South Dakota Higher Education Outcome Report

• Institutions

  18

  34,255 students enrolled

• Graduates / Year

  ~4,820

  Estimated annual completers

• Median Earnings

  46th pct

  $48,179

  27th of 50 states

• Mobility Score

  61st pct

  1.8%

  18th of 46 states

• Talent Retention

  54th pct

  78%

  First-year retention rate

• Value Ratio

  50th pct

  2.8x

  Earnings per net-price dollar

1. 1

   Upward mobility is a defining strength: the state's institutions move bottom-quintile students into the top quintile at a 1.8% rate, in the 61st percentile nationally.

2. 2

   Degree production is led by Healthcare and Business, which together account for 40% of graduates. That diversified mix sets what the state's labor pipeline can supply.

3. 3

   Engineering is the standout sector: graduates earn $63,664, +23.4% versus the national median. That premium points to a real wage advantage rather than sheer volume.

4. 4

   Business shows oversupply pressure: graduate earnings run 12% below the national median, suggesting the field produces more graduates than the local market rewards.

5. 5

   On value, South Dakota returns 2.8x earnings per dollar of net price, roughly average cost-to-outcome efficiency in the country.

6. 6

   The state's strongest mobility engine is Mitchell Technical College, which moves bottom-quintile students into the top quintile at a 3.1% rate, the highest in South Dakota.

• Earnings vs National

  ▲ +0%

  Median graduate earnings in South Dakota are above the national average by 0%.

• Cost vs National

  ▲ -5.1%

  Net price in South Dakota is lower than the national average by 5%.

• Mobility Rate

  ▲ +0.03pp

  Upward mobility rate is 0 percentage points above the national average.

• Completion Rate

  ▼ -3.5pp

  South Dakota's graduation rate is 3.5 percentage points below the national average.

• Best Value

  ▲ 11.9x

  Top value school: Oglala Lakota College ($22,517 earnings vs $1,895 net price).

• Top Mobility School

  ▲ 3.1%

  Highest mobility rate: Mitchell Technical College at 3.1%.

Healthcare (24% of graduates) and Business (16% of graduates) dominate South Dakota's higher education output. Graduates in the top field earn a weighted average of $47,156.

• Healthcare

  24%

  $47,156 avg

• Business

  16%

  $44,620 avg

• Technology

  9%

  $50,328 avg

• Education

  9%

  $44,110 avg

• Sciences

  8%

  $53,631 avg

South Dakota's highest-ROI degree cluster is Trades (Culinary & Personal Services), where graduates average $42,587 against a net cost of $10,805, a 3.9x return. That's -17.4% vs the national median.

• Culinary & Personal Services

  3.9x
  $42,587 earnings · $10,805 net -17.4% vs natl

• Legal Studies

  3.4x
  $37,222 earnings · $10,877 net -27.8% vs natl

• Transportation

  3.3x
  $43,082 earnings · $12,867 net -16.5% vs natl

• Construction Trades

  3.3x
  $36,882 earnings · $11,021 net -28.5% vs natl

• Engineering

  3.3x
  $50,443 earnings · $15,444 net -2.2% vs natl

• Precision Production

  3.1x
  $45,791 earnings · $14,877 net -11.2% vs natl

Three lenses on South Dakota's talent pipeline: which fields produce the most graduates, which command the highest earnings, and where high-pay demand outruns local supply.

South Dakota's colleges post an average mobility rate of 1.8%, which puts the state in the 61st percentile nationally. 10% of students arrive from bottom-quintile households. Cross-class social connectedness averages 1.49, a proxy for the networks that help graduates convert a degree into mobility.

South Dakota's Engineering programs produce graduates earning $63,664, +23.4% relative to the national median. Business graduates, however, earn 12% below the national median, a possible sign the state produces more of these degrees than its labor market absorbs.

• Healthcare

  24% of enrollment
  $45,773 -11.2% vs natl

  12 schools

• Business

  16% of enrollment
  $45,380 -12% vs natl

  17 schools

• Technology

  9% of enrollment
  $46,539 -9.8% vs natl

  5 schools

• Education

  9% of enrollment
  $46,488 -9.9% vs natl

  11 schools

• Sciences

  8% of enrollment
  $55,538 +7.7% vs natl

  5 schools

• Engineering

  7% of enrollment
  $63,664 +23.4% vs natl

  2 schools

South Dakota's higher education system includes 1 research-oriented, 2 specialized, 3 access-oriented, 12 regional institutions. Each group plays a different role in the state's outcomes.

• 🔬

  1

  Research Universities

• 🏛️

  12

  Regional Universities

• 🚀

  3

  Access-Oriented Institutions

• 🎯

  2

  Specialized Institutions

29% of South Dakota's colleges charge under $15K net. Graduates of those schools average $33,199 at 10 years.

• NET PRICE UNDER $15K

  5

  29% of schools

  Avg earnings: $33,199

• NET PRICE $15K–$25K

  12

  71% of schools

  Avg earnings: $52,695

Schools ranked by median graduate earnings 10 years after enrolling.

1. 01 South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Rapid City, SD $72,257
2. 02 Augustana University Sioux Falls, SD $59,217
3. 03 South Dakota State University Brookings, SD $55,070
4. 04 University of Sioux Falls Sioux Falls, SD $54,521
5. 05 Dakota Wesleyan University Mitchell, SD $53,728
6. 06 University of South Dakota Vermillion, SD $51,926
7. 07 Dakota State University Madison, SD $50,970
8. 08 Mitchell Technical College Mitchell, SD $50,743

What graduates in South Dakota earn relative to what they pay for college.

Every figure on this page is derived from public federal data and read within its regional and economic context. Information Gain Policy →