How much do South Dakota college graduates earn?

The median bachelor's program in South Dakota pays its graduates $45,007 in their first year, the median associate's program $41,564, and the median certificate program $36,942.

How much student debt do South Dakota graduates have?

The median bachelor's program in South Dakota leaves its graduates with $26,600 in federal debt (national $25,000), the median associate's program $14,978 (national $15,186), and the median certificate program $12,000 (national $10,780).

How many South Dakota colleges report graduate pay?

18 South Dakota schools report first-year pay for at least one program, 185 programs in all. 14 of them have at least one program with its own page here.

South Dakota Colleges and Majors, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

185 programs report first-year pay
14 schools with program pages
5 field rankings

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BEA price parities 2024

The short answer

The median South Dakota bachelor's program pays its graduates $45,007 in their first year, $4,966 more than the national median. Of the 4 bachelor's fields ranked in South Dakota, nursing pays the most ($70,622) and psychology the least ($35,425). The median bachelor's program leaves its graduates with $26,600 in federal debt, compared with $25,000 nationally.

Median first-year pay, bachelor's$45,007Across 114 programs. National $40,042

Median pay after 5 years, bachelor's$53,736Across 125 programs. National $57,933

Median federal debt, bachelor's$26,600Across 115 programs. National $25,000

Prices compared with the US11% lowerBEA price level 88.6, US average 100

Pay and debt by credential

Medians across every South Dakota program at each credential that reports the figure, next to the national median.

Credential	Programs	Year 1 pay	National	Debt	National
Bachelor's	114	$45,007	$40,042	$26,600	$25,000
Associate's	53	$41,564	$38,507	$14,978	$15,186
Certificate	18	$36,942	$31,106	$12,000	$10,780

Bachelor's fields in South Dakota, ranked

Each row is one field's median across its South Dakota bachelor's programs. Field names link to the full ranking of those programs.

#	Field	Programs	Year 1 pay	Debt
1	Nursing (BSN)	7	$70,622	$28,644
2	Business Administration	8	$45,215	$27,000
3	Teacher Education	8	$45,025	$26,800
4	Psychology	5	$35,425	$25,608

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.

One certificate field in South Dakota

Each row is one field's median across its South Dakota certificate programs. Field names link to the full ranking of those programs.

Field	Programs	Year 1 pay	Debt
Practical Nursing	5	$38,446	$17,600

14 South Dakota schools

Every South Dakota school with at least one program page. School names link to the school's page, which ranks all its programs. Schools with one program link straight to that program.

School	City	Type	Programs
Augustana University	Sioux Falls	Private nonprofit	6
Black Hills State	Spearfish	Public	9
Dakota State	Madison	Public	8
Dakota Wesleyan UniversityNursing (BSN)	Mitchell	Private nonprofit	1
Lake Area Technical College	Watertown	Public	16
Mitchell Technical College	Mitchell	Public	16
Mount Marty University	Yankton	Private nonprofit	3
National American University-Rapid City	Rapid City	For-profit	16
Northern State	Aberdeen	Public	6
South Dakota State	Brookings	Public	36
Southeast Technical College	Sioux Falls	Public	12
University of Sioux Falls	Sioux Falls	Private nonprofit	9
University of South Dakota	Vermillion	Public	22
Western Dakota Technical College	Rapid City	Public	12

"Programs" counts the school's programs that report first-year pay.

Common questions

The median nursing bachelor's program in South Dakota pays its graduates $70,622 in their first year, the most of 4 bachelor's fields ranked here. Business administration is next, at $45,215.

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.
Medians are across programs, not students: each program counts once, however many graduates it has.
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 figures when their main campus is in another state.
Price levels are the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities for 2024.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024