2026 South Dakota Minimum Wage

Who it applies to

Employers and employees in South Dakota covered by the state minimum wage law. The Department of Labor's table gives South Dakota's basic minimum rate with no employer-size condition attached, and the entry carries no premium pay line, so the table records no state overtime threshold for this jurisdiction. The entry states that the minimum wage is adjusted annually based on a set formula, which most entries in the table do not say. It does not display subminimum rates for minors, students or trainees, or any rate set by a local government.

What changed this year, and why

The U.S. Department of Labor's table of state minimum wage laws, updated July 1, 2026, lists South Dakota's basic minimum rate as $11.85 per hour. The entry adds that the minimum wage is adjusted annually based on a set formula, but names no next date and no next amount, and no earlier year of this record is published here, so this page states no year-over-year change.

Common questions

What is the minimum wage in South Dakota in 2026?

It is $11.85 per hour. That is the basic minimum rate the U.S. Department of Labor lists for South Dakota in its State Minimum Wage Laws table, in the version updated July 1, 2026. The figure published here is read from that entry and from nothing else, so it reflects the state rate as the department recorded it on that date.

Is the South Dakota minimum wage adjusted every year?

Yes. The entry states that the minimum wage is adjusted annually based on a set formula. That sentence is the whole of what the Department of Labor's table says about the adjustment: it names neither the inputs to the formula nor the date a new rate takes effect, and it gives no future amount. This page publishes the rate the table listed as of July 1, 2026.

Does the South Dakota minimum wage change again during 2026?

The table lists no dated step for South Dakota inside the year. The entry states an annual adjustment based on a set formula but attaches no effective date or later amount to it, so nothing in the source names a further change within 2026. A new rate would appear here only after the department republishes the table and this record is verified against it again.

Which employers have to pay the South Dakota minimum wage?

The table's South Dakota entry states a basic minimum rate and attaches no employer-size condition to it. For several other jurisdictions the same table opens the entry with a coverage line limiting the rate to employers above a stated headcount; South Dakota's entry carries no such line, and it does not exclude employment subject to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, as some entries do.

Does South Dakota require overtime pay after a set number of hours?

The Department of Labor's table records premium pay after designated hours for the jurisdictions whose laws set such a threshold, giving a weekly count and sometimes a daily one as well. The South Dakota entry carries no premium pay line at all, so this table states no state overtime threshold for South Dakota. The table records none; it does not say that none exists elsewhere in law.

Is there a separate tipped minimum wage in South Dakota?

The Department of Labor's state table lists one basic minimum rate per hour for South Dakota and no separate cash wage for tipped employees, so this page does not publish one. The same table states plainly that differential provisions are not displayed in it, naming subminimum rates for minors and students and training wages for new hires as its examples.

Is South Dakota's minimum wage higher than the federal minimum wage?

Yes. The same Department of Labor table cites the current federal minimum wage in its entries for states that have no minimum wage law of their own, and South Dakota's basic minimum rate is above that amount. The South Dakota entry also carries no clause adopting the federal rate by reference or replacing the state rate when the federal one is higher, which some other entries in the table do carry.

Where does the $11.85 figure on this page come from?

From the Wage and Hour Division's State Minimum Wage Laws table at dol.gov, in the snapshot captured for this record, where the South Dakota entry gives the basic minimum rate per hour as $11.85. The division notes on the same page that it tries to ensure the information is accurate and that individuals should consult the relevant state labor office for official information.

Every amount on this page is a published figure rather than yours. The Minimum wage pay calculator takes the number you enter and works it out against them, showing which published figure it used.