Enrollment Trends for South Dakota Colleges

Student Population Changes

The average number of students over the past 11 years is 45,874, and 46,223 students were attending the schools in the academic year 2024-2025.

Of the total students, 80.87% are undergraduate students and 19.13% are graduate students. Over the past 11, the number of undergraduate students decreased by 2,657, and the graduate student enrollment increased by 1,886.

The women to men ratio is 1.24 to 1, meaning that there are slightly more women students enrolled in South Dakota Colleges than men students.

The following table and chart illustrate the changes in student population by gender at South Dakota Colleges since 2015.

• Trends Table
• By Gender Chart
• By Level Chart
• Downloadable Chart

Year	Total	Undergraduate			Graduate
		Total	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women
2014-15	47,617	40,541	17,554	22,987	7,076	3,019	4,057
2015-16	47,578 -39	40,457 -84	17,830 276	22,627 -360	7,121 45	3,037 18	4,084 27
2016-17	47,616 38	40,190 -267	17,697 -133	22,493 -134	7,426 305	3,103 66	4,323 239
2017-18	47,328 -288	40,006 -184	17,668 -29	22,338 -155	7,322 -104	3,138 35	4,184 -139
2018-19	47,008 -320	39,404 -602	17,197 -471	22,207 -131	7,604 282	3,342 204	4,262 78
2019-20	44,838 -2,170	38,043 -1,361	16,791 -406	21,252 -955	6,795 -809	3,026 -316	3,769 -493
2020-21	43,691 -1,147	36,640 -1,403	16,035 -756	20,605 -647	7,051 256	3,059 33	3,992 223
2021-22	44,069 378	36,462 -178	15,865 -170	20,597 -8	7,607 556	3,236 177	4,371 379
2022-23	44,156 87	36,484 22	15,960 95	20,524 -73	7,672 65	3,361 125	4,311 -60
2023-24	44,487 331	36,487 3	16,000 40	20,487 -37	8,000 328	3,761 400	4,239 -72
2024-25	46,223 1,736	37,733 1,246	16,633 633	21,100 613	8,490 490	3,938 177	4,552 313
Average	45,874	38,404	16,839	21,565	7,469	3,275	4,195

Undergraduate Enrollment Changes

The average number of Undergraduate students over the past 11 years is 38,404. Compared 11 years ago, the number of Undergraduate students decreased by 2,808 from 40,541 to 37,733.

The following table and chart illustrate the changes in Undergraduate enrollment by attending status and gender at South Dakota Colleges since 2015.

• Trends Table
• By Gender Chart
• By Status Chart
• Downloadable Chart

Year	Total	Fulltime			Parttime
		Total	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women
2014-15	40,541	26,077	12,312	13,765	14,464	5,242	9,222
2015-16	40,457	26,502	12,673	13,829	13,955	5,157	8,798
2016-17	40,190	26,000	12,340	13,660	14,190	5,357	8,833
2017-18	40,006	25,947	12,274	13,673	14,059	5,394	8,665
2018-19	39,404	25,590	11,964	13,626	13,814	5,233	8,581
2019-20	38,043	25,071	11,698	13,373	12,972	5,093	7,879
2020-21	36,640	24,123	11,124	12,999	12,517	4,911	7,606
2021-22	36,462	23,399	10,751	12,648	13,063	5,114	7,949
2022-23	36,484	23,299	10,777	12,522	13,185	5,183	8,002
2023-24	36,487	23,350	10,686	12,664	13,137	5,314	7,823
2024-25	37,733	24,237	11,130	13,107	13,496	5,503	7,993
Average	38,404	38,404	11,612	13,261	38,404	5,227	8,305

Graduate Enrollment Changes

The average number of Graduate students over the past 11 years is 7,469. Compared 11 years ago, the number of Graduate students increased by 1,414 from 7,076 to 8,490.

The following table and chart illustrate the changes in Graduate enrollment by attending status and gender at South Dakota Colleges since 2015.

• Trends Table
• By Gender Chart
• By Status Chart
• Downloadable Chart

Year	Total	Fulltime			Parttime
		Total	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women
2014-15	7,076	2,448	1,201	1,247	4,628	1,818	2,810
2015-16	7,121	2,569	1,228	1,341	4,552	1,809	2,743
2016-17	7,426	2,655	1,251	1,404	4,771	1,852	2,919
2017-18	7,322	2,677	1,267	1,410	4,645	1,871	2,774
2018-19	7,604	2,781	1,337	1,444	4,823	2,005	2,818
2019-20	6,795	2,540	1,211	1,329	4,255	1,815	2,440
2020-21	7,051	2,761	1,278	1,483	4,290	1,781	2,509
2021-22	7,607	2,921	1,364	1,557	4,686	1,872	2,814
2022-23	7,672	3,024	1,429	1,595	4,648	1,932	2,716
2023-24	8,000	3,254	1,580	1,674	4,746	2,181	2,565
2024-25	8,490	3,462	1,657	1,805	5,028	2,281	2,747
Average	7,469	7,469	1,346	1,481	7,469	1,929	2,714

Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity Changes

The percentage of white students is 72.18%. The percentage was 79.75% 10 years ago and South Dakota Colleges still has a high percentage of white students. 1.60% of enrolled students is Asian and 3.31% is black students.

The following table and chart illustrate the student population trends by race/ethnicity at South Dakota Colleges over the past 11 years (2014-2025).

• Trends Table
• Interactive Chart
• Downloadable Chart

Year	American Indian or Native American	Asian	Black	Hispanic	Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander	White	Two or More Races
	2014-15	2,676	537	1,686	1,255	120	37,976	1,120
2015-16	2,567	547	1,594	1,402	72	37,704	1,347
2016-17	2,473	553	1,781	1,501	64	37,291	1,185
2017-18	2,461	614	1,763	1,563	45	37,021	1,229
2018-19	2,474	635	1,895	1,761	91	36,396	1,271
2019-20	2,396	603	1,503	1,649	60	34,896	1,276
2020-21	2,170	612	1,377	1,799	64	34,162	1,285
2021-22	2,639	619	1,384	1,615	62	33,965	1,283
2022-23	2,389	658	1,428	1,718	65	33,757	1,238
2023-24	2,599	683	1,459	1,871	61	33,386	1,103
2024-25	2,501	751	1,551	2,011	83	33,814	1,161
Average	2,486	619	1,584	1,650	72	35,488	1,227

Distance Learning (Online Courses) Enrollment Changes

14,681 students are enrolled in online degree programs exclusively for the academic year 2024-2025, which is 31% of total students. The number of online students has increased 32.30% since 2013.

The following table and chart illustrate the changes in the online student population by enrolled type at South Dakota Colleges from 2012 to 2025.

• Trends Table
• Interactive Chart