High paying transportation jobs in Rapid City, SD

Every transportation 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 transportation 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 transportation jobs in Rapid City, SD

OccupationMedian, Rapid City, SD · Employed

1Commercial Pilots$86,150
Postsecondary nondegree award
$49,120 – $113,43060
2First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors$60,660
High school diploma or equivalent
$42,380 – $81,770210
3Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers$59,110
Postsecondary nondegree award
$45,120 – $79,890740
4Driver/Sales Workers$46,780
High school diploma or equivalent
$33,210 – $68,250170
5Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators$45,930
No formal educational credential
$31,720 – $67,260190
6Light Truck Drivers$43,250
High school diploma or equivalent
$27,640 – $60,700800
7Bus Drivers, School$40,330
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,990 – $50,540170
8Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand$38,050
No formal educational credential
$30,070 – $45,920420
9Airfield Operations Specialists$37,940
High school diploma or equivalent
$30,460 – $49,32060
10Stockers and Order Fillers$37,150
No formal educational credential
$27,800 – $45,7701,580
11Automotive and Watercraft Service Attendants$35,960
No formal educational credential
$30,810 – $40,610130
12Parking Attendants$35,600
No formal educational credential
$30,420 – $35,60030
13Shuttle Drivers and Chauffeurs$35,450
No formal educational credential
$29,830 – $38,76090
14Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment$34,890
No formal educational credential
$27,550 – $39,710310
15Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors$29,960
No formal educational credential
$25,700 – $49,56030
16Packers and Packagers, Hand$27,800
No formal educational credential
$23,970 – $36,16070

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	Commercial PilotsPostsecondary nondegree award	$86,150	$49,120 – $113,430	60
2	First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling SupervisorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$60,660	$42,380 – $81,770	210
3	Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck DriversPostsecondary nondegree award	$59,110	$45,120 – $79,890	740
4	Driver/Sales WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$46,780	$33,210 – $68,250	170
5	Industrial Truck and Tractor OperatorsNo formal educational credential	$45,930	$31,720 – $67,260	190
6	Light Truck DriversHigh school diploma or equivalent	$43,250	$27,640 – $60,700	800
7	Bus Drivers, SchoolHigh school diploma or equivalent	$40,330	$38,990 – $50,540	170
8	Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, HandNo formal educational credential	$38,050	$30,070 – $45,920	420
9	Airfield Operations SpecialistsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$37,940	$30,460 – $49,320	60
10	Stockers and Order FillersNo formal educational credential	$37,150	$27,800 – $45,770	1,580
11	Automotive and Watercraft Service AttendantsNo formal educational credential	$35,960	$30,810 – $40,610	130
12	Parking AttendantsNo formal educational credential	$35,600	$30,420 – $35,600	30
13	Shuttle Drivers and ChauffeursNo formal educational credential	$35,450	$29,830 – $38,760	90
14	Cleaners of Vehicles and EquipmentNo formal educational credential	$34,890	$27,550 – $39,710	310
15	Refuse and Recyclable Material CollectorsNo formal educational credential	$29,960	$25,700 – $49,560	30
16	Packers and Packagers, HandNo formal educational credential	$27,800	$23,970 – $36,160	70

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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Without a degree

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 transportation jobs in Rapid City, SD

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