Workers' comp · SD
South Dakota workers' comp calculator
South Dakota pairs a high weekly floor with a ceiling exactly twice its size, and pays the first week back as soon as it is served.
Rules read on official South Dakota pages on · Checked by Radif Partners · How we calculate
- Benefit rate
- 66.67%
- Gross average weekly wage before taxes
- Weekly maximum
- $1,152
- from July 1, 2026
- Weekly minimum
- $576
- or the wage, if lower
- Waiting period
- 7 days
- paid back past 6 days
In South Dakota, temporary total disability equals 66 2/3% of the employee's earnings, between a minimum of $576 and a maximum of $1,152 a week for injuries from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, according to the Department of Labor and Regulation. The maximum is the state average weekly wage rounded up to the next dollar, and the minimum is half of it. A worker earning $950 receives $633; the cap applies from about $1,728 of weekly earnings. Low earners have a guard against being paid more than they took home: anyone who earned under half of the maximum cannot receive more than 100% of net pay after income taxes and FICA. No temporary disability is paid unless the injury keeps you off work 7 consecutive days; once that is met, benefits run from the date of injury. Employees choose their own doctor.
Weekly temporary total disability benefit in South Dakota
$733
$3,178 a month · 66.67% of the wage, tax-free
| 66.67% of $1,100 | $733 |
| Weekly maximum / minimum | $1,152 / $576 |
| Days paid / unpaid waiting days | 30 / 0 |
| Total for the time off | $3,143 |
Estimate of wage-loss benefits for a total disability, from the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, Division of Labor and Management (Workers' Compensation) rates. Medical care is paid separately; partial disability, permanent impairment ratings and settlements follow other rules. How this is calculated.
A minimum worth half the state wage
The DLR compensation rates page sets the 2026 floor at $576 and the ceiling at $1,152. That ratio is written into SDCL 62-4-3: the minimum is one half of the maximum, and the maximum is the state average weekly wage computed each spring from unemployment insurance wage reports. A ranch hand near Rapid City earning $700 would compute to $467 at two thirds; the floor lifts him to $576. An engineer in Pierre earning $2,000 stops at $1,152.
The floor has its own limit. If you earned less than half of the maximum per week, compensation may not exceed 100% of your earnings after federal and state income tax and FICA withholding. The calculator does not compute withholding, so for weekly pay under $576, compare its result with your take-home pay and keep the lower number.
The seventh day settles it
SDCL 62-4-2 pays nothing for an injury that does not keep you off 7 consecutive days, and pays everything once it does. A meatpacking line worker in Sioux Falls earning $950 who misses six days receives $0; one more day and the total is $633, counted from the date of injury. There is no second threshold to wait for.
Your choice of doctor
South Dakota lets the employee make the initial selection of a physician or surgeon from any licensed practitioner in the state, as long as the employer is told before treatment or as soon as reasonably possible. Treatment from a provider picked in disregard of that rule is not the employer's responsibility. Mileage for travel to and from treatment is reimbursed at $0.76 per mile from October 1, 2026.
Back injuries and the 312-week scale
Scheduled losses are paid at the TTD rate for a fixed number of weeks; a thumb is worth fifty. Injuries to the back, and to body parts not listed, use a proportion of 312 weeks: a back injury rated at 10% of the body as a whole is paid 31.2 weeks at the worker's rate. Permanent total disability benefits receive a cost-of-living allowance each July 1: a 2.5% increase took effect on July 1, 2026. The department also offers a permanent partial disability payment calculator on its rates page.
See how much workers’ comp pays for lump sums and settlements.
The South Dakota rules this calculator applies
| Rule | South Dakota |
|---|---|
| Temporary total disability rate | 66.67% of gross average weekly wage before taxes |
| Weekly maximum | $1,152 |
| Weekly minimum | $576 |
| Applies to | July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 |
| Waiting period | 7 days, paid back when the disability lasts more than 6 days |
| Limit on temporary total benefits | no fixed number of weeks |
Rate. Sixty-six and two-thirds percent of the employee's earnings, not more than 100% of the state average weekly wage (rounded up to the next dollar) and not less than one-half of that amount (SDCL 62-4-3). source
Waiting period. No temporary disability benefits are paid for an injury that does not incapacitate the employee for seven consecutive days; if the seven-day waiting period is met, benefits are computed from the date of injury (SDCL 62-4-2). source
Duration. SDCL 62-4-3 sets no maximum number of weeks for temporary total disability. source
Permanent disability. Permanent partial disability is paid at the TTD rate (subject to the § 62-4-3 limits) for a scheduled number of weeks per body part (e.g. thumb 50 weeks, index finger 35 weeks); injuries to the back or to unlisted body parts are paid as that percentage of 312 weeks that the impairment bears to the body as a whole (SDCL 62-4-6). source
Worth knowing in South Dakota
- The employee makes the initial selection of a medical practitioner or surgeon from among all licensed practitioners in the state and must notify the employer (SDCL 62-4-43). source
- Permanent total disability benefits receive a cost-of-living allowance each July 1: a 2.5% increase took effect on July 1, 2026. source
- The minimum and maximum are reset every July 1 from the state average weekly wage computed by the Department of Labor and Regulation (SDCL 62-4-3.1); for July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026 they were $554 (minimum) and $1,108 (maximum). source
- Mileage for travel to and from treatment is reimbursed at $0.76 per mile from October 1, 2026. source