TradeSalary

Plumber salary in Rapid City, SD

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Plumbers in the Rapid City, SD area earn a median of $55,850 a year, or $26.85 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The top 10% earn more than $74,450. Statewide, plumbers earn a median of $51,620; Rapid City is 8% above it.

Median yearly pay$55,850
Bottom 10% under$39,530Top 10% over$74,450
Apprentice starting pay (estimate)
$19.01/hr
Jobs in this area
360
After cost of living
$62,640
Median hourly pay
$26.85/hr
vs U.S. median
−12%
vs South Dakota median
+8%
Mean (average) pay
$55,880 a year · $26.87 an hour
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 39660, Rapid City, SD). Excludes self-employed plumbers. Cost of living: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024. *Starting pay is estimated from the 10th percentile; BLS does not report pay by license level.

Pay by percentile

What plumbers 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.

PercentileHourlyYearly
10th percentile$19.01$39,530
25th percentile$21.82$45,380
Median (50th)$26.85$55,850
75th percentile$29.47$61,300
90th percentile$35.79$74,450

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 ranks 2nd of 3 South Dakota metro areas for plumber pay.
  • Plumbers are more concentrated in the Rapid City area than nationally: 4.9 of every 1,000 jobs, 1.6 times the U.S. share.

Other South Dakota metro areas

Other trades in Rapid City, SD

Questions

Do plumbers make more in Rapid City or Sioux City?
Sioux City pays more: the median is $55,850 in Rapid City and $60,890 in Sioux City, a 8% difference.

About this data

Wages are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for May 2025, occupation 47-2152 (Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters), area code 39660 (Rapid City, SD). BLS counts wage and salary workers only, so self-employed plumbers 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