Public · Community college

Mitchell Technical College

Mitchell, South Dakota · Remote town

#1 for grad earnings in South Dakota#4 graduation rate in South Dakota#5 best value in South Dakota

4%
Transfer rate: $13,460
Avg net price: 76%
Grad / completion: $50,743
Median earnings

Mitchell Technical College is a public associate-granting institution in Mitchell, South Dakota (remote town setting), enrolling 990 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicSmall · 990 undergradsRemote townCold wintersSnowy

About Mitchell, South Dakota

Mitchell is a city in and the county seat of Davison County, South Dakota, United States. The first settlement at Mitchell was made in 1879. Mitchell was incorporated in 1883. It was named for Milwaukee banker Alexander Mitchell, President of the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad (Milwaukee Road). The novel Woodworking by Emily St. James is set in Mitchell in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election. The story focuses on the lives of trans women in varying stages of transition, including a teacher and student at Mitchell High School. (Wikipedia)

Setting: Remote town
Highest degree offered: Associate
Nearest big city: 64 miles to Sioux Falls, SD
To Great Lakes shore: 357 miles
Nearest airport: 63 miles to Sioux Falls (FSD)

How Mitchell Technical College compares

#44 · Community Colleges with the Highest Graduate Earnings

Graduation rate76%

Higher than 71% · #4 of 10 in South Dakota

First-year retention85%

Higher than 73%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$50,743

Higher than 91% · #1 of 10 in South Dakota

Average net price$13,460

Cheaper than 56% · #5 cheapest of 10 in South Dakota

Median debt at graduation$12,000

Lower than 29%

Student–faculty ratio12 : 1

Lower than 73%

Undergraduate enrollment990

Larger than 73%

Percentiles compare Mitchell 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

Women30130%
Men68970%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

White88%
Black0.5%
Hispanic2.9%
Asian0.7%
Other or multiracial7.7%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment: 990
Student–faculty ratio: 12 : 1
Pell Grant recipients: 32%
First-generation students: 32%
Students over 25: 12%
Median family income: $50,924
Avg faculty salary (academic year): $70,569
Endowment: $5,233,898

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

Where students come from

Home state of the 428 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

From South Dakota83%
Other U.S. states17%

Most first-years stay in state — Mitchell Technical College draws overwhelmingly from South Dakota.

Out-of-state students usually pay a higher tuition rate at public schools — check the cost card above for your bracket. Source: IPEDS residence & migration, fall 2023 entering class.

Cost

In-state tuition: $7,524
Room & board: —
Books & supplies: $385
Total cost of attendance: $16,994
Average net price: $13,460

Outcomes

Graduated: 76%
First-year retention: 85%
Transferred to another college: 4%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry: $47,849
Median earnings, 10 years after entry: $50,743
Median debt at graduation: $12,000
Students with federal loans: 42%
Paying down their loans (1 year in): 70%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students

76%

Low-income (Pell)

69%

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: Free

Campus safety

Safety grade: B
Reported offenses per 1,000 students: 0.8 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024): 2
Property offenses (2022–2024): 1

Reported offenses in an average year

The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.

1.0reported offenses a year

0.7 violent a year0.3 property a year

By offense type, per year

Rape

0.3

Fondling

0.3

Burglary

0.3

Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.

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

$9,750

$30–48k

$10,505

$48–75k

$12,945

$75–110k

$16,044

$110k+

$16,493

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.

25%

of first-years get a grant from the school

$841

average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 25% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $841. 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 406 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): $50,743
Typical debt at graduation: $12,000
Debt vs. one year's pay: 24%
Out-earn a HS grad: 66%

Typical debt would take roughly 2.4 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

$35,992

Men

$57,396

Men out-earn women by $21,404 (59%) 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: 86°F
Winter low: 7°F
Annual rain: 21.1″
Annual snow: 40.6″

Average temperature

HighLow

Average precipitation (inches)

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Mitchell 2 N, SD US station (3.6 mi from campus).

What Mitchell Technical College graduates study — and earn

Electrical and Power Transmission InstallersCert.

81 grads$61k 1 yr$91k 5 yr$6k debt

81$60,565$90,949$5,500 Electrical and Power Transmission InstallersAssoc.

57 grads$50k 1 yr$71k 5 yr$12k debt

57$49,794$70,793$12,000 Agricultural MechanizationAssoc.

27 grads$55k 1 yr$50k 5 yr— debt

27$55,301$50,099—Building/Construction Finishing, Management, and InspectionAssoc.

26 grads$37k 1 yr$46k 5 yr$11k debt

26$37,485$45,504$10,866 Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing AssistantsCert.

22 grads$38k 1 yr— 5 yr$17k debt

22$38,287—$16,856 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical NursingAssoc.

20 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

20———Agricultural Business and ManagementAssoc.

19 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

19———Industrial Production Technologies/TechniciansAssoc.

19 grads$50k 1 yr— 5 yr$12k debt

19$50,348—$12,000 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment ProfessionsAssoc.

19 grads$59k 1 yr$61k 5 yr$15k debt

19$58,960$60,742$14,750 Business Administration, Management and OperationsCert.

18 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

18———Business Administration, Management and OperationsAssoc.

18 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

18———Allied Health and Medical Assisting ServicesAssoc.

16 grads$35k 1 yr$33k 5 yr$17k debt

16$35,074$32,907$16,500

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 Mitchell Technical College

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

Lake Area Technical College

Public

Watertown, South Dakota · Remote town · 95 mi to Sioux Falls

Students: 1,812
Tuition: $7k
Transfer: 5%
Earnings: $45k

Southeast Technical College

Public

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

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

Western Dakota Technical College

Public

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

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

Northwest Iowa Community College

Public

Sheldon, Iowa · Remote town · 49 mi to Sioux Falls

Students: 864
Tuition: $7k
Transfer: 8%
Earnings: $51k

University of Alaska Southeast

Public

Juneau, Alaska · Fringe rural · 564 mi to Anchorage

Students: 907
Tuition: $7k
Transfer: 26%
Earnings: $48k

Cascadia College

Public

Bothell, Washington · Large suburb · 13 mi to Seattle

Students: 1,032
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 27%
Earnings: $54k

Colleges near Mitchell Technical College

Dakota Wesleyan University

Mitchell, SD · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 670 students

2 mi

Dakota State University

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

50 mi

Southeast Technical College

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

62 mi

Stewart School

Sioux Falls, SD · Private for-profit · Certificate · 133 students

64 mi

Mount Marty University

Yankton, SD · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 697 students

64 mi

Sanford Medical Center

Sioux Falls, SD · Private nonprofit · Certificate · 28 students

64 mi

University of Sioux Falls

Sioux Falls, SD · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,218 students

64 mi

Augustana University

Sioux Falls, SD · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,965 students

64 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.