Which Lake Area Technical College associate's program has the lowest debt?

Welding and Machining graduates leave with a median of $11,001 in federal loans, the lowest among 12 Lake Area Technical College associate's programs that report debt.

How much does Lake Area Technical College cost?

Tuition and fees are $6,718 a year for all students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $15,979 a year.

How many Lake Area Technical College programs report graduate pay?

13 associate's programs and 3 certificate programs at Lake Area Technical College report first-year pay, and 15 of them also report federal debt.

Lake Area Technical College Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Public college
Watertown, SD
1,812 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

13 Lake Area Technical College associate's programs report what graduates earn. Construction Engineering Technology pays the most in the first year ($75,253), and Human Services the least ($26,730). The median program pays $41,340. Lake Area Technical College also has 3 certificate programs that report pay.

Tuition and fees$6,718Per year, for all students

Average net price after aid$15,979Per year

Graduation rate73%Within 1.5 times the normal program length

All 13 associate's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in South Dakota" compares first-year pay with the same field's associate's programs across South Dakota. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in South Dakota
1	Construction Engineering TechnologyAbout 23 graduates a year	$75,253	$65,335	$12,000	1st of 1
2	NursingAbout 46 graduates a year	$66,233	Not reported	$26,212	2nd of 3
3	Electromechanical TechnologyAbout 27 graduates a year	$60,085	Not reported	$13,125	2nd of 2
4	Medical Laboratory ScienceAbout 7 graduates a year	$47,512	Not reported	Not reported	1st of 2
5	Vehicle Maintenance and RepairAbout 133 graduates a year	$47,080	$54,641	$12,000	1st of 4
6	Welding and MachiningAbout 27 graduates a year	$43,436	$52,342	$11,001	1st of 2
7	Agricultural BusinessAbout 104 graduates a year	$41,340	$47,845	$12,000	1st of 1
8	Criminal JusticeAbout 14 graduates a year	$41,230	Not reported	$12,000	2nd of 3
9	FinanceAbout 27 graduates a year	$40,070	$39,173	$17,374	1st of 1
10	Construction Finishing and InspectionAbout 20 graduates a year	$38,635	Not reported	$12,000	1st of 2
11	Allied Health and Medical AssistingAbout 40 graduates a year	$35,932	$44,181	$14,510	2nd of 3
12	MarketingAbout 62 graduates a year	$32,043	$39,495	$14,250	2nd of 2
13	Human ServicesAbout 20 graduates a year	$26,730	$31,016	$12,000	2nd of 2

One more associate's program reports debt but not pay, so it isn't listed.

All 3 certificate programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in South Dakota" compares first-year pay with the same field's certificate programs across South Dakota. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in South Dakota
1	Practical NursingAbout 90 graduates a year	$42,160	$49,276	$17,600	2nd of 5
2	Dental Hygiene and AssistingAbout 20 graduates a year	$36,631	$40,772	$8,250	1st of 2
3	CosmetologyAbout 28 graduates a year	$20,420	$25,629	$12,000	3rd of 4

Program names link to the program's own page, and South Dakota ranks link to the full ranking for the field. A program gets its own page when it reports both pay and debt and at least five South Dakota programs in the field do too.

Quick picks: associate's programs

Highest first-year pay

Construction Engineering Technology$75,253
Nursing$66,233
Electromechanical Technology$60,085
Medical Laboratory Science$47,512
Vehicle Maintenance and Repair$47,080

Lowest median debt

Welding and Machining$11,001
Construction Engineering Technology$12,000
Vehicle Maintenance and Repair$12,000
Agricultural Business$12,000
Criminal Justice$12,000

Largest programs

Vehicle Maintenance and RepairAbout 133 graduates a year
Agricultural BusinessAbout 104 graduates a year
MarketingAbout 62 graduates a year
NursingAbout 46 graduates a year
Allied Health and Medical AssistingAbout 40 graduates a year

Common questions

Construction Engineering Technology graduates earn a median of $75,253 in their first year, the most of 13 Lake Area Technical College associate's programs that report pay.

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Tuition, net price, graduation rate, and admission rate are for the whole school, not one program.
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 rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
NCES, IPEDS tuition and fees, 2023-24, for in-district tuition labels