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Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in South Dakota

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2023 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in South Dakota

4 Colleges
$57,601 Avg Salary
$21,889 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing Associate Degree School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in South Dakota with 1,022 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for nursing students. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Nursing Degree Search has created its Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in South Dakota ranking. This report analyzed 4 schools in South Dakota to see which ones offered the best associate degree programs for nursing students. The factors used to develop this ranking include those related to how in-demand the school is, the overall quality of the school, and post-graduation wages, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in South Dakota

The following schools top our list of the Best Nursing Associate Degree Colleges.

Top South Dakota Schools for an Associate in Nursing

Our 2023 rankings named Lake Area Technical Institute the best school in South Dakota for nursing students working on their associate degree. Located in the town of Watertown, LATI is a public school with a small student population.

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#2

Southeast Technical College

Sioux Falls, SD

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Southeast Technical College. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in South Dakota list. Located in the rural area of Sioux Falls, Southeast Tech is a public school with a small student population.

Nursing majors at Southeast Tech take out an average of $33,072 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Western Dakota Technical Institute is a great place for nursing students working on their associate degree. Located in the rural area of Rapid City, Western Dakota Tech is a public school with a small student population.

Full Nursing at Western Dakota Technical Institute Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Oglala Lakota College. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in South Dakota list. Oglala Lakota College is a small public school located in the rural area of Kyle.

After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from Oglala Lakota College carry an average student debtload of $11,529.

Full Nursing at Oglala Lakota College Report

Best Nursing Colleges in the Plains States Region

Explore all the Best Nursing Colleges in the Plains States Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Minnesota 14,890
North Dakota 976
Nebraska 1,908
Kansas 2,633
Iowa 2,966
Missouri 6,840

Nursing Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Registered Nursing 266,651
Family Practice Nurse/Nursing 16,104
Nursing Administration 9,838
Nursing Practice 7,992
Other Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 5,092
Nursing Science 4,600
Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing 2,287
Adult Health Nurse/Nursing 2,021
Nurse Anesthetist 1,936
Public Health/Community Nurse/Nursing 1,883
Critical Care Nursing 773
Geriatric Nurse/Nursing 563
School Nursing 553
Nurse Midwife/Nursing Midwifery 509
Clinical Nurse Leader 444
Clinical Nurse Specialist 419
Perioperative/Operating Room and Surgical Nurse/Nursing 331
Maternal/Child Health and Neonatal Nurse/Nursing 181
Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing 57
Emergency Room/Trauma Nursing 53
Palliative Care Nursing 14
Forensic Nursing 14

Related Major Annual Graduates
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants 84,274

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 4 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Aleksahgabrielle.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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