BuildTotals

Installation prices: planning estimates. Official BLS worker wage data is identified separately below.

Contractor costs in South Dakota

Regional labor cost ranges for common DIY projects in South Dakota. These are estimates for planning purposes - always get multiple quotes from licensed local contractors.

Construction labor wages in South Dakota

Official BLS data · OEWS 2025

The actual pay range for 17 building trades in South Dakota — 10th percentile, median, and 90th percentile hourly wages from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. These describe worker pay; they do not verify or calculate the installation prices below.

Scroll the table horizontally to compare all wage columns. Keyboard: focus the table, then use the arrow keys.

Trade 10th %ile Median /hr 90th %ile Employed in SD
Construction supervisors $28.94 $37.35 $47.09 2,360
Carpenters $18.14 $23.14 $31.68 4,560
Cement masons & concrete finishers $17.61 $22.67 $30.47 2,550
Drywall & ceiling-tile installers $20.39 $23.49 $28.55 360
Tile & stone setters $18.59 $24.34 $32.61 30
Floor layers (non-carpet) $18.33 $28.33 $34.02 180
Carpet installers $16.93 $19.43 $23.80 80
Painters $17.26 $23.15 $28.63 670
Glaziers $20.64 $22.66 $28.22 220
Insulation workers $17.25 $22.03 $29.00 340
Brickmasons & blockmasons $21.16 $29.03 $41.36 320
Roofers $16.61 $22.94 $28.46 400
Electricians $21.31 $29.51 $38.49 2,980
Plumbers & pipefitters $18.86 $24.82 $35.81 1,760
HVAC technicians $23.28 $29.51 $36.15 1,610
Equipment operators $22.72 $28.61 $36.48 2,050
Construction laborers $16.91 $21.98 $25.17 1,780

How building-trade pay has moved since 2019

Median hourly wage by year for South Dakota's headline trades — a 7-year OEWS series (2019–2025) that deepens with each annual BLS release.

Carpenters +33% since 2019
$23.14/hr

$17.35 in 2019 → $23.14 in 2025

Electricians +34% since 2019
$29.51/hr

$21.96 in 2019 → $29.51 in 2025

Plumbers & pipefitters +26% since 2019
$24.82/hr

$19.76 in 2019 → $24.82 in 2025

Construction laborers +47% since 2019
$21.98/hr

$14.95 in 2019 → $21.98 in 2025

State-specific BLS wage signals

These comparisons are calculated from the same official OEWS 2025 rows above, so they vary by South Dakota's actual trade mix instead of repeating a national average. These are worker wages, not contractor billing rates - a contractor's quote adds overhead, insurance, equipment, and margin.

Highest median wage in state

Construction supervisors

$37.35/hr

Source: BLS OEWS 2025

Largest reported construction trade

Carpenters

4,560 employed

Source: BLS OEWS 2025

Biggest premium vs trade median

Floor layers (non-carpet)

+$4.01/hr vs $24.32

Median across states with this BLS trade row, OEWS 2025

Fastest median-wage growth

Floor layers (non-carpet)

+ 62% since 2019

Source: BLS OEWS 2019-2025

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS 2019–2025. These are worker wages, not contractor billing rates — a contractor's quote adds overhead, insurance, equipment, and margin. These additions vary by contractor and project.

Installation labor estimates

Labor only; materials excluded. These ranges have no published job sample or calculation on this page. Use them as a starting point for local quotes.

Concrete labor (per cu yd installed) $65 - $110
Interior painting (per sq ft) $1.30 - $2.40
6ft privacy fence (per linear ft) $15 - $30
LVP/laminate flooring install (per sq ft) $1.80 - $3.50
Drywall hang+tape+mud (per sq ft) $1.30 - $2.50

Find a contractor in South Dakota

When a project is beyond DIY scale, get quotes from licensed local contractors. Always verify contractor license status with South Dakota's contractor licensing board.