Ranked 7 of 17 states · median $725/mo · CMS PY2026
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A 40-year-old personal chef in South Dakota pays a median $725/month for a Silver plan before subsidies — 7th of 17 on cost. The cheapest plan in the state is $512 from Avera in Lincoln. On highest out-of-pocket maximum, South Dakota ranks 12 of 17 for this occupation.
Trade work concentrates cost into rare, expensive events rather than spreading it across the year. That inverts the usual shopping logic: a lower premium with a $9,200 ceiling is a worse deal than a higher premium with a $6,000 one, because the ceiling is what you actually hit. These rankings follow the ceiling.
Occupational context: Burns and cuts; prolonged standing; heat exposure.
None of that changes your price. ACA plans in South Dakota are community rated — premium varies by age, ZIP code, tobacco use and household size only. Your occupation cannot be used to rate you, decline you, or exclude a condition. What it changes is which plan design is the right bet.
Premium is set by rating area, so a personal chef in one South Dakota county can pay materially more than one an hour away. Six counties from across the state, cheapest Silver plan for a 40-year-old:
| County | Cheapest Silver @40 | Issuer | Deductible | Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oglala Lakota | $761 | Wellmark of South Dakota | $5,000 | 3 |
| Minnehaha | $512 | Avera | $6,000 | 2 |
| Hutchinson | $532 | Avera | $6,000 | 2 |
| Clark | $679 | Sanford | $6,000 | 3 |
| Faulk | $679 | Sanford | $6,000 | 3 |
| Roberts | $679 | Sanford | $6,000 | 3 |
The spread across just these six is $249/month — $2,989 a year for the same metal tier. Statewide the range runs $512 to $882. Coverage by County publishes all 66 South Dakota counties individually.
| South Dakota — worst-case exposure | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Lowest annual out-of-pocket maximum | $7,200 |
| Highest annual out-of-pocket maximum | $10,600 |
| Cheapest Gold plan @40 | $559 — Sanford |
| Gold deductible | $2,000 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $512 — Avera |
| Cheapest Silver @50 | $715 |
For a personal chef, the gap between $7,200 and $10,600 in annual out-of-pocket maximum is worth more than any premium difference on this page. One serious injury reaches that ceiling regardless of which plan you picked.
Source: CMS Plan Year 2026 Qualified Health Plan Landscape file. 1,822 plan records across 66 South Dakota counties. Full-price filed rates before premium tax credits — verify at enrollment.
Cheaper for the same coverage: Alabama ($680), Wisconsin ($687), Michigan ($708). More expensive: Oklahoma ($731), Kansas ($765), Tennessee ($773).
Side-by-side: South Dakota vs Wisconsin · South Dakota vs Michigan · South Dakota vs Oklahoma · South Dakota vs Kansas
Cross-state numbers are useful for understanding whether South Dakota is treating you well, not for arbitrage. You cannot buy an out-of-state exchange plan. If you are a personal chef weighing a relocation for other reasons, the premium difference is a real line item worth putting in the decision.
Deduction categories that generally fit this trade: Ingredients, knives and equipment, vehicle, licensing. Note the ordering problem with health premiums: the §162(l) deduction lowers your AGI, and your AGI is what sets your premium tax credit, so the two calculate against each other. That is a CPA conversation and worth having before you enroll, not after.
If your household income is above the subsidy range, ACA is not automatically the answer. There are other categories of coverage that may fit, and they work very differently. That is a conversation, not a web page.
The BLS median wage for Chefs and Head Cooks in South Dakota is $46,510 a year (May 2024). Starting pay — the 10th percentile — is about $37,640. The middle half earn $43,680 to $53,990, and the top 10% more than $55,390. BLS counts about 290 people doing this work for an employer in South Dakota. The self-employed are not in the BLS survey, so this is the going rate for the work, not your own number.
The cheapest Silver plan for a 40-year-old in South Dakota is $512 per month from Avera, with a state median of $725. Both figures are full price before premium tax credits; most buyers pay less after subsidies.
It cannot happen on an exchange plan. Rating in South Dakota uses four inputs only: age, ZIP code, tobacco use and how many people are on the policy. Trade, injury history and pre-existing conditions are all excluded from pricing by law.
Yes. Plan types filed for 2026: EPO, HMO, PPO.
South Dakota ranks 7 of 17 states covered here, at a median $725 per month. Indiana is cheapest at $558 and Nebraska is most expensive at $875.
Below the cliff. At this income a single-person household remains eligible for a premium tax credit in 2027.
This occupation sits above the cliff in 1 of the 23 states reported and below it in the other 22, so the answer changes with the state.
What this figure is. It is the median annual wage BLS reports for Chefs and Head Cooks (SOC 35-1011) in South Dakota. BLS surveys wage and salary workers and excludes the self-employed, so it is a benchmark for the occupation in this state — not the income of a self-employed personal chef. Premium tax credit eligibility is set by household modified adjusted gross income and household size, not by occupation, so treat this as a reference point rather than a determination of what you qualify for.
Why the cliff is back. The enhanced premium tax credits expired on 31 December 2025. For plan year 2027 the 400% FPL limit applies again, so household income above $63,840 ends premium tax credit eligibility outright.
This page compares states. For South Dakota specifically — county-by-county carriers, plan data and enrollment help — I publish that on Coverage by County, including a page written for Personal Chefs in South Dakota and a blog covering deductibles, subsidies and special enrollment.
The South Dakota market currently runs to 3 carriers over 66 counties. Carriers re-file every year, and for Personal Chefs the question that actually decides your renewal is which of them are still there in November.
Rate filings for 2027 point to roughly a 15% median increase nationally, from −1% at one end to 54% at the other. South Dakota has finalised: insurers were approved for an average 10.1% increase for 2027. Your own premium still turns on your plan and county.
Enrollment opens November 1, 2026. Treat December 15 as the deadline: it guarantees January 1 cover on every marketplace, South Dakota included. Conflicting end dates get quoted because a 2025 rule shortened the window and a court vacated it in June 2026, appeal pending — enrol by the 15th and the argument is irrelevant to you.
In your favour: PPOs are sold in all 66 South Dakota counties. That is the type most likely to pay toward out-of-network care, and worth defending at renewal if your work as a personal chef takes you around.
Nothing about 2027 is urgent yet, which is exactly why it is worth ten minutes now. Come November you will be choosing between South Dakota’s carriers under a deadline; today you can do it without one.
Enter a ZIP and a licensed agent will tell you three things:
The sticker price is rarely what Personal Chefs in South Dakota end up paying. Start with a ZIP and a licensed agent will work out your actual number.
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