Which South Dakota business administration program has the lowest debt?

University of South Dakota reports the lowest median federal debt, $22,950, with first-year pay of $47,107.

How much do business administration graduates earn in South Dakota?

The median across 8 South Dakota business administration bachelor's programs is $45,215 in the first year after graduating and $57,947 five years after.

How many business administration bachelor's programs are in South Dakota?

8 South Dakota programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 8 of them also report federal debt.

Business Administration (Bachelor's) Programs in South Dakota, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

8 programs report first-year pay
8 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in Business Administration, Management and Operations

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median South Dakota business administration bachelor's program pays its graduates $45,215 in their first year, $181 less than the national median. Augustana University reports the highest first-year pay ($50,516), and University of South Dakota the lowest median debt ($22,950).

Median first-year pay$45,215National $45,396

Median pay after 5 years$57,947National $62,714

Median federal debt$27,000National $26,000

Debt-to-earnings60%National 55%

All 8 programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	Augustana UniversitySioux Falls · private nonprofit	$50,516	$68,610	$25,112	50%
2	National American University-Rapid CityRapid City · private for-profit	$48,827	$57,947	$46,575	95%
3	University of South DakotaVermillion · public	$47,107	$62,800	$22,950	49%
4	Black Hills StateSpearfish · public	$45,682	$54,682	$27,000	59%
5	Dakota StateMadison · public	$44,748	$55,529	$30,625	68%
6	University of Sioux FallsSioux Falls · private nonprofit	$44,301	$61,651	$24,750	56%
7	Northern StateAberdeen · public	$43,667	$53,939	$27,000	62%
8	Mount Marty UniversityYankton · private nonprofit	$39,625	$50,059	$27,000	68%

Debt and first-year pay at every South Dakota business administration 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 the 8 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Augustana University$50,516
National American University-Rapid City$48,827
University of South Dakota$47,107
Black Hills State$45,682
Dakota State$44,748

Lowest median debt

Lowest debt for the pay

"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to business administration, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

General and Operations Managers

$137,400

Median pay in South Dakota. 4,280 people work in this job in South Dakota. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 285,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $85,990Top 10%: $232,000

First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers

$62,530

Median pay in South Dakota. 1,750 people work in this job in South Dakota. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 127,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $42,940Top 10%: $83,490

First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers

$56,680

Median pay in South Dakota. 3,660 people work in this job in South Dakota. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 113,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $38,270Top 10%: $91,620

Project Management Specialists

$82,250

Median pay in South Dakota. 1,310 people work in this job in South Dakota. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 76,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $58,000Top 10%: $130,400

Common questions

Augustana University in Sioux Falls reports the highest median first-year pay, $50,516. Its median federal debt is $25,112.

Business Administration (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked1,105 programs by pay and debt

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.
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.
Medians are across the business administration bachelor's programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.

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
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024