLS files these as home appliance repairers: the techs who repair, adjust and install electric and gas household appliances such as refrigerators, washers, dryers and ovens.
| Pay level | Hourly | Yearly | National hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $16.44 | $34,200 | $17.40 |
| 25th percentile | $18.50 | $38,480 | $21.05 |
| Median | $22.76 | $47,340 | $24.51 |
| 75th percentile | $27.52 | $57,250 | $30.47 |
| 90th percentile | $29.82 | $62,030 | $38.78 |
| Average (mean) | $23.16 | $48,170 | $26.94 |
Pay is bunched up in South Dakota. The top tenth earn $29.82 an hour or more, about 1.8 times the $16.44 at the bottom tenth. Nationally that gap is 2.2 times, so the step from the bottom of the scale to the top is shorter here than in most places.
Both ends trail the national figures. The bottom tenth earn $0.96 an hour less than the bottom tenth nationally, and the top tenth $8.96 less than the national top tenth.
The average, $23.16, is close to the median, so pay sits fairly evenly around the middle.
How South Dakota compares with other states
Over a full year, the South Dakota median of $47,340 is $3,650 less than the national $50,990.
In the state ranking, South Dakota sits 35th, between South Carolina ($22.82) and Ohio ($22.74). The range runs from $17.17 in West Virginia to $34.02 in Massachusetts.
Against its neighboring states, South Dakota is in the middle: Minnesota and North Dakota pay more, and Iowa, Montana, Nebraska and Wyoming pay less.
BLS wages are not adjusted for living costs. Lower pay often comes with lower housing costs, so the gap in take-home value can be smaller than the gap in wages.
How many appliance technicians work in South Dakota
About 100 appliance technicians work on payrolls in South Dakota, 0.3% of the 32,150 nationwide, the 44th largest count among the states.
That is 0.2 of every 1,000 jobs in South Dakota, close to the trade's share of jobs nationally.
What an appliance repair business in South Dakota should charge
A lower wage helps the price less than you might expect, because the overhead does not shrink with it. Here is an appliance repair business in South Dakota paying the state median of $22.76, on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers: 40-hour weeks, 10 paid days off, 2 unbilled hours a day, 7.65% payroll taxes, $90,000 a year of overhead and 15% profit.
| Step | Math | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Paid hours | 40 × 52 | 2,080 |
| Hours at work | 2,080 − 10 days × 8 | 2,000 |
| Billable hours | 2,000 × 6 ÷ 8 | 1,500 |
| Labor cost | $22.76 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $50,962 |
| Break-even rate | ($50,962 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $93.97 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $93.97 ÷ 0.85 | $110.56 |
That is $110.56 per billable hour, 4.9 times the wage, and $3.07 less than the $113.63 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $27.52 in South Dakota, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $118.92.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $18.50, the rate only drops to $103.08.
At this wage, overhead is most of the price: $60 of every billed hour goes to it before anyone is paid. Spreading the same overhead over more billable hours, with a second person or less drive time, brings the rate down fastest.
Run it with your own numbers in the labor rate calculator. It is free and shows every step.
Working as an appliance technician in South Dakota
- Running the business. Quotes, invoices, booking and your website in one place: how appliance repair shops run on Koira.
- Getting found. The free Koira report checks how your business shows up in search and on maps against shops near you.
Where these numbers come from
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
The figures are the BLS state estimates for SOC 49-9031, home appliance repairers, across all industries, read straight from the May 2025 state data file. They cover wage and salary workers, not the self-employed. Where BLS did not publish a figure, this page leaves it out.
All states in one table: appliance technician salary by state.