We now have Quarter 4 H1B visa FY 2023 data and Quarter 4 PERM visa FY 2023 data and Quarter 4 H2A visa FY 2023 data.
Employer Search tool is moved to it's own page: "H1B Visa Data Search Tool"

South Dakota Foreign Labor Visa Stats (All Years)

Total Visas % of all Visas Average Wage Visa Type
3,930 49.46% $71,841 H-1B
3,166 39.84% $31,156 H-2A
815 10.26% $51,076 PERM
35 0.44% $50,361 E-3 Australian

As of May 2023, South Dakota has seen a total of 7,946 visa workers across all visa types. The most common visa class in South Dakota is the H-1B visa with 3,930 H-1B visas on record over all years accounting for 49.46% of South Dakota's total visas. The second most prevalent visa is the H-2A visa with 3,166 H-2A visas on record over all years accounting for 39.84% of South Dakota's total visas.

Top Occupations in South Dakota (All Years)

Occupation # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Database Administrators 27 $64,126 87.10%
Electrical Engineers 27 $64,733 90.00%
Hospitalists 26 $204,033 89.66%
Pediatricians, General 26 $171,630 92.86%
Physics Teachers, Postsecondary 24 $58,997 92.31%
Management Analysts 23 $66,501 92.00%
Civil Engineers 22 $66,403 88.00%
Operations Research Analysts 20 $57,450 83.33%
Geographers 20 $45,166 83.33%
Software Developers, Systems Software 19 $68,220 82.61%
South Dakota Employees Over Time
South Dakota has been in the H1B Visa program since 2011 where 259 employees were hired. South Dakota peaked in 2024 with 462 employees, and has since been on a decline with the most recent number of employees being 74 in 2025.

Top Countries with Workers in South Dakota From PERM Program (All Years)

Country # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Mongolia 17 $27,794 42.50%
Philippines 16 $58,873 50.00%
Canada 15 $98,088 50.00%
Honduras 14 $43,860 63.64%
Thailand 13 $64,390 59.09%
Pakistan 12 $109,559 75.00%
Nigeria 12 $70,770 80.00%
China 10 $51,642 66.67%
Colombia 5 $35,643 45.45%
Ukraine 5 $39,487 71.43%

Top Hiring Companies in South Dakota (All Years)

Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Tata Consultancy Services Limited 450 $52,236 98.90%
South Dakota State University 274 $50,332 79.88%
Sanford Clinic 269 $161,460 89.37%
Avera Mckennan 214 $125,359 92.64%
Sioux Falls School District 49 5 160 $41,876 90.40%
My3tech Inc 113 $64,024 76.87%
University Of South Dakota 106 $52,123 89.08%
South Dakota School Of Mines And Technology 87 $60,911 81.31%
Sanford School Of Medicine Of The University Of South Dakota Residency 86 $48,518 92.47%
Sanford Health 75 $61,349 93.75%
Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Alewelt Concrete Inc 57 $31,308 100.00%
Riverview Llp 30 $30,960 100.00%
Sbh Ag Services Inc 27 $36,989 100.00%
Lake County Dairy 26 $30,328 100.00%
Western Range Association 24 $19,567 100.00%
Signet Construction Llc 24 $35,304 100.00%
Paul Taylor 19 $28,383 100.00%
Swenson Partnership 17 $29,170 100.00%
John Wieczorek Harvesting 17 $31,222 100.00%
Mundt Farm Ptn 16 $28,980 100.00%
Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
South Dakota State University 57 $50,584 13.07%
Valley Queen Cheese Factory Inc 38 $40,284 29.92%
Rapid City Regional Hospital 19 $179,015 17.27%
Black Hills State University 16 $48,562 17.58%
Wieber Steel Construction Llc 15 $26,224 17.24%
Two Ten Twenty Pizza Inc 14 $22,797 20.59%
Dakota State University 10 $46,165 17.54%
Premier Bankcard Llc 10 $61,724 26.32%
Avera St Lukes 9 $101,779 25.71%
Deadwood Resort Llc 8 $23,005 25.00%

Top Industries in South Dakota (All Years)

Industry # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Custom Computer Programming Services 910 $58,724 95.09%
General Medical And Surgical Hospitals 742 $130,098 83.84%
Colleges Universities And Professional Schools 708 $51,354 86.76%
Elementary And Secondary Schools 402 $41,969 94.37%
Computer Systems Design Services 187 $65,732 91.22%
Engineering Services 57 $63,166 90.48%
Management Scientific And Technical Consulting Services 53 $63,575 88.33%
Dairy Cattle And Milk Production 43 $47,355 76.79%
Temporary Help Services 43 $62,379 89.58%
Credit Card Issuing 39 $66,455 86.67%
Industry # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Oilseed And Grain Combination Farming 514 $32,923 100.00%
Other Crop Farming 417 $32,793 100.00%
Farm Labor Contractors And Crew Leaders 308 $33,153 100.00%
Crop Harvesting Primarily By Machine 268 $32,123 100.00%
Support Activities For Crop Production 133 $35,386 100.00%
Cattle Ranching And Farming 124 $33,113 100.00%
Apiculture 122 $32,079 100.00%
Cattle Feedlots 121 $33,806 100.00%
Oilseed And Grain Farming 116 $34,983 100.00%
Other Grain Farming 84 $33,759 100.00%
Industry # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Poultry Processing 435 $20,283 100.00%
General Medical And Surgical Hospitals 263 $133,370 100.00%
Dairy Cattle And Milk Production 110 $44,914 69.18%
Animal Except Poultry Slaughtering 110 $29,619 100.00%
Custom Computer Programming Services 41 $62,959 37.27%
Cheese Manufacturing 38 $40,284 56.72%
Offices Of Physicians Except Mental Health Specialists 22 $156,519 53.66%
Limited Service Restaurants 15 $23,709 39.47%
Credit Card Issuing 11 $65,386 32.35%
Oil And Gas Pipeline And Related Structures Construction 11 $26,146 50.00%

South Dakota Wage Comparison to Other States (All Years)

The chart below compares The average wage in South Dakota to that of the top 9 states with the highest overall average H1-B wage. The average wage in South Dakota over all years is $71,841. The state with the highest average wage of H1-B workers for all states is CA with an average wage of $104,510.

State Avg Wage