Best Community Colleges in South Dakota by Salary Potential

Earning an associate degree can be an important first step toward a successful career. Check out South Dakota’s top community colleges ranked by earning potential.

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RankSchool NameSchool SectorEarly Career Pay
Mid-Career Pay
% High Meaning
% STEM Degrees
Rank:1School Name:University of South DakotaSchool Sector:PublicEarly Career Pay:$62,000Mid-Career Pay:$84,600% High Meaning:60%% STEM Degrees:8%
Rank:2School Name:Dakota Wesleyan UniversitySchool Sector:Private not-for-profitEarly Career Pay:$55,100Mid-Career Pay:$77,500% High Meaning:-% STEM Degrees:5%
Rank:3School Name:Presentation CollegeSchool Sector:Private not-for-profitEarly Career Pay:$50,600Mid-Career Pay:$73,100% High Meaning:-% STEM Degrees:9%
Rank:4School Name:Southeast Technical CollegeSchool Sector:PublicEarly Career Pay:$50,500Mid-Career Pay:$71,300% High Meaning:54%% STEM Degrees:12%
Rank:5School Name:Lake Area Technical CollegeSchool Sector:PublicEarly Career Pay:$47,800Mid-Career Pay:$70,100% High Meaning:63%% STEM Degrees:4%
Rank:6School Name:Mitchell Technical CollegeSchool Sector:PublicEarly Career Pay:$49,100Mid-Career Pay:$69,200% High Meaning:63%% STEM Degrees:1%
Rank:7School Name:Western Dakota Technical CollegeSchool Sector:PublicEarly Career Pay:$44,100Mid-Career Pay:$64,700% High Meaning:63%% STEM Degrees:4%
Rank:8School Name:Dakota State UniversitySchool Sector:PublicEarly Career Pay:$42,200Mid-Career Pay:$62,300% High Meaning:-% STEM Degrees:74%

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College Student

For the Payscale College Salary Report, we’ve included a selection of community colleges in South Dakota — in hopes of giving you a valuable metric for determining what school can give you the best return on your investment. The factors that drive that include both early career and mid career salary, and go as far as determining how many students find value in their careers. Included in this report are associate degree programs like the University of South Dakota, Mitchell Technical Institute (MTI), Southeast Technical Institute, and Lake Area Technical Institute (LATI).

Overall, students from these schools go on to perform a diverse array of jobs, from nursing, to customer service representatives, and more.