2026 Best Value Sociology Schools in South Dakota
[Sociology](/majors/social-sciences/sociology/) degree programs vary widely in price and payoff across the country. A high-value program keeps cost low while graduates go on to earn well.
For its 2026 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 7 schools to find the best return on investment for sociology students.
What’s on this page:
2026 Best Value Sociology Schools in South Dakota
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in sociology, balancing cost against outcomes.
Best Value Sociology Schools
South Dakota State University earned the #1 spot for value among sociology schools in South Dakota. Located in the town of Brookings, South Dakota State University is a large public university. Expect in-state tuition and fees of around $9,299, while out-of-state students pay about $12,809. Sociology graduates carry a median of $26,000 in student loans. Sociology graduates of South Dakota State University earn a median of $40,236 early in their careers. Weighed against typical debt, the earnings make a compelling case for value. Roughly 98% of applicants are accepted.
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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 · 7 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 2 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.
