Dakota Wesleyan University Nursing (BSN): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
- Private nonprofit university
- Mitchell, SD
- About 35 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Dakota Wesleyan University nursing graduates earn less than graduates of most nursing programs nationally, $67,981 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $31,000 in federal loans, more than at 80% of nursing programs in the country. Several South Dakota programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The South Dakota and national columns are the medians across all nursing bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Dakota Wesleyan University graduates earn less than the national figure but about $4,652 more than the South Dakota median.
Debt and first-year pay at every South Dakota nursing program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the South Dakota medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
Some nursing bachelor's programs are for nurses who are already licensed and working (RN-to-BSN). College Scorecard counts them with programs for new students, and their graduates' pay reflects years of nursing experience, so high pay at a program here may not mean higher starting pay for a new nurse.
What graduates earn over time
Pay rises about 16% between the first and fifth year. Registered nurses in South Dakota earn a median of $78,060 across all experience levels.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate. BLS figures cover registered nurses at every experience level.
Does family income change the outcome?
Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned about the same in their first year as other graduates, but borrowed more: a median of $40,801 against $27,000.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $329 a month, or 5.8% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
76% of graduates (68 of 90) were working in South Dakota one year after graduating. Prices in the parts of South Dakota outside metro areas are about 13% below the national average, so a $67,981 salary here buys what about $78,427 buys in a typical US city.
The median South Dakota RN earns $78,060, compared with a national median of $97,550. After adjusting for South Dakota prices, that pay is worth about $88,118, which puts South Dakota behind.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to nursing, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Registered Nurses
$78,060Median pay in South Dakota. 14,710 people work in this job in South Dakota. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 180,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Medical and Health Services Managers
$122,050Median pay in South Dakota. 1,140 people work in this job in South Dakota. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 24% from 2025 to 2035, with about 62,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.
Nurse Practitioners
$128,840Median pay in South Dakota. 1,020 people work in this job in South Dakota. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 41% from 2025 to 2035, with about 29,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.
Nurse Anesthetists
$263,930Median pay in South Dakota. 400 people work in this job in South Dakota. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 10% from 2025 to 2035, with about 2,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.
About Dakota Wesleyan University
Nursing is the only bachelor's program at Dakota Wesleyan University that reports first-year earnings.
Common questions
The median graduate earns $67,981 one year after graduating and $78,645 five years after. Registered nurses in South Dakota earn a median of $78,060 across all experience levels.
The median federal loan balance is $31,000, which ranks 5th lowest of 7 nursing bachelor's programs in South Dakota. That works out to about $329 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 46% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 36%. Compare the cost with other South Dakota programs before deciding.
Most do. 76% (68 of 90) were working in South Dakota one year after graduating.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of South Dakota comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the nursing program.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024