by our College Data Analytics TeamIt's not easy to decide which school to attend when you have so many options available. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our Top South Dakota Colleges for an Associate ranking - to help you make that decision.
What's on This Page: * Our Methodology
Our analysis looked at 9 schools in South Dakota to determine which ones have the best associate degree programs. Our ranking methodology focuses on different objective factors to make this determination of the best schools. In the next few paragraphs, we'll talk a little about what we use in our analysis and why.
One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of associate graduates during the early years of their career. After all, your degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.
Another factor that we look at to determine a school's ranking is the average debt load that students take on while they are working on their associate degree. The average debt load at a particular school may not be bad, but it's an important thing to consider in conjunction with post-graduation earnings.
Our Best Associate Degree Schools considers other factors in addition to average post-graduation earnings and average student debt. On a broad level, other factors that go into our rankings include such things as the demand of the school, the student body caliber, if the school has online options, and the educational resources provided by the school.
To learn more, visit our best colleges ranking methodology page.
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Lake Area Technical Institute tops this year’s ranking as the best school for associate degrees in South Dakota for overall quality. LATI is a small public school situated in Watertown, South Dakota. It awarded 514 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
Upon graduation, associate degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $42,623 during the early years of their career.
A rank of #2 on our Best Associate Degree in South Dakota list means National American University - Rapid City is a great place for students working on their degree. This small private for-profit school is located in Rapid City, South Dakota, and it awarded 54 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
Graduates with a associate degree from National American University - Rapid City make an average of $43,279 per year during the early years of their career.
Out of the 9 associate degree schools in South Dakota that were part of this year’s ranking, Southeast Technical College landed the #3 spot on the list. Sioux Falls, South Dakota is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out associate degrees to 522 students in 2021-2022.
Those who receive a associate degree from Southeast Tech go into careers with an average salary of $49,325 during the early years of their career.
A rank of #4 on our Best Associate Degree in South Dakota list means Mitchell Technical College is a great place for students working on their degree. This small public school is located in Mitchell, South Dakota, and it awarded 303 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
The average salary of a graduate with a associate degree from Mitchell Tech is $47,796 during the early years of their career.
Out of the 9 associate degree schools in South Dakota that were part of this year’s ranking, Dakota State University landed the #5 spot on the list. This small public school is located in Madison, South Dakota, and it awarded 56 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
South Dakota State University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Associate Degree Schools in South Dakota ranking. South Dakota State is a fairly large public school situated in Brookings, South Dakota. It awarded 105 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
During the early years of their career, associate degree graduates from South Dakota State make an average of $20,704 a year.
Black Hills State University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Associate Degree Schools in South Dakota list. Located in Spearfish, South Dakota, the small public school handed out 44 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
Western Dakota Technical Institute did quite well in the 2025 Best Associate Degree Schools in South Dakota ranking, coming in at #8. Western Dakota Technical Institute is a small public school located in Rapid City, South Dakota that handed out 197 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
During the early years of their career, associate degree graduates from Western Dakota Tech make an average of $39,264 a year.
With a ranking of #9, Oglala Lakota College did quite well on the 2025 Best Associate Degree Schools in South Dakota list. Oglala Lakota College is a public institution located in Kyle, South Dakota. The school has a small population, and it awarded 103 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
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More about our data sources and methodologies.