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South Dakota Highway Patrol entry pay
What this agency pays a new officer to start, and how that compares with the rest of the country.
Entry pay onlyEvery salary here is what an officer is paid on day one, out of the academy — base pay on a 40-hour week, with no overtime, shift differential, specialty or education pay counted. Nobody stays on it.
South Dakota Highway Patrol starts at $64,251 a year — about $30.89 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $4,139 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $746 below the median for state agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in South Dakota run about 11% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $72,530 would somewhere at average prices — $8,279 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 68 against a national average of 100, where goods are 95. Based on state-wide price levels, because this agency is not tied to a single metro area, from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. The salary above is what the employer publishes; this line is our arithmetic on it, and nothing on this site is ranked on it.
How big the department isSouth Dakota Highway Patrol reported 150 sworn officers to the FBI for 2025.No rate is shown: this agency does not police a single population the FBI publishes a figure for. Reporting to the FBI is voluntary, so a count can reflect a partial return as easily as a small agency, and the FBI asks that agencies not be compared on staffing. Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, Full-time Law Enforcement Employees, 2025.
What South Dakota Highway Patrol says about itself
Troopers with the South Dakota Highway Patrol are entrusted with the authority to conduct investigations concerning violations of criminal and traffic statutes throughout the state.
What South Dakota Highway Patrol does
The South Dakota Highway Patrol began in 1935 as the ten-man Courtesy Patrol and now holds statewide jurisdiction to investigate criminal and traffic offences regardless of city, township or county boundaries. It runs regional SWAT teams that provide tactical and warrant service to local agencies, trains K-9 teams for departments across the state, and protects state dignitaries and the capitol grounds.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 15 August 2026. State of South Dakota — Highway Patrol Trooper posting, job ID 36990, Department of Public Safety — open the source document
South Dakota advertises the Highway Patrol Trooper post at $30.89 an hour, pay grade L 03, which is $64,251.20 a year, with an additional $2.00 an hour for night shift and $2.00 an hour for weekend work. An applicant who is not already certified attends a 23-week programme in Pierre \u2014 thirteen weeks at the Basic Law Enforcement Academy followed by a ten-week Highway Patrol Recruit Academy \u2014 while a certified officer attends a six-week Highway Patrol Academy instead. The Patrol has nearly 200 troopers and the post carries a take-home vehicle, per diem and Class A retirement under SDRS.
Entry-level base salary only. Overtime, bonuses, education incentives, shift
differentials, locality pay and lateral rates are excluded, so most officers earn more
than this.
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How this level compares
Where South Dakota Highway Patrol sits is partly about the agency and partly about which level of policing it belongs to. The three levels do not pay the same.
| Level | Lowest | Median | Highest | Agencies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Municipal | $35,006 | $71,287 | $163,619 | 1046 |
| County | $36,492 | $65,374 | $132,263 | 416 |
| Special jurisdiction | $31,200 | $60,195 | $107,954 | 69 |
| State | $33,994 | $64,998 | $102,692 | 143 |
| Federal | $70,477 | $73,502 | $86,530 | 5 |
| Territory | $16,640 | $28,236 | $43,354 | 9 |
Federal agencies pay the most to start
The middle federal agency starts at $73,502 — about $2,200 more than the middle municipal agency and about $8,100 more than the middle county agency and about $13,300 more than the middle special jurisdiction agency and about $8,500 more than the middle state agency and about $45,300 more than the middle territory agency. South Dakota Highway Patrol starts at $64,251, so $747 below the state middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a South Dakota Highway Patrol officer make?
South Dakota Highway Patrol starts a new officer on $64,251 a year, about $30.89 an hour on a 2,080-hour year. That is base salary before overtime, bonuses, education incentives, shift differentials and locality pay, so most serving officers earn more. The figure comes from State of South Dakota — Highway Patrol Trooper posting, job ID 36990, Department of Public Safety.
Is that good pay for a police officer in South Dakota?
It ranks #6 of 9 agencies we have verified in South Dakota — 3 pay less, 5 pay more in the state — and #1,053 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $4,139 below, and against other state agencies $746 below.
Compare with another department
Put South Dakota Highway Patrol side by side with any other agency on the site — the two salaries, what each is worth once local prices are counted, and which comes out ahead.
The agencies either side of it
Other agencies in SD
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs South | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sioux Falls Police Department | Municipal | 284 | $72,030 | +$7,779 | #664 |
| 2 | Spearfish Police Department | Municipal | 19 | $68,307 | +$4,056 | #846 |
| 3 | Pierre Police Department | Municipal | 20 | $68,307 | +$4,056 | #847 |
| 4 | Minnehaha County Sheriff's Office | County | 86 | $66,893 | +$2,642 | #923 |
| 5 | Rapid City Police Department | Municipal | 157 | $66,456 | +$2,205 | #950 |
| 7 | Pennington County Sheriff's Office | County | 217 | $63,357 | −$894 | #1,092 |
| 8 | Yankton Police Department | Municipal | 30 | $58,253 | −$5,998 | #1,306 |
| 9 | Brown County Sheriff's Office | County | 21 | $55,578 | −$8,674 | #1,408 |
Base pay is only part of the year
Whatever the figure above, the rotation is what decides your year — which weekends you lose, when the changeovers land, what you can plan around. Save yours once and BlueShifts shows it a year ahead, with the off-duty jobs you take and what each one paid.
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