Public · Community college

Western Dakota Technical College

Rapid City, South Dakota · Small city

#3 best value in South Dakota#4 for grad earnings in South Dakota
5%
Transfer rate
$12,670
Avg net price
54%
Grad / completion
$40,240
Median earnings

Western Dakota Technical College is a public associate-granting institution in Rapid City, South Dakota (small city setting), enrolling 753 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicSmall · 753 undergradsSmall cityCold wintersSnowy

About Rapid City, South Dakota

Rapid City is a city in and the county seat of Pennington County, South Dakota, United States. The public discovery of gold in 1874 by the Black Hills Expedition, led by George Armstrong Custer, brought a mass influx of European-American miners and settlers into Rapid City. Rapid City has invested in public sculptures, notably "The City of Presidents" series of life-sized bronze statues depicting each former President of the United States, located on street corners in the downtown area. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Small city
Highest degree offered
Associate
To Great Lakes shore
567 miles
Nearest airport
6 miles to Rapid City (RAP)

How Western Dakota Technical College compares

Graduation rate54%

Higher than 41% · #7 of 10 in South Dakota

First-year retention67%

Higher than 39%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$40,240

Higher than 69% · #4 of 10 in South Dakota

Average net price$12,670

Cheaper than 59% · #3 cheapest of 10 in South Dakota

Median debt at graduation$15,000

Lower than 14%

Student–faculty ratio11 : 1

Lower than 78%

Undergraduate enrollment753

Larger than 69%

Percentiles compare Western Dakota 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

753undergrads
  • Women39452%
  • Men35948%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White73%
  • Black1.9%
  • Hispanic7.0%
  • Asian1.3%
  • Other or multiracial17%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
753
Student–faculty ratio
11 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
33%
First-generation students
38%
Students over 25
29%
Median family income
$25,793
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$61,434
Endowment
$249,626

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

Cost

In-state tuition
$8,294
Room & board
$8,150
Books & supplies
$800
Total cost of attendance
$18,845
Average net price
$12,670

Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.

Outcomes

Graduated
54%
First-year retention
67%
Transferred to another college
5%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$36,971
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$40,240
Median debt at graduation
$15,000
Students with federal loans
41%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
43%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
54%
Low-income (Pell)
40%
First-generation
40%

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
Yes
Dorm capacity
40
Dorm capacity vs undergrads
5%
Housing charge (year)
$5,700
Application fee
Free

Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.

Campus safety

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

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (1,164 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.

Reported offenses in an average year

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

0.7reported offenses a year
0.3 violent a year0.3 property a year

By offense type, per year

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
$10,071
$30–48k
$10,543
$48–75k
$14,003
$75–110k
$18,657
$110k+
$18,845

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.

19%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$2,421
average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 19% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $2,421. 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 153 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)
$40,240
Typical debt at graduation
$15,000
Debt vs. one year's pay
37%
Out-earn a HS grad
52%

Typical debt would take roughly 3.7 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Solid value

A reasonable return: earnings comfortably clear the debt over a few years for most students who finish.

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
$35,671
Men
$46,101

Men out-earn women by $10,430 (29%) 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
84°F
Winter low
16°F
Annual rain
20″
Annual snow
53.7″

Average temperature

HighLow
10°50°90°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.04.1JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Rapid City Wfo, SD US station (1.6 mi from campus).

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 Western Dakota Technical College

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

Colleges near Western Dakota Technical College

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.