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South Dakota Colleges by the Numbers
12 college profiles in our South Dakota directory. Available measures vary by school. Open a profile to check each figure’s year, student group and source.
State overview and medians
Reported tuition (in-state for public schools) runs from $4,714 at the cheapest campus to $40,160 at the most expensive — a $35,446 spread inside South Dakota alone. South Dakota's ten-year earnings benchmark of $51,926 sits 3% below the national median of reported school-level earnings in the reference group, not the median income of all college students. In the Fall 2024 filings for South Dakota, 0 listed schools reported requiring test scores and 2 reported not considering them. 2 had no recorded policy. Check each school's current admissions requirements.
South Dakota has 12 college profiles in this directory; available measures vary by school — from South Dakota State University at 9,198 undergraduates down to campuses a fraction of that size. Among the listed schools with reported rates, the lowest historical acceptance rate is at Mount Marty University at 42.6% admitted; the highest is at University of South Dakota at 98.8%.
Each South Dakota profile names its data years and student groups. Check these before comparing South Dakota schools.
South Dakota medians
| Acceptance rate | Tuition (in-state) | Median annual earnings, 10 years after entry | 6-year graduation: first-time, full-time entrants |
|---|---|---|---|
| 84.6% | $10,077 | $51,926 | 52.4% |
Medians across 12 active bachelor's-degree institutions in South Dakota; the directory below lists 12 published profiles. These are medians of school-level figures, not medians across all students. Missing measures are excluded from each median.
All South Dakota colleges in our data
Admissions and score ranges: Fall 2024. Tuition is published price, not total attendance cost; public-school prices are in-state. Scroll the table sideways for more measures.
| College | City | Acceptance | SAT section sums / ACT | Tuition | Undergrads | Annual earnings, 10 years after entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Augustana University | Sioux Falls | 67.7% | 1150–1370 | $40,160 | 1,965 | $59,217 |
| Black Hills State University | Spearfish | 96.3% | 965–1135 | $8,764 | 1,928 | $46,674 |
| Dakota State University | Madison | 88% | 1190–1440 | $9,654 | 2,071 | $50,970 |
| Dakota Wesleyan University | Mitchell | 73.4% | not considered | $33,790 | 670 | $53,728 |
| Mount Marty University | Yankton | 42.6% | ACT 18–25 | $34,600 | 697 | $48,179 |
| National American University-Rapid City | Rapid City | — | — | $16,065 | 764 | $37,325 |
| Northern State University | Aberdeen | 93% | 980–1160 | $8,845 | 1,273 | $47,618 |
| Sinte Gleska University | Mission | — | — | $4,714 | 487 | $20,948 |
| South Dakota School of Mines and Technology | Rapid City | 79.9% | 1140–1340 | $10,500 | 2,071 | $72,257 |
| South Dakota State University | Brookings | 98.3% | 1060–1240 | $9,299 | 9,198 | $55,070 |
| University of Sioux Falls | Sioux Falls | 82.9% | not considered | $21,750 | 1,218 | $54,521 |
| University of South Dakota | Vermillion | 98.8% | 1125–1315 | $9,432 | 5,439 | $51,926 |
Scores shown are among students who submitted them; "not considered" describes that historical cycle. SAT endpoints sum section percentiles and are not total-score percentiles or admission cutoffs. A dash means the measure is unavailable in this source, not zero. School profiles explain missing and withheld values.
Data: IPEDS ADM2024 (Fall 2024 admissions, provisional) · IPEDS HD2024/IC2024 directory · College Scorecard 2026-06-10 release. The summary snapshot does not verify the exact observation years for earnings; it must not be read as current pay. Annual earnings cover federally aided students who worked and were not enrolled when measured, 10 years after entry, and may be shared across institutions. See each profile for its source limitations. Retrieved 2026-09-01.