by our College Data Analytics TeamFind out more about how South Dakota State University ranks, how diverse it is, what majors it offers, and other essential facts below.
College Factual recognizes the best colleges and universities in its annual rankings. These rankings include categories for best overall colleges, best colleges for each major, best value schools, and much more.
South Dakota State University was awarded 405 badges in the 2026 rankings.
According to College Factual’s 2026 analysis, South Dakota State is ranked #480 out of 3,449 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality. This puts it in the top 20% of all schools in the nation.
South Dakota State also holds the #2 spot on the Best Colleges in South Dakota ranking.
With an acceptance rate of 98%, South Dakota State University is easier to get into than many other schools. But that doesn’t mean you can slack off on your application. Make sure to treat this school like any other when submitting requested materials and documents.
About 2% of students accepted to South Dakota State submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 530 and 610. Math scores were between 530 and 630.
South Dakota State received ACT scores from 75% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 19 and 25.
With a student to faculty ratio of 17 to 1, South Dakota State University is about average in this regard as the nationwide rate is 15 to 1. While this does not translate directly to class size, it’s a good indicator of how much time professors will have to spend with their students on a one-on-one basis.
In addition to the student to faculty ratio, some people look at what percentage of faculty members are full-time as a sign of how much time professors will be able to spend with their students. This is because part-time teachers may not be on campus as much as their full-time counterparts.
The full-time faculty percentage at South Dakota State University is 80%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
The freshmen retention rate of 83% tells us that most first-year, full-time students like South Dakota State University enough to come back for another year. This is a fair bit higher than the national average of 68%. That’s certainly something to check off in the good column about the school.
The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is typically four years. This rate at South Dakota State for first-time, full-time students is 60%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at South Dakota State University.
In the current academic year, there are 8,798 undergraduates at South Dakota State.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at South Dakota State University.
The average net price of South Dakota State is $16,772. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.### Net Price by Income Group for South Dakota State
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $12,517 | $14,297 | $17,811 | $19,424 | $20,048 |
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of South Dakota State, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
It’s not uncommon for college students to take out loans to pay for school. In fact, almost 66% of students nationwide depend at least partially on loans. At South Dakota State, approximately 43% of students took out student loans averaging $6,388 a year. That adds up to $25,552 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 2.7%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you’ll be able to pay back your student loans. Get more details about paying for South Dakota State University.
The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree from South Dakota State University make about $55,070 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. This is good news for future South Dakota State University graduates since it is 12% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.
See which majors at South Dakota State University make the most money.
South Dakota State University is an public institution located in Brookings, South Dakota. Brookings is a good match for students who enjoy small-town life. Get more details about the location of South Dakota State University.
Contact details for South Dakota State University can be found below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 1004 Campanile Ave, Brookings, SD 57007-1898 |
| Phone: | 8009523541 |
| Website: | www.sdstate.edu/ |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/SouthDakotaStateUniversity |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/sdstate |
In the latest year of available data, students from 28 majors graduated from South Dakota State University. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.
| Most Popular Majors | Completions | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Disciplinary Studies | 2,679 | NA |
| Nursing | 361 | $59,881 |
| Managerial Economics | 155 | NA |
| General Biology | 127 | $27,268 |
| Animal Science | 118 | $40,797 |
| Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences | 100 | $110,688 |
| Liberal Arts General Studies | 97 | $38,858 |
| General Agriculture | 82 | $43,717 |
| Mechanical Engineering | 81 | $60,229 |
| General Psychology | 77 | $28,661 |
Online learning options are becoming more and more popular at American colleges and universities. Online classes are great for students who have busy schedules or for those who just want to study on their own time.
5,811 students took at least one online class at South Dakota State University.
Learn more about online learning at South Dakota State University.
Footnotes
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
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