South Dakota has about 935,000 residents. Registered nurses average $77,140 a year, 50th among the fifty states and the District of Columbia. Only Alabama pays less.
Licensure
The South Dakota Board of Nursing licenses registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and advanced practice registered nurses. Its office is on South Louise Avenue in Sioux Falls, telephone (605) 362-2760. Rules and applications are at sdbon.org.
South Dakota implemented the Nurse Licensure Compact in 2001. A nurse living here holds one multistate license good in every other compact state, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana and North Dakota included. Minnesota, immediately east and paying considerably more, is not a member.
Nurse practitioner practice
South Dakota removed its collaborative agreement requirement in 2017 and is a full practice state. Nurse practitioners evaluate patients, order and interpret tests, and prescribe under the nursing board's authority once they have completed a period of collaborative practice hours. See nurse practitioner practice authority.
Nursing education
The South Dakota State University College of Nursing is the largest program in the state and teaches in Sioux Falls, Rapid City and Aberdeen as well as Brookings. The University of South Dakota and Augustana University in Sioux Falls carry further baccalaureate programs, and Oglala Lakota College on the Pine Ridge Reservation runs a nursing program at a tribal college, one of a small number nationally. See Indian Health Service and tribal nursing.
Pay and workforce
Sioux Falls and Rapid City hold most of the state's hospital work, with Sanford Health, Avera Health and Monument Health the largest employers. Sanford and Avera are both headquartered in Sioux Falls, which makes the city a bigger medical center than a state this size would normally support.
West River, the Black Hills and the state's nine reservations depend on critical access hospitals and Indian Health Service facilities. Several of the reservation counties are among the poorest in the country and have a hard time recruiting clinical staff. Low pay next to a compact neighbor that pays considerably more keeps retention difficult, since leaving costs a nurse nothing in licensing terms. See nurse turnover and retention and rural and frontier nursing.
Related
- Nurse Licensure Compact
- Indian Health Service and tribal nursing
- Critical access hospitals
- Registered nurse pay
- Nursing by state
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, state population estimates for July 1, 2025. Accessed September 8, 2026.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, registered nurses (29-1141), May 2025. Accessed September 8, 2026.
- South Dakota Board of Nursing, contact details and licensing information. Accessed September 8, 2026.
- Nurse Licensure Compact, member states. Accessed September 8, 2026.
- American Association of Nurse Practitioners, State Practice Environment. Accessed September 8, 2026.