South Dakota and Wyoming at a glance
South Dakota and Wyoming share a border, but a paycheck does not travel across it unchanged. A $60,000 salary leaves $32,200 a year after taxes and the four basics in South Dakota and $33,287 in Wyoming.
Wyoming comes out ahead by $1,087 a year ($91 a month). The calculation starts from the same gross pay in both states, subtracts federal tax, Social Security and Medicare, then each state's own income tax, and then the population-weighted cost of a one-bedroom rental, groceries, home energy and gasoline across 907,428 people in 66 counties in South Dakota and 582,397 people in 23 counties in Wyoming.
Taxes: what each paycheck loses
Federal income tax ($5,072) and FICA ($4,590) on $60,000 are the same on both sides of the border. Neither state taxes wages, so take-home pay is identical at $50,339.
At $100,000
At $100,000 take-home pay is $78,901 in South Dakota and $78,901 in Wyoming, a difference of $0. The gap does not widen much with income because the two states tax at similar rates.
Living costs
One-bedroom rent averages $958 a month in South Dakota and $865 in Wyoming, so Wyoming is $93 a month cheaper for housing. Food costs $3,436 a year in both, because the USDA Thrifty Food Plan is a national figure; home energy $1,708 and $1,794, and gasoline $1,496 and $1,444. Together the basics cost $18,138 a year in South Dakota and $17,051 in Wyoming.
What the Census adds
Median household income is $75,081 in South Dakota and $76,176 in Wyoming. Homeowners pay a median of $2,724 a year in property tax in South Dakota and $1,767 in Wyoming. Commuters travel 17.8 minutes each way on average in South Dakota and 18.8 in Wyoming.
Method
Taxes use the 2025 rules for a single filer with wage income only and the standard deduction. Housing and living costs are county figures from HUD (one-bedroom Fair Market Rent), the USDA Thrifty Food Plan and state energy prices from the Energy Information Administration, averaged across each state's counties and weighted by population, so large counties count more. Local income taxes are not included. Counties differ widely inside every state, so use the county pages for a specific place.