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The Mandate Monitor

South Dakota minimum wage: $11.85 an hour, rising to $12.30 on January 1, 2027

Checked November 8, 2026Source: South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation

Short answer

South Dakota’s minimum wage is $11.85 an hour, in effect since January 1, 2026, according to the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation.

Employers may pay tipped employees $5.925 an hour in cash, as long as tips bring them up to at least $11.85.

It rises to $12.30 on January 1, 2027, with a tipped cash wage of $6.15.

Running payroll in South Dakota? See the do-it-yourself route and list prices for the 8 payroll systems that say they file payroll taxes.

On your payroll in South Dakotaper hour
Minimum wage today
$11.85
Tipped employees, cash wage
$5.925
From January 1, 2027
$12.30
Full-time year at today’s rate (2,080 hours)
$24,648

We found no city or county in South Dakota with its own higher minimum wage.

What the January 1, 2027 raise costs you

The raise is $0.45 an hour for anyone paid less than the new rate on January 1, 2027.

Added wages a year
$702
Employer Social Security and Medicare (FICA), 7.65%
$54
Total added cost a year
$756

Counts only the raise for workers below the new rate, over 52 weeks. It leaves out raises you give others to keep pay gaps, and state unemployment tax, which usually stops at a wage cap.

South Dakota minimum wage by date

EffectiveMinimum wageTipped cash wageNote
January 1, 2027Upcoming$12.30$6.15Cost-of-living increase posted by the Department of Labor and Regulation.source
January 1, 2026Current$11.85$5.925The South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation states the tipped wage as $5.925 (half of $11.85); the U.S. Department of Labor lists $5.93.source
January 1, 2025$11.50$5.75Tipped cash wage is half the minimum wage.source

Adjusted each January 1 by the increase in the consumer price index, rounded up to the nearest 5 cents, never decreasing (state law section 60-11-3.2); the Department of Labor and Regulation announces it by October 15.

Other South Dakota rates

Opportunity wage for workers under 20

State law allows an opportunity wage for employees under 20, as federal law defines it (SDCL 60-11-4.1).

The state statute gives no dollar figure.

Before January 1, 2027

  • Update every hourly rate below $12.30 in payroll so the first paycheck on or after that date is right.
  • Update tipped employees’ cash wage to $6.15.
  • Replace the minimum wage poster with the new year’s version from the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation.

Other South Dakota pay rules

Paydays
At least once a month, or on regular paydays the employer sets in advance.
Overtime
Follows the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) rule: time and a half after 40 hours in a workweek. No separate state overtime rule.
Final paycheck
Fired: By the next regular payday (or when the employee returns company property, if later). Quit: By the next regular payday (or when the employee returns company property, if later).

From the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation and the U.S. Department of Labor’s state tables. All South Dakota employer rules.

Minimum wage in states next to South Dakota

If you hire across a state line, the worker’s state sets the rate.

StateTodayNext change
South Dakota$11.85$12.30 on January 1, 2027
Nebraska$15.00$15.26 on January 1, 2027
Minnesota$11.41$11.87 on January 1, 2027
Montana$10.85$11.20 on January 1, 2027
Iowa$7.25None scheduled
North Dakota$7.25None scheduled
Wyoming$7.25None scheduled

Questions employers ask

What is the minimum wage in South Dakota in 2026?

South Dakota’s minimum wage is $11.85 an hour, in effect since January 1, 2026, according to the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation.

What is the tipped minimum wage in South Dakota?

Employers may pay tipped employees $5.925 an hour in cash, as long as tips bring them up to at least $11.85.

When does the South Dakota minimum wage go up next?

On January 1, 2027, to $12.30 an hour. Adjusted each January 1 by the increase in the consumer price index, rounded up to the nearest 5 cents, never decreasing (state law section 60-11-3.2); the Department of Labor and Regulation announces it by October 15.

Do cities in South Dakota have a higher minimum wage?

We found no city or county in South Dakota with a minimum wage above the state rate.

Does South Dakota require overtime pay?

Follows the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) rule: time and a half after 40 hours in a workweek. No separate state overtime rule.

Compare every state’s minimum wage · Everything employers in South Dakota must do

Sources

  1. South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation
  2. SDCL 60-11-4.1, Opportunity wage, South Dakota Legislature (read Nov 8, 2026)
  3. 2027 South Dakota Minimum Wage Requirement poster ($12.30/hour), South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation (read Nov 7, 2026)
  4. State Minimum Wage to Increase Jan. 1 (news release, October 23, 2025), South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation (read Nov 8, 2026)
  5. Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees (revised November 5, 2026), U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division (read Nov 8, 2026)
  6. State Minimum Wage to Increase Jan. 1 (news release, October 23, 2024), South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation (read Nov 8, 2026)