PIERRE S.D. (MITCHELLNOW) This year, South Dakota lawmakers went backward in pay. It was the first time they received less since 2018, when they agreed their salaries should automatically adjust year to year.
That decision means the 105 senators and representatives who take office in 2025 will each receive a salary of $16,348 for their public service.
That’s up nearly $3,000 from the $13,436 paid out this year and about $1,500 more than a year ago.
The state law as approved in 2018 says, “The salary of each member of the Legislature is equal to one-fifth of the South Dakota median household income reported by the United States Census Current Population Survey, as ascertained and adjusted each year by the State Board of Finance to take effect on the first day of January of each year for every regular legislative session.”
Legislative Research Council director John McCullough told the board on Tuesday that the South Dakota median income was $81,740 for 2023 and that one-fifth of it was $16,348.