2026 Best Value Dental Hygiene/Hygienist Schools in South Dakota
[Dental Hygiene/Hygienist](/majors/health-care-professions/dental-support-services/dental-hygiene-hygienist/) programs reward a close look at where your money goes furthest. The best values balance affordable tuition against strong post-graduation earnings.
For its 2026 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 1 schools to find the best return on investment for dental hygiene/hygienist students.
What’s on this page:
2026 Best Value Dental Hygiene/Hygienist Schools in South Dakota
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in dental hygiene/hygienist, balancing cost against outcomes.
Best Value Dental Hygiene/Hygienist Schools
Leading the list is University Of South Dakota, our #1 best value for dental hygiene/hygienist in South Dakota. University Of South Dakota is a large public school located in the town of Vermillion. Expect in-state tuition and fees of around $9,432, while out-of-state students pay about $12,942. Dental Hygiene/hygienist graduates carry a median of $27,000 in student loans. Dental Hygiene/hygienist graduates of University Of South Dakota earn a median of $61,265 early in their careers. Set against $27,000 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. University Of South Dakota admits about 99% of applicants.
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Notes and References
The ranking above is published by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. The methodology weighs the cost of a degree against the earnings graduates go on to achieve, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 1 school evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 ranked schools only.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
