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Best Value Nursing Schools in South Dakota

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2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in South Dakota

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

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

Finding the Best Nursing School for You

Out of the majors we analyze each year, nursing was the most popular one in South Dakota. In total, 1,022 people earned a degree or certificate in the field from a school in South Dakota.

It's not easy to decide which healthcare program to enroll in when you have so many options available. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

The Best Value Nursing Schools in South Dakota ranking is one of many tools that Healthcare Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 12 schools in South Dakota to see which ones offered the best value programs for nursing students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

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. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

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

$2,684 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found Oglala Lakota College to be the best value school for nursing students who want to pursue a degree in South Dakota. Located in the rural area of Kyle, Oglala Lakota College is a public school with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Oglala Lakota College are $2,684 per year.

Read full report on Nursing at Oglala Lakota College

$6,718 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Lake Area Technical Institute. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Schools in South Dakota list. LATI is a small public school located in the remote town of Watertown.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at LATI are $6,718 a year.

LATI also made our Best Nursing Schools in South Dakota list, coming in at #3.

Full Nursing at Lake Area Technical Institute Report

#3

Mount Marty University

Yankton, SD
$29,980 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Mount Marty University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in South Dakota list. Located in the town of Yankton, Mount Marty is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Mount Marty are $29,980 a year. Nursing majors at Mount Marty take out an average of $28,832 in student loans while working on their egree.

Mount Marty also made our Best Nursing Schools in South Dakota list, coming in at #1.

Full Nursing at Mount Marty University Report

#4

Southeast Technical College

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

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southeast Technical College. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in South Dakota list. Southeast Tech is a small public school located in the rural area of Sioux Falls.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Southeast Tech are $7,650 a year. After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Southeast Tech carry an average student debtload of $33,500.

Southeast Tech not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #5 on our Best Nursing Schools in South Dakota list.

Read full report on Nursing at Southeast Technical College

Out of the 12 schools in South Dakota that were part of this year’s ranking, South Dakota State University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the town of Brookings, South Dakota State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

South Dakota State undergraduate students pay an average of $9,299 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, nursing graduates from South Dakota State take out $28,000 in student loans while working on their degree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $162, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

South Dakota State also took the #2 spot in our Best Nursing Schools in South Dakota rankings.

Read More…

#6

University of South Dakota

Vermillion, SD

University of South Dakota came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Schools in South Dakota ranking. USD is a moderately-sized public school located in the distant town of Vermillion.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at USD are $9,432 a year. On average, nursing graduates from USD take out $31,870 in student loans while working on their degree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $129, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Nursing at University of South Dakota Report

$8,332 Average Tuition & Fees

Western Dakota Technical Institute came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Schools in South Dakota ranking. Western Dakota Tech is a small public school located in the rural area of Rapid City.

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

Read More…

#8

University of Sioux Falls

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

With a ranking of #8, University of Sioux Falls did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students. University of Sioux Falls is a small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Sioux Falls.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at University of Sioux Falls are $19,900 a year. On average, nursing graduates from University of Sioux Falls take out $31,000 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read More…

#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. Presentation College is a small private not-for-profit school located in the remote town of Aberdeen.

Presentation College undergraduate students pay an average of $22,006 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Presentation College take out is $46,511.

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
Iowa 2,966
Missouri 6,840
Nebraska 1,908
Kansas 2,633
North Dakota 976

Nursing is one of 30 different types of healthcare programs to choose from.

Nursing Focus Areas

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
Health & Medical Administrative Services 89,359
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services 84,492
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants 84,274
Allied Health Professions 82,308
Public Health 40,596

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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