In South Dakota's two main metro areas, women earned on average about $11,000 less than their male counterparts in 2013, although that is for all work and not only full-time employment.

That figure places the Sioux Falls and Rapid City metropolitan areas in the middle of the pack for the gender wage gap in the Upper Great Plains region, according to an online analysis of all the nation's metro areas.

The wage gap in Sioux Falls and Rapid City is lower than the national wage gap of almost $13,000, while the Sioux City metro area – part of which is in South Dakota – tops the national average at $14,208. (Sioux Falls' metro area is comprised of Minnehaha, Lincoln, Turner and McCook counties. Rapid City's metro area is comprised of Pennington, Meade and Custer counties. Union County in South Dakota is included in the Sioux City metro area.)

The highest paid men in the Sioux Falls metro area, at an average of $101,000, work in the category of “education, legal, community service, arts and media.” The highest paid women in the Sioux Falls area, at an average of $53,000, work in the category of “computer, engineering and math.”

The lowest paid men in Sioux Falls, at an average of $16,000, work in “food preparation and serving occupations,” while the lowest paid women, at an average of $9,000, work in “farming, fishing and forestry.”

The highest paid men in the Rapid City metro area, at an average of $91,000, work in the category of “health diagnosing and treating practitioners and other technical occupations.” The highest paid women in the Rapid City area, at $54,000, work in “farming, fishing and forestry.”

The lowest paid men in Rapid City, at $13,000, work in “food preparation and serving occupations,” while the lowest paid women, at $11,000, also work in that category.

The similarly situated metro areas in the region with smaller wage gaps are listed below.

• Cheyenne, Wyo. - Wage gap of $10,481

• Grand Forks, N.D. - Wage gap of $10,182

The similarly situated metro areas with larger wage gaps are listed below.

• Casper, Wyo. - Wage gap of $16,486

• Billings. Mont. - Wage gap of $16,335

• Bismarck, N.D. - Wage gap of $15,704

• Fargo, N.D. - Wage gap of $14,100

Nationally, the legal occupations – listed as “management, business, science, education, legal, community service, arts and media” -- had the largest wage gap at $48,118 while the food preparation and serving occupation had the smallest gap, at $1,566.