High paying teaching and library jobs in Rapid City, SD

Every teaching and library occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in Rapid City, SD. Read the percentile range, not just the median: the gap between the 10th and 90th inside a single teaching and library job is usually wider than the gap between two different ones, so where you land in a field matters more than which field you pick.

Cost of living: prices in Rapid City, SD run 10.8% below the national average (2024), so a Rapid City, SD salary is worth about 1.12× its face value in national terms. That scales every wage here by the same factor — it changes what the numbers mean, not their order.

Local wage estimates are suppressed more often than state ones — BLS withholds any figure too few local employers report — so an occupation missing here simply has no published local estimate.

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

Find teaching jobs in Rapid City, SD

OccupationMedian, Rapid City, SD · Employed

1Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary$67,870
Doctoral or professional degree
$53,340 – $102,29040
2Career/Technical Education Teachers, Postsecondary$67,290
Bachelor's degree
$36,030 – $74,27050
3Tutors$62,040
Some college, no degree
$45,400 – $76,56030
4Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School$60,800
Bachelor's degree
$48,980 – $63,620120
5Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education$60,020
Bachelor's degree
$47,750 – $63,450330
6Librarians and Media Collections Specialists$59,990
Master's degree
$42,750 – $77,32040
7Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School$59,800
Bachelor's degree
$48,950 – $65,50040
8Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education$59,540
Bachelor's degree
$47,190 – $76,360390
9Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education$59,480
Bachelor's degree
$48,000 – $60,320530
10Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education$58,670
Bachelor's degree
$47,900 – $59,91070
11Special Education Teachers, Secondary School$58,360
Bachelor's degree
$50,010 – $71,76070
12Instructional Coordinators$57,700
Master's degree
$49,450 – $92,040110
13Special Education Teachers, Middle School$52,990
Bachelor's degree
$48,390 – $60,14040
14Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education$46,620
Associate's degree
$30,920 – $56,370190
15Library Technicians$34,300
Postsecondary nondegree award
$26,210 – $47,60080
16Substitute Teachers, Short-Term$28,550
Bachelor's degree
$25,760 – $36,810100
17Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary$27,740
Some college, no degree
$24,850 – $34,680540

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

#	Occupation	MedianRapid City, SD	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	Health Specialties Teachers, PostsecondaryDoctoral or professional degree	$67,870	$53,340 – $102,290	40
2	Career/Technical Education Teachers, PostsecondaryBachelor's degree	$67,290	$36,030 – $74,270	50
3	TutorsSome college, no degree	$62,040	$45,400 – $76,560	30
4	Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary SchoolBachelor's degree	$60,800	$48,980 – $63,620	120
5	Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical EducationBachelor's degree	$60,020	$47,750 – $63,450	330
6	Librarians and Media Collections SpecialistsMaster's degree	$59,990	$42,750 – $77,320	40
7	Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary SchoolBachelor's degree	$59,800	$48,950 – $65,500	40
8	Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical EducationBachelor's degree	$59,540	$47,190 – $76,360	390
9	Elementary School Teachers, Except Special EducationBachelor's degree	$59,480	$48,000 – $60,320	530
10	Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special EducationBachelor's degree	$58,670	$47,900 – $59,910	70
11	Special Education Teachers, Secondary SchoolBachelor's degree	$58,360	$50,010 – $71,760	70
12	Instructional CoordinatorsMaster's degree	$57,700	$49,450 – $92,040	110
13	Special Education Teachers, Middle SchoolBachelor's degree	$52,990	$48,390 – $60,140	40
14	Preschool Teachers, Except Special EducationAssociate's degree	$46,620	$30,920 – $56,370	190
15	Library TechniciansPostsecondary nondegree award	$34,300	$26,210 – $47,600	80
16	Substitute Teachers, Short-TermBachelor's degree	$28,550	$25,760 – $36,810	100
17	Teaching Assistants, Except PostsecondarySome college, no degree	$27,740	$24,850 – $34,680	540

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Rapid City, SD. 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.

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

High paying teaching and library jobs in Rapid City, SD

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