High paying construction jobs in South Dakota with no degree

The best paid construction occupations in South Dakota that require no bachelor's degree — a high school diploma, a certificate, or an associate's degree is the typical entry. This is the narrowest cut on the site, so it is also the shortest list: where a field has only two or three such occupations, there is no page at all rather than a page pretending otherwise.

Cost of living: prices in South Dakota run 11.4% below the national average (2024), so a South Dakota salary is worth about 1.13× its face value in national terms. That scales every wage here by the same factor — it changes what the numbers mean, not their order. To see where a job pays a real premium, use jobs that pay more in South Dakota.

Wages: BLS OEWS, May 2025 · Cost of living: BEA regional price parities, 2024

Find construction jobs in South Dakota

OccupationMedian, South Dakota · Employed

1First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers$77,690
High school diploma or equivalent
$60,200 – $97,9402,360
2Construction and Building Inspectors$64,940
High school diploma or equivalent
$47,670 – $89,050200
3Electricians$61,390
High school diploma or equivalent
$44,320 – $80,0602,980
4Brickmasons and Blockmasons$60,380
High school diploma or equivalent
$44,000 – $86,020320
5Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators$59,500
High school diploma or equivalent
$47,260 – $75,8802,050
6Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles$58,930
No formal educational credential
$38,130 – $70,770180
7Structural Iron and Steel Workers$57,050
High school diploma or equivalent
$45,380 – $74,800440
8Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters$51,620
High school diploma or equivalent
$39,230 – $74,4801,760
9Hazardous Materials Removal Workers$51,420
High school diploma or equivalent
$47,400 – $58,030190
10Pipelayers$50,650
No formal educational credential
$36,560 – $60,300300
11Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers$48,850
No formal educational credential
$42,400 – $59,380360
12Highway Maintenance Workers$48,610
High school diploma or equivalent
$39,030 – $61,4901,800
13Fence Erectors$48,380
No formal educational credential
$35,220 – $62,330170
14Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining$48,250
High school diploma or equivalent
$41,600 – $61,980280
15Painters, Construction and Maintenance$48,160
No formal educational credential
$35,900 – $59,560670
16Carpenters$48,140
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,720 – $65,8904,560
17Sheet Metal Workers$47,800
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,420 – $86,780320
18Roofers$47,710
No formal educational credential
$34,550 – $59,200400
19Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers$47,160
No formal educational credential
$36,640 – $63,3802,550
20Glaziers$47,140
High school diploma or equivalent
$42,920 – $58,700220
21Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and Wall$45,820
No formal educational credential
$35,890 – $60,320340
22Construction Laborers$45,710
No formal educational credential
$35,180 – $52,3501,780
23Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters$36,500
High school diploma or equivalent
$31,330 – $43,470210
24Helpers--Electricians$35,620
High school diploma or equivalent
$30,510 – $45,760300
25Helpers--Carpenters$34,700
No formal educational credential
$27,420 – $46,370330

Bars run from the 10th to the 90th percentile; the middle half is shaded darker, and the tick is the median.

#	Occupation	MedianSouth Dakota	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$77,690	$60,200 – $97,940	2,360
2	Construction and Building InspectorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$64,940	$47,670 – $89,050	200
3	ElectriciansHigh school diploma or equivalent	$61,390	$44,320 – $80,060	2,980
4	Brickmasons and BlockmasonsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$60,380	$44,000 – $86,020	320
5	Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$59,500	$47,260 – $75,880	2,050
6	Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard TilesNo formal educational credential	$58,930	$38,130 – $70,770	180
7	Structural Iron and Steel WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$57,050	$45,380 – $74,800	440
8	Plumbers, Pipefitters, and SteamfittersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$51,620	$39,230 – $74,480	1,760
9	Hazardous Materials Removal WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$51,420	$47,400 – $58,030	190
10	PipelayersNo formal educational credential	$50,650	$36,560 – $60,300	300
11	Drywall and Ceiling Tile InstallersNo formal educational credential	$48,850	$42,400 – $59,380	360
12	Highway Maintenance WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$48,610	$39,030 – $61,490	1,800
13	Fence ErectorsNo formal educational credential	$48,380	$35,220 – $62,330	170
14	Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface MiningHigh school diploma or equivalent	$48,250	$41,600 – $61,980	280
15	Painters, Construction and MaintenanceNo formal educational credential	$48,160	$35,900 – $59,560	670
16	CarpentersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$48,140	$37,720 – $65,890	4,560
17	Sheet Metal WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$47,800	$38,420 – $86,780	320
18	RoofersNo formal educational credential	$47,710	$34,550 – $59,200	400
19	Cement Masons and Concrete FinishersNo formal educational credential	$47,160	$36,640 – $63,380	2,550
20	GlaziersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$47,140	$42,920 – $58,700	220
21	Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and WallNo formal educational credential	$45,820	$35,890 – $60,320	340
22	Construction LaborersNo formal educational credential	$45,710	$35,180 – $52,350	1,780
23	Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and SteamfittersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$36,500	$31,330 – $43,470	210
24	Helpers--ElectriciansHigh school diploma or equivalent	$35,620	$30,510 – $45,760	300
25	Helpers--CarpentersNo formal educational credential	$34,700	$27,420 – $46,370	330

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in South Dakota. The rarer ones are real jobs — but a 1,190-person occupation at the top of a list answers a different question than the one most readers are asking.

More for South Dakota

Metro areas in South Dakota

Pay varies more between metros than between states — the spread inside one state is often wider than the gap between two.

By field in South Dakota

Without a degree

The same fields, narrowed to what you can enter without one. Fields missing here have too few such occupations in South Dakota to rank honestly.

High paying construction jobs in South Dakota with no degree

More for South Dakota

Metro areas in South Dakota

By field in South Dakota

Without a degree

High paying construction jobs in each state with no degree