In 2021, South Dakota collected $5.9 million in motor vehicle operators license, ranking it 43rd in the United States, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of State Government Tax Collections (STC).
The STC survey includes five broad tax categories and up to 25 subcategories. Data is gathered from all 50 state governments and all dependent state-level entities.
The Census Bureau cautions it sets the tax classifications among the survey categories, and they may differ from the classifications set by the state governments.
Below is a breakdown of how taxes were classified by the bureau and how much was collected.
U.S. motor vehicle operators license by State in 2021
| Rank | State | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $385,767,000 |
| 2 | Indiana | $278,503,000 |
| 3 | Florida | $218,600,000 |
| 4 | Illinois | $209,309,000 |
| 5 | Texas | $187,285,000 |
| 6 | West Virginia | $148,902,000 |
| 7 | New York | $134,842,000 |
| 8 | Washington | $125,839,000 |
| 9 | North Carolina | $119,437,000 |
| 10 | Georgia | $117,993,000 |
| 11 | Pennsylvania | $94,891,000 |
| 12 | Massachusetts | $86,081,000 |
| 13 | Ohio | $83,059,000 |
| 14 | Virginia | $80,230,000 |
| 15 | Michigan | $66,802,000 |
| 16 | New Jersey | $60,487,000 |
| 17 | Minnesota | $59,219,000 |
| 18 | Connecticut | $51,650,000 |
| 19 | Tennessee | $48,880,000 |
| 20 | Oregon | $48,734,000 |
| 21 | Colorado | $44,038,000 |
| 22 | Alabama | $43,783,000 |
| 23 | Wisconsin | $41,167,000 |
| 24 | Arizona | $35,777,000 |
| 25 | Nevada | $30,163,000 |
| 26 | Utah | $29,576,000 |
| 27 | Kansas | $28,775,000 |
| 28 | Maryland | $23,715,000 |
| 29 | Kentucky | $23,037,000 |
| 30 | Iowa | $21,978,000 |
| 31 | Oklahoma | $21,471,000 |
| 32 | Arkansas | $19,739,000 |
| 33 | Mississippi | $19,466,000 |
| 34 | Missouri | $17,234,000 |
| 35 | Vermont | $14,464,000 |
| 36 | Maine | $13,178,000 |
| 37 | Idaho | $12,261,000 |
| 38 | Nebraska | $11,523,000 |
| 39 | New Hampshire | $10,200,000 |
| 40 | Delaware | $8,379,000 |
| 41 | Rhode Island | $8,049,000 |
| 42 | Montana | $7,947,000 |
| 43 | South Dakota | $5,942,000 |
| 44 | District of Columbia | $5,784,000 |
| 45 | Louisiana | $5,619,000 |
| 46 | North Dakota | $5,386,000 |
| 47 | New Mexico | $5,004,000 |
| 48 | South Carolina | $4,915,000 |
| 49 | Wyoming | $4,675,000 |
| 50 | Hawaii | $327,000 |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
