Welder Salary in South Dakota (2026)

Worth knowing: South Dakota's POET ethanol largest US producer + Smithfield Foods Sioux Falls + Ellsworth AFB B-1B + future B-21 + 3M + Daktronics + Raven Industries CNH ag tech welder concentration is a distinctive Northern Plains industrial + aerospace + food/ethanol welder cluster most national welder-career surveys understate. POET LLC Sioux Falls (the substantial POET ~30 ethanol plants across Midwest + the substantial POET ~3B gallons/yr corn-to-ethanol production + the substantial POET as the country's substantial largest US ethanol producer + the substantial POET Sioux Falls HQ + the substantial POET stainless + sanitary fermentation tank + distillation column welder + ASME BPE + GMP + the substantial POET post-2020 expansion + the substantial POET Biorefining bioprocess) supports specialized ethanol + bioprocess welder work — POET senior ethanol welders clear $58-92K + OT with ASME BPE + sanitary + GMP cert. Smithfield Foods Sioux Falls (~3K Smithfield Sioux Falls employees + the substantial Smithfield pork processing as the country's substantial largest US pork plant + the substantial Smithfield stainless + sanitary welder + the substantial Smithfield post-2020 COVID hotspot reform + the substantial Smithfield WH Group ownership + the substantial Smithfield ASME BPE + GMP) supports specialized food processing welder work. Ellsworth AFB Rapid City (~7.5K Ellsworth AFB personnel + the substantial 28th Bomb Wing B-1B Lancer + the substantial 89th Attack Squadron + the substantial post-2027 B-21 Raider beddown + the substantial Ellsworth AFB selected as one of two B-21 main operating bases alongside Whiteman AFB MO + the substantial Ellsworth AFB $3B+ B-21 infrastructure modernization + the substantial Ellsworth AFB cleared welder + cleared facility + the substantial Ellsworth ground support equipment GSE) supports specialized aerospace cleared welder work — Ellsworth AFB senior aerospace welders clear $62-98K with AWS D17.1 aerospace + cleared facility access. 3M Brookings (~1K 3M Brookings employees + the substantial 3M industrial welder + the substantial 3M abrasives + adhesive manufacturing) + Daktronics Brookings (the substantial Daktronics LED display + scoreboard manufacturing + the substantial Daktronics SDSU + the substantial Daktronics aluminum + steel welder + the substantial Daktronics post-1968 founding) + Raven Industries Sioux Falls (CNH Industrial post-2021 acquisition + the substantial Raven ag tech precision welder + the substantial Raven autonomous ag + the substantial Raven Sioux Falls 1956 founding) support specialized industrial welder work. Boilermakers Local 647 Minneapolis MN cross-border + United Association Plumbers Pipefitters Local 565 Sioux Falls + IBEW Local 426 Sioux Falls + Ironworkers Local 512 Minneapolis MN cross-border + Sheet Metal Workers Local 10 Minneapolis MN cross-border + the substantial SD building trades operate substantial collective bargaining at SD industrial + ag-industrial prevailing wage rates — though SD IS a Right-to-Work state (signed 1946 + one of the very earliest US RTW states) limiting union security clauses, the substantial SD building trades retain prevailing-wage public works contracts. AWS Certified Welder + 6G + API 1104 + ASME Section IX + AWS D1.1 + AWS D17.1 aerospace + ASME BPE + GMP + cleared facility cert drive 30-60% wage premium. Southeast Tech + Western Dakota Tech + Lake Area Tech + Mitchell Tech + Boilermakers Local 647 apprenticeship pipeline. SD 0% W-2 income tax + SD 4.5% sales tax + SD NO estate tax + SD IS a Right-to-Work state anchor the SD welder proposition.