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Manufacturing Compass

South Dakota manufacturing

Private-sector manufacturing (NAICS 31–33), annual average for 2024. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

01Core measures

South Dakota manufacturing in 2024

Totals and averages for all private manufacturing employers in South Dakota combined. They describe the industry statewide, not any individual plant or company.

Establishments

1,044

Worksites, annual average of quarterly counts

U.S.
397,198
Share of U.S.Calc
0.3%

Employment

45,087

Jobs, annual average of monthly counts

U.S.
12,733,350
Share of U.S.Calc
0.4%

Total wages

$2.9 billion

Nominal dollars, sum of four quarters

U.S.
$1.1 trillion
Share of U.S.Calc
0.3%

Average weekly wage

$1,220

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$1,643
vs. U.S.Calc
−25.7%

Average annual pay

$63,416

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$85,461
vs. U.S.Calc
−25.8%

Location quotient

1.20

Employment concentration vs. U.S.

U.S.
1.00

Manufacturing's share of all jobs in South Dakota is 1.20 times its share of all U.S. jobs.

Calcmarks our calculations from BLS figures (formulas below). All other values are published by BLS.

02Subsectors

Where manufacturing jobs are

The 21 three-digit NAICS manufacturing subsectors, largest employment first. 2 are withheld by BLS (“Not disclosed”). For 1, BLS publishes no figures at all (“No BLS data”). Subsectors therefore may not add up to the manufacturing total.

  • 311Food manufacturing
    Employment
    11,091
    Establishments
    135
    Avg. annual pay
    $60,346
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −1.8%
    Location quotient
    2.12
  • 333Machinery manufacturing
    Employment
    6,101
    Establishments
    123
    Avg. annual pay
    $68,217
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −22.3%
    Location quotient
    1.86
  • 339Miscellaneous manufacturing
    Employment
    4,749
    Establishments
    73
    Avg. annual pay
    $69,894
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −15.0%
    Location quotient
    2.62
  • 332Fabricated metal product manufacturing
    Employment
    4,410
    Establishments
    170
    Avg. annual pay
    $59,395
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −18.9%
    Location quotient
    1.04
  • 336Transportation equipment manufacturing
    Employment
    3,792
    Establishments
    53
    Avg. annual pay
    $65,470
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −29.8%
    Location quotient
    0.72
  • 337Furniture and related product manufacturing
    Employment
    2,065
    Establishments
    60
    Avg. annual pay
    $55,720
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −6.1%
    Location quotient
    2.03
  • 321Wood product manufacturing
    Employment
    2,023
    Establishments
    55
    Avg. annual pay
    $60,419
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −3.2%
    Location quotient
    1.66
  • 334Computer and electronic product manufacturing
    Employment
    1,917
    Establishments
    31
    Avg. annual pay
    $57,581
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −62.5%
    Location quotient
    0.64
  • 326Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
    Employment
    1,800
    Establishments
    45
    Avg. annual pay
    $62,295
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −10.2%
    Location quotient
    0.85
  • 327Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing
    Employment
    1,793
    Establishments
    80
    Avg. annual pay
    $77,322
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +2.4%
    Location quotient
    1.46
  • 323Printing and related support activities
    Employment
    1,280
    Establishments
    91
    Avg. annual pay
    $52,468
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −14.2%
    Location quotient
    1.22
  • 325Chemical manufacturing
    Employment
    1,267
    Establishments
    37
    Avg. annual pay
    $81,666
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −30.9%
    Location quotient
    0.48
  • 322Paper manufacturing
    Employment
    680
    Establishments
    8
    Avg. annual pay
    $66,464
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −18.6%
    Location quotient
    0.65
  • 314Textile product mills
    Employment
    618
    Establishments
    20
    Avg. annual pay
    $52,797
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −2.9%
    Location quotient
    2.15
  • 331Primary metal manufacturing
    Employment
    614
    Establishments
    7
    Avg. annual pay
    $72,731
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −18.5%
    Location quotient
    0.56
  • 335Electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing
    Employment
    487
    Establishments
    15
    Avg. annual pay
    $59,439
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −30.7%
    Location quotient
    0.39
  • 312Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing
    Employment
    331
    Establishments
    32
    Avg. annual pay
    $24,692
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −59.6%
    Location quotient
    0.33
  • 315Apparel manufacturing
    Employment
    57
    Establishments
    6
    Avg. annual pay
    $45,481
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −21.5%
    Location quotient
    0.23
  • 316Leather and allied product manufacturing
    Employment
    Not disclosed
    Establishments
    2
    Avg. annual pay
    Not disclosed
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    —
    Location quotient
    Not disclosed
  • 324Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
    Employment
    Not disclosed
    Establishments
    1
    Avg. annual pay
    Not disclosed
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    —
    Location quotient
    Not disclosed
  • 313Textile mills
    Employment
    No BLS data
    Establishments
    No BLS data
    Avg. annual pay
    No BLS data
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    —
    Location quotient
    No BLS data

03By year

South Dakota manufacturing, 2022–2025

Wages are in nominal dollars (not adjusted for inflation). BLS cautions that QCEW is not designed as a time series, so treat year-to-year differences as indicative.

Private manufacturing in South Dakota by year, annual averages, nominal dollars
YearEmploymentAvg. annual payvs. U.S.Calc
202245,101$59,036−25.7%
202345,302$61,354−25.7%
202445,087$63,416−25.8%
202544,307$66,214−26.0%

04About this data

Source, definitions, and limits

Source
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages
File
data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2024/a/industry/31_33.csv
Retrieved
October 12, 2026 (UTC)
Period
Annual average, 2024 (final BLS data)
Industry
NAICS 2022, sector 31–33 and its three-digit subsectors
Ownership
Private employers only
Geography
Statewide; compared with the U.S. total
Citation
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW).

What these numbers cover

  • Jobs reported to state unemployment insurance programs, about 95% of U.S. wage and salary jobs. Self-employed workers and proprietors are excluded; people with two jobs may be counted twice.
  • Averages describe all employers combined and do not represent any single manufacturer. Where a subsector has few establishments or jobs, its averages can swing widely and are less representative.
  • Not disclosed: BLS withheld the value to protect employer confidentiality. It is never shown as zero. No BLS data: BLS publishes no figures for that combination.

Calculations

  • Share of U.S. = state value ÷ U.S. value.
  • vs. U.S. = state value ÷ U.S. value − 1.
  • Both inputs come from the same BLS file: same year, industry, and ownership. Not calculated when either value is withheld (shown as —).
  • Location quotient is published by BLS: the industry's share of all local jobs (all industries and ownerships) divided by its share nationally.

Read our methodology