College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

South Dakota State University

SDMedium public institution · Overall rank #655 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks South Dakota State University #655 nationally.

Who it’s a good fit for

South Dakota State University is a public university in Brookings, South Dakota, where Health Professions and Agriculture & Natural Resources lead the degree mix. Return is above average.

Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them, and the typical graduate earns above the median at comparable schools. The model attributes part of that gain to the factors it measures, which adds to expected earnings, while the remainder it cannot explain subtracts from them.

The price case turns on income: families in the lowest band pay well below the published cost, while those at the top pay closer to it. Pell students complete at a rate well below the overall cohort, and access is below the levels seen at many peers.

The admission rate is above the median for comparable schools, and most graduates are estimated to enter the workforce rather than continue to graduate study. A student drawn to the largest programs should know that the highest-earning fields are much smaller.

South Dakota State University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
98.3%
Six-year completion[2]
62.4%
Four-year earnings[3]
$63,042

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$18,073
Median student debt[4]
$23,250
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$18,000

South Dakota State University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

South Dakota State University is a public university in Brookings, South Dakota, enrolling 9,198 undergraduates. Its composite standing in the Azimuth ranking sits in the middle of the field among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The four are spread out, with return as the strongest and access as the weakest. The university admits 98.3% of applicants, a rate above the 85.9% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size.

Of students who start full time, 83.8% return for a second year and 62.4% finish within six years. Both figures run above the medians for comparable institutions, which are 73.7% for retention and 49.1% for completion.

An estimated 17.6% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so a portion of the student body did not start at South Dakota State University. The shape is a public university where return is the strongest pillar and access the weakest.

The six-year graduation rate describes the first-time, full-time cohort, so at a school with a transfer intake, it captures a narrower slice of the students who study here.

South Dakota State University's strongest pillar is return, where it sits in the 70th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. That reflects graduates who earn about $3,249 more than the model expects for similar students four years after completion, placing the earnings-beyond-expectations measure in the 66th percentile.

The mobility pillar lands in the 58th percentile, and affordability follows at the 56th percentile. Access is the weakest pillar, in the 19th percentile, which is the only one below the median for nonprofit four-year institutions.

The middle 50% of submitted SAT scores fell between 1,060 and 1,240. For students who submitted ACT scores, the middle 50% ranged from 19 to 25.

Pell Grant recipients make up 16.8% of undergraduates. Azimuth ranks South Dakota State University #1,182 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Pell recipients complete at 39.4%, 23.0 percentage points below the overall six-year graduation rate (62.4%). Azimuth ranks the university #623 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $3,249 more than the model expects for similar students.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

South Dakota State University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#655

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 58
Access & reach
National percentile: 19
Affordability
National percentile: 56
Return on investment
National percentile: 70

01 / South Dakota State University briefing

South Dakota State University cost & financial aid[6][7]

Grants and scholarships reduce the published cost of attendance by $4,795 for the average aid recipient at South Dakota State University, yielding an average net price of $19,841. Aid covers about 19% of the sticker price for that recipient.

The published total of $24,636 includes $9,299 in tuition and fees for state residents and $10,176 for room and board. Out-of-state tuition and fees run $12,809.

That sits $5,773 above the $14,068 median at comparable institutions (same type and size). Azimuth ranks the university #625 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. That places the affordability pillar in the 56th percentile.

South Dakota State University publishes a cost of attendance of $24,636, with in-state tuition and fees at $9,299 and room and board at $10,176. The average net price—what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships—is $14,266 for families earning under $30,000, $18,073 for the $48,001–$75,000 band, and $21,886 for families earning over $110,000.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $7,620. Azimuth ranks the university #625 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Aid covers about 19% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, a savings of $4,795 off the sticker price. The average net price across all aid recipients is $19,841, which sits above the peer median of $14,068 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $5,773.

Out-of-state students face a higher tuition of $12,809, though the net-price figures here are on an in-state basis. Graduates who borrow federal loans leave with a median federal student debt of $23,250, and 95.2% of federal aid recipients take federal loans.

That debt is above the peer median of $21,229 by $2,021, and corresponds to an estimated payment of $264 a month if repaid over ten years. Parents who take out Parent PLUS loans borrow a median of $18,000.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$18,073

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at South Dakota State University

Among borrowers who complete a degree at South Dakota State University, median federal student loan debt is $23,250. That median runs $2,021 above the $21,229 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

If repaid over ten years, the debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $264 a month. Federal borrowing is common here, with 95.2% of federal aid recipients taking federal loans.

Parents who borrow through the separate Parent PLUS program hold a median of $18,000.

Graduates of South Dakota State University earn a median of $63,042 four years after completion, placing the university at the 60th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. That figure is $5,741 above the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Graduates earn about $3,249 more than the model expects for similar students, an outcome at the 66th percentile. Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, stretch from $48,287 in a downside case to $88,574 in an upside case, with the typical scenario at $63,042.

On the borrowing side, the median federal student debt at completion is $23,250, $2,021 above the $21,229 median for comparable institutions. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $264 a month if repaid over ten years.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $18,000. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $264.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$23,250
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$18,000

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$264/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$229/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / South Dakota State University briefing

South Dakota State University career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

South Dakota State University graduates earn a median of $63,042 four years after completion, in the 60th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. That figure sits above the peer median of $57,301 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $5,741.

Azimuth places the return pillar in the 70th percentile. Graduates earn about $3,249 more than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 66th percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $9,620. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $6,371.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,060. The combination of earnings above the peer median and higher-than-expected outcomes points to a solid return, though the institution's own contribution beyond its program mix pulls in the other direction.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates of South Dakota State University who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $63,042. That is $5,741 above the median for comparable institutions (same type and size), which is $57,301.

The figure represents 1,923 completers. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, that median lands at the 60th percentile.

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix range from a downside of $48,287 to an upside of $88,574. These values are scenario estimates, not observed groups or percentiles.

An estimated 26.4% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $63,042. The peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $57,301, so the university sits $5,741 above that benchmark.

Azimuth ranks South Dakota State University #447 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $3,249 more than the model expects for similar students.

That puts the gap at the 66th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $9,620.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $6,371. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,060.

The program mix points toward a range of outcomes. Earnings scenarios, estimated from that mix, run from a downside of $48,287 to an upside of $88,574.

An estimated 26.4% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Earnings four years after completion vary widely by field at South Dakota State University, a pattern the earnings scenarios capture. The downside earnings scenario sits at $48,287 and the upside scenario reaches $88,574.

That spread reflects the mix of programs among the 36 fields with published data. At the top of the range, Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration completers earn a median of $122,169 (62 degrees awarded).

Electrical Engineering graduates reach $103,018, and Mechanical Engineering graduates earn $87,704. The largest program, Nursing, awards 336 degrees and shows a median of $77,932, a figure that sits between the typical and upside scenarios.

South Dakota State University graduates earn about $3,249 more than the model expects for similar students. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, that gap lands at the 66th percentile.

The earnings result runs ahead of the model's expectation, so the value question turns on debt. Borrowers who finish carry a median of $23,250 in federal student loans.

That amount is $2,021 above the median for comparable institutions (same type and size), which is $21,229. If repaid over ten years, the estimated monthly payment is $264.

Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $18,000 in Parent PLUS loans. Graduates earn more than the model predicts, and debt is above the comparable-institution median.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$9,620
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$6,371
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$3,249

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / South Dakota State University briefing

South Dakota State University acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

South Dakota State University admitted 98.3% of applicants, a rate that sits above the median of 85.9% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
98.3%
Approximate lower endpoint
1060
Reported average
1120
Approximate upper endpoint
1240

Enrolled students who submitted scores. This range is not an admission cutoff. The endpoints add section percentiles; they are not verified composite-score percentiles. A separate SAT-equivalent average is not plotted as a median. Source: College Scorecard; sum of section 25th/75th percentiles; enrolled score-submitters.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / South Dakota State University briefing

What are the largest majors at South Dakota State University?[12]

Among the largest programs at South Dakota State University, Mechanical Engineering leads with median earnings of $87,704 four years after completion, alongside 95 degrees awarded. Nursing, the most-awarded field at 336 degrees, follows at $77,932.

The highest-earning program overall, Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration, reaches $122,169 with 62 degrees awarded. Electrical Engineering follows at $103,018 on 19 degrees.

Earnings differ across these fields and the larger moderate-earning programs such as Animal Sciences, where completers earn $53,784.

The university publishes earnings data for 36 bachelor's fields. The largest program, Nursing, awarded 336 degrees and shows a median of $77,932 four years after completion.

Animal Sciences follows with 117 degrees awarded and a median of $53,784, while Mechanical Engineering awarded 95 degrees and reports a median of $87,704. The highest-earning field is Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration, where 62 degrees awarded coincide with a median of $122,169.

Electrical Engineering reaches a median of $103,018, above the national benchmark, while Computer and Information Sciences and Civil Engineering round out the top five at $83,815 and $82,486 respectively.

The bachelor's degrees at South Dakota State University are anchored in the health professions and agriculture, with Health Professions accounting for 22.7% of degrees awarded and Agriculture & Natural Resources for 14.3%. Engineering is the third-largest family at 8.3%.

Across 36 programs with published four-year earnings data, the largest single program is Nursing, at 336 degrees awarded, followed by Animal Sciences with 117 and Mechanical Engineering with 95. The highest-earning program is a smaller one: Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration graduates earn a median of $122,169 four years after completion, from 62 degrees awarded.

Electrical Engineering follows at $103,018, with 19 degrees awarded. Mechanical Engineering, the third-largest program, is also the third-highest-earning at $87,704.

Computer and Information Sciences rounds out the top earners at $83,815, from 27 degrees awarded. The pattern is a university where the largest programs are not the best-paid ones.

Nursing, which awards more degrees than any other program, sits well below the engineering and pharmacy programs in earnings. The highest-earning programs are concentrated in technical and clinical fields, while the largest programs by degrees awarded span health, agriculture, and the sciences. 16.4% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 336 degrees awarded
$77,932
Animal Sciences 117 degrees awarded
$53,784
Mechanical Engineering 95 degrees awarded
$87,704
Biology, General 89 degrees awarded
$54,446
Business/Managerial Economics 85 degrees awarded
Too few graduates to report
Psychology, General 73 degrees awarded
$50,210

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / South Dakota State University briefing

How does South Dakota State University serve students from different backgrounds?

The mobility pillar sits in the 58th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 62.4%, while Pell recipients complete at 39.4%, a figure that sits below the overall rate by 23.0 percentage points.

Graduates earn about $3,249 more than the model expects for similar students. This measure — how much graduates earn compared to what a statistical model predicts — places in the 66th percentile.

South Dakota State University, a public university in Brookings, enrolls 9,198 undergraduates. The university admits 98.3% of applicants, well above the median of 85.9% for comparable institutions.

An estimated 17.6% of undergraduates arrive as transfers or part-time students, and 16.8% receive Pell Grants. Azimuth places the access pillar in the 19th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Access is the university's weakest pillar, while its strongest—return—sits in the 70th percentile, reflecting graduates who earn about $3,249 more than the model expects for similar students.

06 / South Dakota State University briefing

What colleges are similar to South Dakota State University?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with South Dakota State University.

Admissions peerUniversity of South Dakota98.8% admitted
Comparison with South Dakota State University
MeasureSouth Dakota State UniversityUniversity of South Dakota
Peer earnings · 4 years$63,042$62,334-$708 vs South Dakota State University
Average annual net price$19,841$19,858+$17 vs South Dakota State University · higher cost
Admission rate98.3%98.8%
Explore University of South Dakota →
Nearby alternativeDakota Wesleyan UniversityNearby option · SD
Comparison with South Dakota State University
MeasureSouth Dakota State UniversityDakota Wesleyan University
Peer earnings · 4 years$63,042$64,461+$1,419 vs South Dakota State University
Average annual net price$19,841$19,735-$106 vs South Dakota State University · lower cost
Admission rate98.3%73.4%
Higher-earnings alternativeCal Poly Maritime Academy$108,757 earnings
Comparison with South Dakota State University
MeasureSouth Dakota State UniversityCal Poly Maritime Academy
Peer earnings · 4 years$63,042$108,757+$45,715 vs South Dakota State University
Average annual net price$19,841$20,555+$714 vs South Dakota State University · higher cost
Admission rate98.3%95.0%
Explore Cal Poly Maritime Academy →
Lower-cost alternativeSouthwest Minnesota State University$15,291 average net price
Comparison with South Dakota State University
MeasureSouth Dakota State UniversitySouthwest Minnesota State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$63,042$55,009-$8,033 vs South Dakota State University
Average annual net price$19,841$15,291-$4,550 vs South Dakota State University · lower cost
Admission rate98.3%62.2%
Explore Southwest Minnesota State University →
Similar profileUniversity of Akron Main CampusMatched across several measures
Comparison with South Dakota State University
MeasureSouth Dakota State UniversityUniversity of Akron Main Campus
Peer earnings · 4 years$63,042$62,809-$233 vs South Dakota State University
Average annual net price$19,841$13,946-$5,895 vs South Dakota State University · lower cost
Admission rate98.3%59.7%
Explore University of Akron Main Campus →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance is 150% of the federal poverty guideline for one person, for the year the API serves. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. The parent table is the 10-year payment on the median Parent PLUS as a share of household income above 200% of the guideline for a household of three: under 6% Safe, 6–10% Caution, over 10% High pressure. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

  15. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings