Diesel mechanic salary in Rapid City, SD
Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025
Diesel mechanics in the Rapid City, SD area earn a median of $62,700 a year, or $30.14 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The top 10% earn more than $78,800. Across all of South Dakota, the median is $58,120, so Rapid City pays 8% more than the state as a whole.
- Entry-level starting pay (estimate)
- $23.55/hr
- Jobs in this area
- 160
- After cost of living
- $70,320
- Median hourly pay
- $30.14/hr
- vs U.S. median
- +2%
- vs South Dakota median
- +8%
- Mean (average) pay
- $64,580 a year · $31.05 an hour
Pay by percentile
What diesel mechanics in Rapid City, SD earn at each point of the pay range, May 2025: 10% earn less than the 10th percentile, half earn less than the median, and 10% earn more than the 90th.
| Percentile | Hourly | Yearly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $23.55 | $48,980 |
| 25th percentile | $27.67 | $57,550 |
| Median (50th) | $30.14 | $62,700 |
| 75th percentile | $34.59 | $71,950 |
| 90th percentile | $37.88 | $78,800 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. BLS yearly figures are the hourly wage times 2,080 hours.
How Rapid City, SD compares
- Rapid City has the highest diesel mechanic median of the 3 South Dakota metro areas with published pay.
- Diesel mechanics are more concentrated in the Rapid City area than nationally: 2.2 of every 1,000 jobs, 1.2 times the U.S. share.
Other South Dakota metro areas
Other trades in Rapid City, SD
Questions
- Do diesel mechanics make more in Rapid City or Sioux Falls?
- Rapid City pays more: the median is $62,700 in Rapid City and $61,700 in Sioux Falls, a 2% difference.
About this data
Wages are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for May 2025, occupation 49-3031 (Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists), area code 39660 (Rapid City, SD). BLS counts wage and salary workers only, so self-employed diesel mechanics and business owners aren't included. The cost-of-living figure divides the median by the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parity for 2024 (89.2, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures