2024 Best Schools for the Money (No Aid) in South Dakota
13
Colleges
$13,677
Avg Undergrad Tuition & Fees*
$8,233
Avg Room & Board*
With all of the options you have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take when you want to pursue a degree. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our Best Colleges for the Money in South Dakota ranking is part of that endeavor.
In This Year's Value Report:
Finding Your Best College Match
We analyzed 13 schools across South Dakota to determine which have the best value programs. Our ranking methodology focuses on different objective factors to make this determination of the best value schools. We explain more about what we look at and why we do so below.
Our Methodology
Our Best Colleges for the Money in South Dakota ranking is determined by first looking at the combined costs of average tuition, fees, and room and board before any aid is applied.
In addition, the overall quality of a school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how much it costs.
To make it into this list a school must offer a quality education like the schools in our Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considers factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
We go into more detail on these factors on our best value ranking methodology page.
More Rankings to View
You can scroll down to see the top schools for this ranking, but you may also want to view some of the other ranking methods listed below.
To get a better picture of the best value schools for your income range or for whether or not you'll receive aid, click on one of the tiles above. You may also want to
narrow this list by location to find the best value schools nearest you. In addition, we've put together a number of other
college rankings that may help you in your search.
Know what field you want to major in? Make sure you check out our best value schools by major. In addition, you can select one of the links below to see the best value colleges for other degree levels.
Best Value Schools (No Aid) in South Dakota
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our 2024 rankings named Lake Area Technical Institute the best value (no aid) school in South Dakota. LATI is a public institution located in Watertown, South Dakota.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Lake Area Technical Institute is ranked #2 for quality in the state of South Dakota. The average cost for undergraduates to attend the school if you don’t receive any aid is $13,988 a year. The average cost without aid for the school is $7,270 per year for graduate students.
Learn More About Value at Lake Area Technical Institute
Out of the 13 schools in South Dakota that were part of this year’s ranking, South Dakota State University landed the #2 spot on the list. South Dakota State is a fairly large public school situated in Brookings, South Dakota.
Not only is South Dakota State University a great value, but it is also ranked #1 in South Dakota for overall quality. The average cost for undergraduates to attend the school if you don’t receive any aid is $17,353 a year. The average cost to attend the school for graduate students if you don’t receive any aid is $17,438 a year.
Learn More About Value at South Dakota State University
Out of the 13 schools in South Dakota that were part of this year’s ranking, Mitchell Technical College landed the #3 spot on the list. Mitchell Tech is located in Mitchell, South Dakota and has a small student population. It is a public school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Mitchell Technical College is ranked #7 for quality in the state of South Dakota. The average cost for undergraduates to attend the school if you don’t receive any aid is $13,524 a year. The average cost to attend the school for graduate students if you don’t receive any aid is $6,000 a year.
Full Mitchell Technical College Value Report
A rank of #4 on our Best Colleges for the Money in South Dakota list means Dakota State University is a great place for students working on their degree. Madison, South Dakota is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. It is a public school.
Dakota State University has the honor of being ranked #6 in South Dakota for overall quality on top of being a good value. The average cost without aid for the school is $16,781 a year for undergraduates. The average cost without aid for the school is $13,879 per year for graduate students.
Learn More About Value at Dakota State University
A rank of #5 on our Best Colleges for the Money in South Dakota list means University of South Dakota is a great place for students working on their degree. USD is a public institution located in Vermillion, South Dakota.
Not only is University of South Dakota a great value, but it is also ranked #5 in South Dakota for overall quality. The average cost for undergraduates to attend the school if you don’t receive any aid is $18,032 a year. The average cost to attend the school for graduate students if you don’t receive any aid is $15,718 a year.
Read full value report on University of South Dakota
Southeast Technical College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for the Money in South Dakota ranking. Southeast Tech is a public institution located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Not only is Southeast Technical College a great value, but it is also ranked #8 in South Dakota for overall quality. The average cost for undergraduates to attend the school if you don’t receive any aid is $16,054 a year. The average cost without aid for the school is $8,404 per year for graduate students.
Read full value report on Southeast Technical College
Northern State University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for the Money in South Dakota ranking. NSU is located in Aberdeen, South Dakota and has a small student population. It is a public school.
Not only is Northern State University a great value, but it is also ranked #9 in South Dakota for overall quality. The average cost for undergraduates to attend the school if you don’t receive any aid is $17,995 a year. The average cost without aid for the school is $15,886 per year for graduate students.
Read full value report on Northern State University
With a ranking of #8, Mount Marty University did quite well on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money in South Dakota list. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Yankton, South Dakota.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Mount Marty University is ranked #3 for quality in the state of South Dakota. The average cost without aid for the school is $38,534 a year for undergraduates. The average cost without aid for the school is $18,204 per year for graduate students.
Full Mount Marty University Value Report
With a ranking of #9, Black Hills State University did quite well on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money in South Dakota list. This small public school is located in Spearfish, South Dakota.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Black Hills State University is ranked #12 for quality in the state of South Dakota. The average cost without aid for the school is $16,316 a year for undergraduates. The average cost to attend the school for graduate students if you don’t receive any aid is $16,316 a year.
Learn More About Value at Black Hills State University
With a ranking of #10, University of Sioux Falls did quite well on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money in South Dakota list. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Not only is University of Sioux Falls a great value, but it is also ranked #11 in South Dakota for overall quality. The average cost without aid for the school is $27,830 a year for undergraduates. The average cost to attend the school for graduate students if you don’t receive any aid is $15,040 a year.
Learn More About Value at University of Sioux Falls
National American University - Rapid City did quite well in the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money in South Dakota ranking, coming in at #11. Located in Rapid City, South Dakota, the school is a small private for-profit institution.
Not only is National American University - Rapid City a great value, but it is also ranked #10 in South Dakota for overall quality. The average cost for undergraduates to attend the school if you don’t receive any aid is $27,873 a year. The average cost without aid for the school is $27,663 per year for graduate students.
Full National American University - Rapid City Value Report
Western Dakota Technical Institute landed the #12 spot on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money in South Dakota ranking. Western Dakota Tech is located in Rapid City, South Dakota and has a small student population. It is a public school.
Western Dakota Technical Institute has the honor of being ranked #13 in South Dakota for overall quality on top of being a good value. The average cost without aid for the school is $19,532 a year for undergraduates. The average cost to attend the school for graduate students if you don’t receive any aid is $11,200 a year.
Full Western Dakota Technical Institute Value Report
Augustana University ranked #13 on this year’s Best Colleges for the Money in South Dakota list. Sioux Falls, South Dakota is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. It is a private not-for-profit school.
Augustana University has the honor of being ranked #4 in South Dakota for overall quality on top of being a good value. The average cost without aid for the school is $44,772 a year for undergraduates. The average cost to attend the school for graduate students if you don’t receive any aid is $45,554 a year.
Full Augustana University Value Report
Best Value Schools (No Aid) in the Plains States Region
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