South Dakota Minimum Wage 2026
The minimum wage in South Dakota is $11.80 per hour in 2026, effective January 1, 2026. Tipped employees can be paid a cash wage of $5.90 per hour, as long as tips bring them to the full minimum.
What is the minimum wage in South Dakota in 2026?
The South Dakota minimum wage is $11.80 per hour as of January 1, 2026, up from $11.50 in 2025. The rate has climbed automatically every January since voters approved a 2014 ballot measure tying it to the Consumer Price Index.
That ballot-measure origin makes South Dakota an outlier among its neighbors. Its $11.80 floor now sits above Minnesota's and well above Iowa's federal-level $7.25, an unusual position for a state generally known for light-touch labor regulation.
Tipped minimum wage in South Dakota
The tipped minimum wage in South Dakota is $5.90 per hour in 2026, set by formula at exactly 50 percent of the full minimum. When the full rate adjusts each January, the tipped rate moves with it automatically.
Tips plus the $5.90 cash wage must reach $11.80 per hour for every tipped employee. The 50 percent structure keeps the math predictable, but employers still need per-shift tip records to prove the combined figure clears the floor.
South Dakota minimum wage history: 2020 to 2026
| Year | Minimum wage | Tipped wage |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $9.30 | $4.65 |
| 2021 | $9.45 | $4.73 |
| 2022 | $9.95 | $4.98 |
| 2023 | $10.80 | $5.40 |
| 2024 | $11.20 | $5.60 |
| 2025 | $11.50 | $5.75 |
| 2026 | $11.80 | $5.90 |
Upcoming minimum wage increases in South Dakota
South Dakota's minimum wage adjusts every January 1 based on CPI, a mechanism voters wrote into law in 2014. Another increase on January 1, 2027 is effectively certain, announced by the state Department of Labor and Regulation each fall.
Because the tipped rate is fixed at half the full minimum, both numbers change together every year. One payroll update each January covers both.
Minimum wage by city in South Dakota
South Dakota has no city or county minimum wages. Sioux Falls, Rapid City, Aberdeen, and Brookings all follow the statewide $11.80 rate.
Border dynamics are the more interesting story. Sioux Falls employers now pay a floor slightly above neighboring Minnesota, where the rate is $11.41, and dramatically above Iowa, which sits at the federal $7.25 just across the state line. That gap makes South Dakota's side of the border the higher-wage market, unusual for the region.
State rate applies; now slightly above Minnesota ($11.41) and far above Iowa ($7.25) across the border
State rate applies
State rate applies
State rate applies
What South Dakota employers need to know
Annual January adjustment
The rate changes every January 1 by formula. Update both the full and tipped rates when the Department of Labor and Regulation announces the new figures each fall.
Tipped employees
The cash wage is always 50 percent of the minimum, $5.90 in 2026. Keep tip records showing each employee reaches $11.80 per hour and make up any shortfall in wages.
Youth wage
South Dakota allows a lower training wage for workers under 18 in limited circumstances. Confirm current rules before applying it; the standard rate covers most hires.
Posting and records
Display the current South Dakota minimum wage notice and retain standard payroll and tip records. With no local rates, one statewide figure covers every location.
How other states compare
See how South Dakota's $11.80 rate stacks up against other state minimum wages in 2026, or browse the full minimum wage index for all 50 states.
Last verified:
Sources: the US Department of Labor's state minimum wage table and official announcements from the South Dakota labor department. Minimum wage laws change frequently; confirm current rates with those sources or legal counsel before setting pay.
Hiring hourly workers in South Dakota?
Post your job for free.
Hirex helps you post jobs, screen applicants, and hire faster in one dashboard, so staying compliant on pay is the only hard part you handle alone. No credit card needed.
