South Dakota Wind jobs: 1,831 employed (2024)
As of the 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Report, South Dakota employs 1,831 people in the wind sector — about 1.4% of the U.S. total. That makes South Dakota the 18th-largest state for wind jobs nationwide.
Wind Jobs in South Dakota (2024)
National share: 1.38% of all U.S. wind jobs.
Typical Median Wage
1. Employment Landscape
South Dakota ranks 18th out of 51 U.S. states in wind employment. At 1,831 workers, the state sits above the 25th-ranked Arizona’s tally by 341 jobs, and trails the national leader Texas by 26,293 wind workers.
1.1 South Dakota’s position vs. the top 10 and median states
1.2 Share of U.S. total
The wind sector nationwide employs roughly 132,984 workers; South Dakota accounts for 1,831 of them.
1.3 Where South Dakota sits in its own mix
| Sector | Jobs (2024) | National rank |
|---|---|---|
| Energy Efficiency | 7,898 | #45 |
| Wind | 1,831 | #18 |
| Solar | 743 | #46 |
| Storage & Grid | 340 | #43 |
| Electric Vehicles | 327 | #40 |
| Clean Fuels | 79 | #43 |
| Hydropower | 65 | #48 |
1.4 Sub-sector breakdown in South Dakota
Every wind-related sub-category reported for South Dakota in the USEER workbook, ranked by employment.
2. Pay & Career Roles in South Dakota
South Dakota contributes 1.38% of the nation’s wind workforce. Within South Dakota’s own clean-energy economy, wind accounts for 16.2% of total clean-energy jobs (1,831 of 11,282 workers).
Cost-of-living in South Dakota is roughly 10.3% lower the U.S. average, so the state-adjusted median wage for wind roles in South Dakota is shown alongside the national BLS figure.
| Role | National median | South Dakota-adjusted | Job Zone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wind Energy Engineer | $100,940 | $90,543 | 4 |
| Wind Turbine Service Technician | $61,770 | $55,408 | 3 |
4. Hiring Difficulty & Industry Mix
South Dakota employers rate 14.7% of clean-energy hires as “very difficult” (plus 29.0% as “somewhat difficult”) — easier than the ~22% national baseline. Combined, 43.7% of South Dakota’s clean-energy roles see some level of hiring friction.
4.1 Employer hiring difficulty
4.2 Jobs by NAICS industry group
| Industry (NAICS group) | Jobs (2024) |
|---|---|
| Construction | 9,080 |
| Manufacturing | 5,860 |
| Trade | 5,444 |
| Other Services | 3,922 |
| Utilities | 2,008 |
| Professional Services | 1,638 |
| Pipeline Transport & Commodity Flows | 955 |
| Agriculture and Forestry | 622 |
| Mining and Extraction | 65 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Data source: U.S. Department of Energy — 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Report (reflecting 2024 employment); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics; O*NET Occupation Database 29.1.
Last updated: April 2026.