Salary data · South Dakota

Occupational therapist salary in South Dakota

Occupational therapists in South Dakota earn a mean of $88,150 a year and a median of $85,050, 13.0% below the national mean of $101,280. That ranks 49th of the 51 states with a published estimate.

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$88,150

Mean annual wage

about $42 an hour

$85,050

Median annual wage

49th of 51

State rank

by mean wage

490

OTs employed

BLS estimate

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025 estimates. These are estimates for occupational therapists already employed in South Dakota, not offers; the hourly figure divides the annual mean by 2,080 hours. Setting, specialty and caseload move an individual offer well above or below them. Updated October 22, 2026.

By metro

Occupational therapist pay by metro in South Dakota

Metro estimates from the same survey, highest mean first. Each city links to its full therapy workforce page.

Metro	Mean	Median	Employed
Rapid City	$96,000	$99,120	80
Sioux Falls	$85,400	$84,660	260

Source: BLS OEWS metropolitan estimates. Suppressed cells show n/a.

The market

How many occupational therapists work in South Dakota

523 occupational therapists hold an active individual NPI with a practice address in South Dakota, 55.9 per 100,000 residents, and 20 new ones enrolled in the last twelve months. A high wage with few clinicians per capita usually means employers are competing for people; a low one in a crowded market means the opposite.

Source: NPPES monthly file, October 2026 (CMS, public domain), as of October 2026.

Licensed in another state?

South Dakota has enacted the OT Compact but is not yet issuing compact privileges, so occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants licensed elsewhere still need a South Dakota license for now.

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OT openings in South Dakota

No public OT listing in South Dakota right now. Most of our searches are confidential and never posted, so tell us what you want and we will match you quietly.

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