---
title: "Server Minimum Wage in South Dakota (2026)"
url: https://www.tipmaxapp.com/us/answers/south-dakota/server-wage
language: en
publisher: TipMax (Entermaurs Incorporated)
date_published: 2026-09-23
last_verified: 2026-09-23
---

# What’s the minimum wage for servers in South Dakota?

**Short answer:** South Dakota servers must be paid at least $5.93 an hour in cash, against a state minimum wage of $11.85. The tip credit allows your employer to use tips for up to half of that minimum. When tips plus the $5.93 fall short of $11.85 an hour, the employer covers what’s missing.

## South Dakota at a glance

| Rule | South Dakota | Federal |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Minimum wage | $11.85 | Federal: $7.25 |
| Tipped cash wage (paid before tips) | $5.93 | Federal: $2.13 |
| Can tips count toward minimum wage? | Yes | DOL: Yes |

As of the U.S. Department of Labor table revised July 1, 2026. Your city may set a higher rate.

## What’s different in South Dakota

South Dakota links the tipped wage to the minimum instead of picking a separate fixed number. The tip credit is capped at 50% of the applicable minimum, so the cash floor follows the minimum. The minimum itself is adjusted each year by a set formula, so expect your tipped rate to move with it.

The tipped-employee test differs slightly too. The DOL table lists more than $35 a month in tips as the cutoff, a touch above the federal one.

Compared with the federal $2.13, an employer here pays you a good deal more before the first tip. The May 2025 BLS median for waiters and waitresses in South Dakota was $13.94 per hour. That figure comes from employer estimates and counts reported tips, so it describes the market loosely and says nothing certain about your shifts.

## Example shift

Say you work 6 hours and walk out with $120 in tips (illustrative numbers; use your own).

1. Wages: $5.93 × 6 = **$35.58**.
2. With tips: $35.58 + $120 = **$155.58**, or **$25.93 an hour**.
3. If your tips for the week don’t bring you to $11.85 an hour, federal law says your employer has to make up the difference.

**What servers earn:** BLS estimates the median hourly wage for waiters and waitresses in South Dakota was **$13.94** in May 2025. BLS counts tips in this figure, but the numbers come from employers’ estimates.

Check your own week: https://www.tipmaxapp.com/tools/tipped-wage-check

## Official sources

- [U.S. Department of Labor: Minimum wages for tipped employees (state table)](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/state/minimum-wage/tipped)
- [U.S. Department of Labor: State minimum wage laws](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/minimum-wage/state)
- [BLS: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, waiters and waitresses (35-3031)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes353031.htm)
- [South Dakota labor agency](http://www.dlr.sd.gov/)

## Last verified

September 23, 2026. Checked the U.S. Department of Labor state tables (revised July 1, 2026) and BLS OEWS May 2025.

## About TipMax

South Dakota caps the tip credit at half of the $11.85 minimum, and that minimum resets yearly by formula, so logging your rate and tips each pay period catches a missed raise.

TipMax is an iPhone app for servers and bartenders that tracks tips and tip-outs and turns a restaurant menu into study flashcards.

Download TipMax free: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tipmax-study-track-earn/id6744850146

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TipMax Answers explains public government guidance on pay and workplace rules in plain English for tipped workers. It is **not legal, tax, or accounting advice**. Rules change and local rules can add to them. Confirm with the agency linked on this page or a qualified professional. TipMax the app helps you track tips and pay; it doesn’t enforce wage law or decide disputes.