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 %
Vietnam 84 $24,503 50.00%
Brazil 65 $32,278 41.40%
Mexico 61 $42,356 42.36%
Burma (myanmar) 45 $20,361 39.47%
India 39 $119,488 56.52%
Cambodia 29 $23,767 52.73%
Nepal 29 $62,139 52.73%
Bangladesh 29 $29,916 53.70%
South Africa 24 $33,443 52.17%
South Korea 24 $44,885 60.00%

Top Hiring Companies in South Dakota (All Years)

Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Bennett Pless Inc 3 $58,961 100.00%
Minntronix Inc 3 $61,270 100.00%
Kiewit Infrastructure Co 3 $72,447 100.00%
Agropur Inc 3 $64,244 100.00%
Management Health Systems Inc 3 $60,493 100.00%
South Dakota Science And Technology Authority 3 $67,177 100.00%
Glovia International Inc 3 $67,226 100.00%
Elajika Inc 3 $68,855 100.00%
Banner Engineering 3 $68,009 100.00%
4s Technologies Llc 3 $68,300 100.00%
Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Bee Zee Honey Company Inc 6 $24,957 100.00%
Wolf Harvesting Llc 6 $31,816 100.00%
Frey View Dairy Farm Inc 6 $26,069 100.00%
Inwood Feeders 5 $38,908 100.00%
Terry R Beastrom 5 $35,913 100.00%
Jorgensen Land Cattle 5 $35,501 100.00%
J L Maher Inc 5 $28,812 100.00%
Bradberry Ventures Inc 5 $32,926 100.00%
Terence E Manas 5 $32,889 100.00%
Wildrose Ag Services Llc 5 $35,181 100.00%
Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %

Top Industries in South Dakota (All Years)

Industry # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Poultry And Poultry Product Merchant Wholesalers 1 $28,267 100.00%
Industry # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %

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