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Western Dakota Technical College Complete Information Guide

Fair Price Value for Your Money
13% Student Loan Default Rate

Find out more about how Western Dakota Technical College ranks, how diverse it is, what majors it offers, and other essential facts below.

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* Rankings

How Does Western Dakota Technical College Stack Up?

#1,965 Best Colleges in Nation
#13 Best Colleges in SD
Western Dakota Technical College ranking badge

2026 Best Colleges Rankings

College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities in its annual rankings and ranks them in a variety of ways, including most diverse, best overall quality, best for non-traditional students, and much more.

Overall Ranking

College Factual ranked Western Dakota Tech as #1,965 out of 3,449 colleges and universities in the country on its 2026 Best Colleges list.

Western Dakota Tech is also ranked #13 on the Best Colleges in South Dakota list.

See all of the rankings for Western Dakota Technical College.

What Are the Admission Requirements for Western Dakota Technical College?

Getting Accepted

Learn more about Western Dakota Technical College admissions.

Teaching Staff at Western Dakota Technical College

11 to 1 Student to Faculty
59% Full Time Teachers

Faculty Accessibility

The student to faculty ratio at Western Dakota Tech is an impressive 11 to 1. That’s quite good when you compare it to the national average of 15 to 1. This is a good sign that students at the school will have more opportunities for one-on-one interactions with their professors.

Percent of Full-Time Faculty

Another measure that is often used to estimate how much access students will have to their professors is how many faculty members are full-time. The idea here is that part-time faculty tend to spend less time on campus, so they may not be as available to students as full-timers.

The full-time faculty percentage at Western Dakota Technical College is 59%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.

Full-Time Faculty Percent  59 out of 100
0
100

Student Success Metrics for Western Dakota Technical College

67% Freshmen Retention
53% On-Time Graduation Rate

First-Year Student Retention

The freshmen retention rate tells us what percentage of first-year, full-time students choose to continue on to their sophomore year at a particular school. The rate at Western Dakota Technical College is 67%, which is about average when compared to the national rate of 68%.

Freshmen Retention Rate  67 out of 100
0
100

Time to Degree

Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At Western Dakota Tech the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 53%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.

On-Time Graduation Rate  53 out of 100
0
100

Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Western Dakota Technical College.

Undergraduate Diversity at Western Dakota Technical College

733 Undergraduate Students
20.9% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
55.6% Percent Women

During the most recent academic year, there were 733 undergraduates at Western Dakota Tech.

Get more detailed information on the diversity at Western Dakota Technical College.

How Much Does Western Dakota Technical College Cost?

$16,772 Net Price
41% Take Out Loans
$29,980 Total Student Loans

The average net price of Western Dakota Tech 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 Western Dakota Tech

$0-30 K $30K-48K $48-75 $75-110K $110K +
$11,321 $14,375 $16,398 $20,725 $19,914

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 Western Dakota Tech, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.

Borrowing and Loans

Almost 66% of college students who graduated with the class of 2018 took out student loans, but that percentage varies from school to school. At Western Dakota Tech, approximately 41% of students took out student loans averaging $7,495 a year. That adds up to $29,980 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 13.1%. This is higher than the national default rate of 10.1% so you should proceed with caution when taking out student loans. Get more details about paying for Western Dakota Technical College.

What Do Western Dakota Technical C Alumni Earn?

$40,240 Avg Salary of Grads
Low Earnings Boost

The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Western Dakota Technical College make about $40,240 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. Unfortunately, this is 18% less than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year. However, graduates in your major field may make more.

See which majors at Western Dakota Technical College make the most money.

Location of Western Dakota Technical College

South Dakota State
733 Undergraduate Students
Small City Campus Setting

Western Dakota Technical College is a public institution located in Rapid City, South Dakota. The surrounding area of the school is a good match for students who enjoy city life. Get more details about the location of Western Dakota Technical College.

Location of Western Dakota Technical College

Contact information for Western Dakota Technical College can be found below.

Contact Details
Address: 800 Mickelson Dr, Rapid City, SD 57703-4018
Phone: 6057182400
Website: www.wdt.edu

Western Dakota Technical College Academic Programs

12 Majors With Completions
654 Undergraduate Degrees

During the most recent year for which we have data, students from 12 majors graduated from Western Dakota Technical College. 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 327 NA
Nursing & Nursing Assistants 54 $40,832
Nursing 34 NA
Precision Metal Working 32 $38,018
Computer Systems Networking 25 $34,470
Vehicle Maintenance & Repair 21 $38,609
Electrical & Power Installation 19 $37,211
Accounting 15 NA
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science 15 $40,177
Health Sciences & Services 15 NA

Learn more about the majors offered at Western Dakota Technical College along with which ones have the highest average starting salaries.

Online Study Options at Western Dakota Tech

74% Take At Least One Class Online
38% Take All Classes Online

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.

543 students took at least one online class at Western Dakota Technical College.

Learn more about online learning at Western Dakota Technical College.

Similar InstitutionsWant to see how other colleges compare to Western Dakota Tech? Compare them side by side using College Combat, our free interactive tool that lets you compare colleges on the features that matter most to you.

References and Footnotes

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.

References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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