Rapid City, SD metro area · BLS May 2025 · Updated

How much does a teaching assistant make in Rapid City, SD?

In the Rapid City, SD metropolitan area, teaching assistants earned a median of $27,740 a year in May 2025, according to the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the metro. BLS counted 540 of these jobs there. That is 40% below the $46,270 median for all jobs in the metro. The middle 80% earned between $24,850 and $34,680; these percentiles do not measure years of experience. Applying 2026 federal and South Dakota tax rules to the median leaves an estimated $24,454 in take-home pay.

Teaching assistant pay in Rapid City, SD at a glance

Median salary

$27,740$2,312 monthly · BLS May 2025
10th percentile$24,850—
25th percentile$25,360—
75th percentile$29,220—
90th percentile$34,680—
Jobs in this metro540Location quotient 0.81 (U.S. = 1.00)
Against all jobs here40% belowAll-jobs median $46,270
Against South Dakota2% belowStatewide median $28,220
Against the U.S.25% belowNational median $36,780

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Same U.S. tax tables as the rest of the site. Change the salary, state, or filing status.

Teaching assistant salary in Rapid City, SD after taxes

$27,740
$15,000$60,000
Filing status:
Gross salary breakdown$27,740
Net 88%
Fed 4%
FICA 8%
Annual take-home$24,454After all taxes
Monthly deposit$2,038Estimated per month
Biweekly paycheck$941Every 2 weeks (26/yr)
Effective tax rate11.9%Total tax burden
Federal income tax$1,164 / yr
South Dakota state income taxNo state wage tax$0
FICA (Social Security & Medicare)$2,122 / yr

Teaching assistants pay range in Rapid City, SD, hourly and yearly

BLS May 2025 estimates for the Rapid City, SD metropolitan statistical area. Monthly and take-home figures are ours, computed from the annual wage.

What teaching assistants earned in the Rapid City, SD metro area, May 2025
PercentileHourlyMonthlyYearlyAfter tax a year (SD)
10th percentile—$2,071$24,850$22,074
25th percentile—$2,113$25,360$22,494
MedianMedian—$2,312$27,740$24,454
75th percentile—$2,435$29,220$25,658
90th percentile—$2,890$34,680$30,045

Is $27,740 a good salary in Rapid City, SD?

It depends on what else people there earn and what things cost. Here is the median for teaching assistants next to both.

Median household income$75,255Census Bureau ACS
Local price level (U.S. = 100)89.210.8% below national average
One paycheck vs. a household36.9%of area median income

The same job statewide and nationally, and a calculator for your own paycheck.

Teaching assistant pay in Rapid City, SD: common questions

What is the median salary for teaching assistants in Rapid City, SD?

The BLS median annual wage for teaching assistants in the Rapid City, SD metro area was $27,740 in May 2025, about $2,312 a month. Statewide, the South Dakota median for this job is $28,220, so the metro pays 2% below the state.

Is there an hourly rate for teaching assistants in Rapid City, SD?

BLS publishes pay for this job as an annual salary only, because the hours worked in a year vary too much to state a meaningful hourly rate.

How many teaching assistants work in Rapid City, SD?

BLS estimated 540 jobs for teaching assistants in the metro in May 2025, or 7.4 of every 1,000 jobs. Its location quotient of 0.81 means the job is less concentrated here than in the country as a whole.

What is the pay range for teaching assistants in Rapid City, SD?

BLS wage estimates for teaching assistants in Rapid City, SD run from $24,850 at the 10th percentile to $25,360 at the 25th, $29,220 at the 75th, and $34,680 at the 90th. These are points in the wage distribution, not experience levels.

How much do teaching assistants take home after taxes in Rapid City, SD?

On a median gross salary of $27,740, an estimated $24,454 lands in net take-home pay per year ($941 biweekly) for a single filer claiming the standard deduction in South Dakota in 2026. Total tax withholding equals $3,286 (an effective rate of 11.8%).

How much do teaching assistants make per month in Rapid City, SD?

On the median annual salary of $27,740, gross monthly income is $2,312. After federal, FICA, and South Dakota state income taxes, estimated net take-home pay is $2,038 per month (or $941 every two weeks).

Is $27,740 a good salary in Rapid City, SD?

At $27,740, the median salary for teaching assistants is 36.9% of the Rapid City, SD median household income ($75,255). It is 40% below the $46,270 median for all jobs in the metro. The BEA regional price parity is 89.2, so prices here run 10.8% below the U.S. average.