- The middle half earn between $22.64 and $30.03 an hour.
- Only 1 state pays pest control technicians more at the median.
- South Dakota pays more than all 6 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 190 pest control technicians on payrolls in South Dakota.
- At the state median wage, a pest control company needs to bill about $112.74 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Pest Control Technician pay in South Dakota, bottom to top
The BLS group is pest control workers: the technicians who inspect, treat and set traps in homes and businesses.
| Pay level | Hourly | Yearly | National hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $18.97 | $39,460 | $16.67 |
| 25th percentile | $22.64 | $47,090 | $18.00 |
| Median | $24.00 | $49,920 | $21.75 |
| 75th percentile | $30.03 | $62,460 | $23.85 |
| 90th percentile | $33.15 | $68,950 | $29.75 |
| Average (mean) | $25.72 | $53,490 | $22.31 |
From the bottom tenth ($18.97) to the top tenth ($33.15), the top of the scale pays about 1.7 times the bottom in South Dakota, close to the 1.8 times spread for pest control technicians nationwide.
Both ends of the scale beat the national figures: $18.97 against $16.67 at the bottom tenth, and $33.15 against $29.75 at the top.
The average wage, $25.72, sits 7% above the median. A smaller group of higher earners pulls the average up, so the median is the better guide to what a typical pest control technician makes.
How South Dakota compares with other states
Over a full year, the South Dakota median of $49,920 is $4,670 more than the national $45,250.
In the state ranking, South Dakota sits 2nd, between Washington ($24.66) and Nevada ($23.67). The range runs from $17.82 in New Mexico to $24.66 in Washington.
South Dakota pays pest control technicians more than any of its neighboring states, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota and Wyoming. Someone working near the border can earn more by taking work on this side of it.
These are wages as paid, not adjusted for what it costs to live in South Dakota. Rent, home prices and taxes decide how far a higher wage goes.
How many pest control technicians work in South Dakota
About 190 pest control technicians work on payrolls in South Dakota, 0.2% of the 102,620 nationwide, the 44th largest count among the states.
It is a smaller part of local jobs than in most of the country, at 0.4 per 1,000 jobs, 0.63 times the national share.
What a pest control company in South Dakota should charge
Higher wages in South Dakota go straight into the price. Take a pest control company in South Dakota paying the state median of $24.00 and run it through the labor rate calculator with its 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 | $24.00 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $53,739 |
| Break-even rate | ($53,739 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $95.83 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $95.83 ÷ 0.85 | $112.74 |
That is $112.74 per billable hour, 4.7 times the wage, and $3.95 more than the $108.78 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $30.03 in South Dakota, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $123.33.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $22.64, the rate only drops to $110.35.
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 a pest control technician in South Dakota
- Licensing. What South Dakota asks for before you can work on your own: Pest control license in South Dakota.
- Running the business. Quotes, invoices, booking and your website in one place: how pest control companies 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 37-2021, pest control workers, 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: pest control technician salary by state.