Framing Cost Calculator for South Dakota - Free 2026 Cost Estimates

South Dakota Framing Labor Costs — Verified from BLS OEWS (2025)

Every figure on this page is a published U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics value. Last verified 2026-06-20.

In South Dakota, carpenters — the core trade for framing work — earn a mean wage of $24.68/hr ($51,330 per year) in the 2025 BLS OEWS release. That is 22% below the national average (national mean $65,630 per year). South Dakota employs about 4,560 carpenters statewide. Related trades that price into a typical framing job include construction laborers ($44,310/yr), first-line supervisors of construction trades ($78,970/yr). Because labor is the largest variable cost on most framing projects, these published state wage levels are the biggest single reason framing costs differ between South Dakota and other states. Every figure here is a mean value published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and is refreshed automatically when BLS releases new OEWS data.

Across the trades that touch a typical framing job in South Dakota, BLS reports mean wages of carpenters at $51,330 per year ($24.68/hr); construction laborers at $44,310 per year ($21.30/hr); first-line supervisors of construction trades at $78,970 per year ($37.96/hr). The spread between first-line supervisors of construction trades ($78,970) and construction laborers ($44,310) reflects differences in skill, certification, and supervisory responsibility on South Dakota job sites, and it is why a detailed, line-item estimate beats a single blended rate when you are budgeting framing work.

Half of South Dakota carpenters earn less than the median of $48,140 per year — below the $51,330 mean, which a smaller number of higher earners pulls upward. For budgeting, the median is often the more realistic figure for routine framing crews. BLS counts roughly 4,560 carpenters, 1,780 construction laborers, 2,360 first-line supervisors of construction trades employed across South Dakota, a measure of how deep the local framing-trade labor pool is and how much competition for crews you can expect when scheduling work.

When you budget a framing job in South Dakota, treat these BLS wage levels as the labor-rate floor: a crew's billed rate adds overhead, insurance, equipment, and margin on top of the $24.68/hr mean wage shown above. Because South Dakota's carpenters wages sit 22% below the national average, a framing quote that comes in far below these published rates is worth a second look — labor that cheap usually signals a different scope, materials, or crew experience. Use the calculator on this page to combine these South Dakota labor rates with your project's material quantities for a complete estimate.

Wages are statewide means published by BLS and reflect labor cost only — not the total installed cost of a project. Use the calculator below for a full materials-and-labor estimate, and always obtain written bids from licensed South Dakota contractors.