Public · Community college

Lake Area Technical College

Watertown, South Dakota · Remote town

#3 for grad earnings in South Dakota#5 graduation rate in South Dakota

5%
Transfer rate: $15,979
Avg net price: 73%
Grad / completion: $45,473
Median earnings

Lake Area Technical College is a public associate-granting institution in Watertown, South Dakota (remote town setting), enrolling 1,812 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicSmall · 1,812 undergradsRemote townNJCAA Division IIICold wintersSnowy

About Watertown, South Dakota

Watertown is a city in and the county seat of Codington County, South Dakota, United States. Watertown was founded in 1879 as a rail terminus when the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad reactivated part of a line it had constructed to Lake Kampeska. (Wikipedia)

Setting: Remote town
Highest degree offered: Associate
Nearest big city: 95 miles to Sioux Falls, SD
To Great Lakes shore: 272 miles
Nearest airport: 3 miles to Watertown (ATY)

How Lake Area Technical College compares

Graduation rate73%

Higher than 67% · #5 of 10 in South Dakota

First-year retention81%

Higher than 67%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$45,473

Higher than 84% · #3 of 10 in South Dakota

Average net price$15,979

Cheaper than 47% · #7 cheapest of 10 in South Dakota

Median debt at graduation$12,000

Lower than 29%

Student–faculty ratio16 : 1

Lower than 49%

Undergraduate enrollment1,812

Larger than 80%

Percentiles compare Lake Area Technical College with the nation's 3,519 two-year and certificate schools, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count two-year and certificate schools in South Dakota.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

Women86748%
Men94552%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

White88%
Black1.9%
Hispanic2.8%
Asian1.0%
Other or multiracial6.3%

Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment: 1,812
Student–faculty ratio: 16 : 1
Pell Grant recipients: 27%
First-generation students: 29%
Students over 25: 12%
Median family income: $50,805
Avg faculty salary (academic year): $70,128
Endowment: $12,638,153

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Cost

In-state tuition: $6,718
Room & board: —
Books & supplies: $1,200
Total cost of attendance: $19,637
Average net price: $15,979

Outcomes

Graduated: 73%
First-year retention: 81%
Transferred to another college: 5%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry: $43,659
Median earnings, 10 years after entry: $45,473
Median debt at graduation: $12,000
Students with federal loans: 57%
Paying down their loans (1 year in): 69%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students

73%

Low-income (Pell)

70%

First-generation

70%

When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing: No
Application fee: $25
Athletics: NJCAA Division III
Varsity athletes: 70 (65 men · 5 women)

Varsity sports (2)

Other Sports64

Rodeo6

Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.

Campus safety

Safety grade: A
Reported offenses per 1,000 students: 0.0 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024): 0
Property offenses (2022–2024): 0

What you'll actually pay, by family income

Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.

< $30k

$11,193

$30–48k

$12,971

$48–75k

$14,129

$75–110k

$18,118

$110k+

$18,230

College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.

Does the school pay you to attend?

Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.

28%

of first-years get a grant from the school

$3,549

average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 28% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $3,549. Most of what lowers the price here is federal or state money, not the school's own funds.

Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 604 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.

Is it worth it?

A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.

Median earnings (10 years): $45,473
Typical debt at graduation: $12,000
Debt vs. one year's pay: 26%
Out-earn a HS grad: 63%

Typical debt would take roughly 2.6 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Strong value

Graduates here tend to earn well relative to what they borrow — typical debt pays back fast, and most out-earn a high-school graduate.

Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.

The pay gap here

Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.

Women

$38,732

Men

$56,568

Men out-earn women by $17,836 (46%) a decade out.

Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.

Campus climate

Summer high: 82°F
Winter low: 4°F
Annual rain: 24.6″
Annual snow: 41.1″

Average temperature

HighLow

Average precipitation (inches)

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Watertown 2 S, SD US station (2.4 mi from campus).

What Lake Area Technical College graduates study — and earn

Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/TechniciansAssoc.

133 grads$47k 1 yr$55k 5 yr$12k debt

133$47,080$54,641$12,000 Agricultural Business and ManagementAssoc.

104 grads$41k 1 yr$48k 5 yr$12k debt

104$41,340$47,845$12,000 Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing AssistantsCert.

90 grads$42k 1 yr$49k 5 yr$18k debt

90$42,160$49,276$17,600 MarketingAssoc.

62 grads$32k 1 yr$39k 5 yr$14k debt

62$32,043$39,495$14,250 Precision Metal WorkingCert.

48 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

48———Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical NursingAssoc.

46 grads$66k 1 yr— 5 yr$26k debt

46$66,233—$26,212 Allied Health and Medical Assisting ServicesAssoc.

40 grads$36k 1 yr$44k 5 yr$15k debt

40$35,932$44,181$14,510 Mental and Social Health Services and Allied ProfessionsCert.

35 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

35———Computer ScienceAssoc.

31 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr$12k debt

31——$12,458 Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming ServicesCert.

28 grads$20k 1 yr$26k 5 yr$12k debt

28$20,420$25,629$12,000 Electromechanical Technologies/TechniciansAssoc.

27 grads$60k 1 yr— 5 yr$13k debt

27$60,085—$13,125 Precision Metal WorkingAssoc.

27 grads$43k 1 yr$52k 5 yr$11k debt

27$43,436$52,342$11,001

Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.

Colleges similar to Lake Area Technical College

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Lake Area Technical College side by side →

Southeast Technical College

Public

Sioux Falls, South Dakota · Midsize city · 3 mi to Sioux Falls

Students: 2,310
Tuition: $8k
Transfer: 1%
Earnings: $47k

Mitchell Technical College

Public

Mitchell, South Dakota · Remote town · 64 mi to Sioux Falls

Students: 990
Tuition: $8k
Transfer: 4%
Earnings: $51k

Western Dakota Technical College

Public

Rapid City, South Dakota · Small city · 3 mi to Rapid City

Students: 753
Tuition: $8k
Transfer: 5%
Earnings: $40k

SUNY Morrisville

Public

Morrisville, New York · Distant rural · 28 mi to Syracuse

Students: 1,923
Tuition: $9k
Transfer: 31%
Earnings: $43k

Anoka Technical College

Public

Anoka, Minnesota · Large suburb · 18 mi to Minneapolis

Students: 1,684
Tuition: $6k
Transfer: 12%
Earnings: $48k

Northland Community and Technical College

Public

Thief River Falls, Minnesota · Remote town · 91 mi to Fargo

Students: 1,554
Tuition: $6k
Transfer: 11%
Earnings: $44k

Colleges near Lake Area Technical College

South Dakota State University

Brookings, SD · Public · Bachelor's · 9,198 students

43 mi

Sisseton Wahpeton College

Sisseton, SD · Public · Associate · 194 students

46 mi

Dakota State University

Madison, SD · Public · Bachelor's · 2,071 students

61 mi

Southwest Minnesota State University

Marshall, MN · Public · Bachelor's · 2,315 students

73 mi

University of Minnesota-Morris

Morris, MN · Public · Bachelor's · 936 students

75 mi

Minnesota West Community and Technical College

Granite Falls, MN · Public · Certificate · 1,762 students

75 mi

Northern State University

Aberdeen, SD · Public · Bachelor's · 1,273 students

78 mi

Southeast Technical College

Sioux Falls, SD · Public · Associate · 2,310 students

93 mi

Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.