Bookkeeper salary in the East South Dakota nonmetro area

Pay in the East South Dakota nonmetro area against South Dakota and the US

The middle half of bookkeepers in the East South Dakota nonmetro area earns $38,490–$50,340. Pay is tightly grouped: the top tenth starts at $58,880, only 1.6 times the bottom tenth, against 2.1 times across the US, so the going rate is easier to read. From the 25th to the 75th percentile, the local range is only $11,850 wide, against $12,630 across South Dakota and $17,950 nationally: employers in the East South Dakota nonmetro area pay within a narrower band.

What to budget for a bookkeeper here

The step from the 25th percentile to the median is $6,650 a year; from the median to the 75th it is $5,200, or about $6,710 once benefits are added. These percentiles describe what people in the job earn locally, not experience levels, so place your offer by the tasks and seniority you need.

For scale, the US median of $50,670 falls between the 75th and 90th percentiles in the East South Dakota nonmetro area, and the South Dakota statewide median of $46,340 falls between the median and the 75th percentile. An offer at the national rate would beat what three quarters of local bookkeepers earn.

What a hire really costs in the East South Dakota nonmetro area

At the $45,140 median, a local hire costs about $58,245 a year: benefits and payroll taxes other than paid leave are 22.5% of total compensation in US private industry², about $13,105 here. Recruiting, equipment and office space come on top. Benefit levels vary by employer, so treat this as an estimate.

We place executive assistants, customer support and e-commerce staff today; for bookkeepers we answer within one business day whether we can help. Enter the monthly pay you have in mind to compare it with a local hire. The fee field shows our standard fee³; Deel's contractor plan is the default payroll tool⁴.

Other roles in the East South Dakota nonmetro area

Of the 15 roles we track in the East South Dakota nonmetro area, this one ranks #12 by median pay, between payroll specialists ($47,130) and administrative assistants ($41,700). Project Coordinator is the highest at $82,850.

Measured against the US median, bookkeepers rank #7 of the 15 roles we track in the East South Dakota nonmetro area (-10.9%), between customer support specialists (-10.5%) and office managers (-12.3%). The typical role here is at -12.3%, so this job follows the area's general pay level. Bookkeepers hold 29.5% of the jobs in these 15 roles in the East South Dakota nonmetro area, 23.6% across South Dakota and 9.3% nationally. The job is a bigger part of the local workforce in these roles than it is nationally.

Other areas in South Dakota

Across the 4 areas of South Dakota with data for this job, the median runs from $45,140 in the East South Dakota nonmetro area to $46,910 in Sioux Falls, a gap of $1,770 a year. The one area in South Dakota with more bookkeepers, Sioux Falls, SD-MN ($46,910), also pays more.

the East South Dakota nonmetro area against other US metro areas

By number of jobs, the East South Dakota nonmetro area is #72 of 521 US areas for this job. It is one of the larger markets for this job, yet its pay sits in the bottom quarter of US areas. Outside South Dakota, Weirton-Steubenville and Sebring pay just above the East South Dakota nonmetro area and Hickory-Lenoir and Lawton just below. All four are within $30 a year of the median in the East South Dakota nonmetro area. Of the three markets with about as many bookkeepers, all three pay more.

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How these pages are built: methodology and data sources. Last updated 2026-11-12.