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2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in South Dakota

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

12 Colleges
$16,538 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$66,704 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing 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.

The Best Value Nursing Schools in South Dakota ranking is one of many tools that Nursing Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 12 schools in South Dakota to see which programs offered the best value experiences for nursing students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in South Dakota

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

Top 10 Best Nursing Schools

Our 2023 rankings named Oglala Lakota College the best value school in South Dakota for nursing students. Oglala Lakota College is a small public school located in the remote area of Kyle.

Oglala Lakota College undergraduate students pay an average of $2,684 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Nursing at Oglala Lakota College Report

$6,718 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Lake Area Technical Institute. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in South Dakota list. Located in the town of Watertown, LATI is a public college with a small student population.

LATI undergraduate students pay an average of $6,718 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

LATI also took the #3 spot in our Best Nursing Schools in South Dakota rankings.

Full Nursing at Lake Area Technical Institute Report

#3

Mount Marty University

Yankton, SD
$29,980 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Mount Marty University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in South Dakota. Mount Marty is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Yankton.

Mount Marty undergraduate students pay an average of $29,980 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Mount Marty carry an average student debtload of $28,832.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Mount Marty is ranked #1 for overall quality for nursing in South Dakota.

Read full report on Nursing at Mount Marty University

#4

Southeast Technical College

Sioux Falls, SD
$7,650 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 12 schools in South Dakota that were part of this year’s ranking, Southeast Technical College landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the rural area of Sioux Falls, Southeast Tech is a public school with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Southeast Tech are $7,650 per year. On average, nursing graduates from Southeast Tech take out $33,500 in student loans while working on their degree.

Southeast Tech also took the #5 spot in our Best Nursing Schools in South Dakota rankings.

Read full report on Nursing at Southeast Technical College

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend South Dakota State University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Schools in South Dakota list. South Dakota State is a large public school located in the town of Brookings.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at South Dakota State are $9,299 per year. While working on their degree, nursing majors at South Dakota State accumulate an average of around $28,000 in student debt. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $162.

South Dakota State did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our Best Nursing Schools in South Dakota list.

Read More…

#6

University of South Dakota

Vermillion, SD

University of South Dakota did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for nursing students. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the distant town of Vermillion, USD is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at USD are $9,432 per year. While working on their degree, nursing majors at USD accumulate an average of around $31,870 in student debt. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $129.

Read full report on Nursing at University of South Dakota

$8,332 Average Tuition & Fees

Western Dakota Technical Institute ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Schools in South Dakota list. Located in the rural area of Rapid City, Western Dakota Tech is a public school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Western Dakota Tech are $8,332 a year.

Full Nursing at Western Dakota Technical Institute Report

#8

University of Sioux Falls

Sioux Falls, SD
$19,900 Average Tuition & Fees

University of Sioux Falls came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Schools in South Dakota ranking. Located in the city of Sioux Falls, University of Sioux Falls is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

University of Sioux Falls undergraduate students pay an average of $19,900 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, nursing majors at University of Sioux Falls accumulate an average of around $31,000 in student debt.

Read full report on Nursing at University of Sioux Falls

#9

Presentation College

Aberdeen, SD
$22,006 Average Tuition & Fees

Presentation College landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value nursing programs. Located in the town of Aberdeen, Presentation College is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Presentation College are $22,006 per year. Nursing majors at Presentation College take out an average of $46,511 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read full report on Nursing at Presentation College

Best Value Nursing Colleges in the Plains States Region

Explore all the Best Value Nursing Schools 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 12 schools only.

  • 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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