College ROI in South Dakota

See the strongest eligible ROI and value signals, then browse every covered college located in the state.

Download SD data ↓Read the national value report →Federal data through June 10, 2026

11Colleges with a publishable ROI scenario

$55,541Median observed year-5 earnings

$19,858Median annual net price

−60%Median modeled 10-year ROI

STATE PRICE CONTEXT · 2024

South Dakota's everyday prices are 11.4% below the U.S. average

This statewide BEA benchmark helps put college budgets in context. It is not tuition, a campus-specific cost estimate or an input to our ROI rankings.

Overall prices: 88.6
Housing: 67.6
Utilities: 79.7

TOP 10 · ECONOMIC ROI

Best estimated 10-year return

11 colleges meet the consistent ROI screen.

1South Dakota School of Mines and TechnologyRapid City · Public+60%2Dakota Wesleyan UniversityMitchell · Private nonprofit−38%3University of South DakotaVermillion · Public−43%4South Dakota State UniversityBrookings · Public−47%5University of Sioux FallsSioux Falls · Private nonprofit−54%6Dakota State UniversityMadison · Public−60%7Augustana UniversitySioux Falls · Private nonprofit−62%8Northern State UniversityAberdeen · Public−73%9Mount Marty UniversityYankton · Private nonprofit−77%10Black Hills State UniversitySpearfish · Public−94%

TOP 10 · VALUE

Most earnings per price dollar

Observed five-year earnings divided by annual average net price.

1Oglala Lakota CollegeKyle · Public21.9×2South Dakota School of Mines and TechnologyRapid City · Public4.3×3Northern State UniversityAberdeen · Public3.3×4Dakota Wesleyan UniversityMitchell · Private nonprofit3.1×5University of South DakotaVermillion · Public3.0×6South Dakota State UniversityBrookings · Public3.0×7Black Hills State UniversitySpearfish · Public2.9×8University of Sioux FallsSioux Falls · Private nonprofit2.7×9Dakota State UniversityMadison · Public2.6×10Augustana UniversitySioux Falls · Private nonprofit2.3×

LOW DEBT · SOLID COMPLETION

Where completer borrowers leave with less federal debt

Limited to currently operating colleges with at least 500 students and a completion rate at or above the South Dakota median among debt-reporting colleges.

1Lake Area Technical CollegeWatertown · Public$12,000median federal debt73%college completion 2Mitchell Technical CollegeMitchell · Public$12,000median federal debt76%college completion 3Southeast Technical CollegeSioux Falls · Public$12,000median federal debt59%college completion 4Western Dakota Technical CollegeRapid City · Public$15,000median federal debt54%college completion 5University of Sioux FallsSioux Falls · Private nonprofit$23,249median federal debt63%college completion 6South Dakota State UniversityBrookings · Public$23,250median federal debt62%college completion 7University of South DakotaVermillion · Public$23,592median federal debt60%college completion 8Augustana UniversitySioux Falls · Private nonprofit$25,000median federal debt73%college completion

Debt covers federal student-loan borrowers who completed. Parent PLUS and private loans are excluded. This view does not rank ROI or guarantee affordability.

ALL COLLEGES IN SD

Browse the full South Dakota directory

24 matching colleges · page 1 of 1

CollegeEarningsNet priceFederal debt10-year ROI

South Dakota School of Mines and TechnologyRapid City · Public$86,809$20,183$27,000+60%Dakota Wesleyan UniversityMitchell · Private nonprofit$61,077$19,735$27,000−38%University of South DakotaVermillion · Public$59,693$19,858$23,592−43%South Dakota State UniversityBrookings · Public$58,627$19,841$23,250−47%University of Sioux FallsSioux Falls · Private nonprofit$57,154$21,383$23,249−54%Dakota State UniversityMadison · Public$55,541$21,057$23,500−60%Augustana UniversitySioux Falls · Private nonprofit$55,473$23,894$25,000−62%Mitchell Technical CollegeMitchell · Public$53,624$13,460$12,000−63%Sinte Gleska UniversityMission · Public$51,687$12,768Not available−71%Northern State UniversityAberdeen · Public$51,509$15,812$22,320−73%Southeast Technical CollegeSioux Falls · Public$50,646$17,400$12,000−77%Mount Marty UniversityYankton · Private nonprofit$51,066$22,227$26,396−77%National American University-Rapid CityRapid City · Private for-profit · Online-only$47,843$31,062$29,020−91%Black Hills State UniversitySpearfish · Public$46,420$15,911$26,000−94%Lake Area Technical CollegeWatertown · Public$45,330$15,979$12,000−99%Western Dakota Technical CollegeRapid City · Public$43,662$12,670$15,000−106%Oglala Lakota CollegeKyle · Public$41,534$1,895Not available−118%Stewart SchoolSioux Falls · Private for-profit$28,596$14,221$6,864−169%The Salon Professional AcademyRapid City · Private for-profit$27,490$18,146$8,500−169%Paul Mitchell the School-Rapid CityRapid City · Private for-profit$22,999$19,694$7,917−185%California Intercontinental UniversitySioux Falls · Private for-profit · Online-only$108,695Not availableNot availableWithheld Kairos UniversitySioux Falls · Private nonprofitNot availableNot availableNot availableWithheld Sanford Medical CenterSioux Falls · Private nonprofitNot availableNot availableNot availableWithheld Sisseton Wahpeton CollegeSisseton · PublicNot available$2,977Not availableWithheld

The directory includes every College Scorecard institution assigned to South Dakota, including online-only colleges at their federal administrative location and historical records marked as not currently operating. Online-only colleges are labeled and excluded from state top-10 lists because their students are not confined to that state. “Not available” means a required federal value was missing or suppressed. Top-10 ROI eligibility requires current operating status, a reported bachelor’s-level program, at least 500 students, observed earnings and average net price of at least $1,000.