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 %
Computer Programmers 352 $49,663 94.88%
Computer Systems Analysts 295 $61,294 92.77%
Software Developers, Applications 244 $69,206 91.73%
Physicians and Surgeons, All Other 225 $170,122 89.29%
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education 188 $40,336 90.38%
Internists, General 113 $148,100 83.09%
Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists 110 $51,610 93.22%
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists 102 $44,848 91.89%
Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary 73 $63,190 79.35%
Computer Occupations, All Other 73 $66,202 93.59%
Occupation # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Packers and Packagers, Hand 278 $20,507 99.29%
Slaughterers and Meat Packers 89 $29,619 63.12%
Physicians and Surgeons, All Other 56 $164,133 43.41%
Animal Scientists 52 $44,083 47.27%
Internists, General 49 $126,786 53.26%
Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners 15 $21,004 22.06%
Agricultural Equipment Operators 13 $36,154 36.11%
Software Developers, Applications 13 $62,643 41.94%
First-Line Supervisors of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers 11 $45,202 40.74%
Pediatricians, General 11 $135,750 73.33%
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 %
Allsportcentralcom Inc 2 $50,419 100.00%
Gcc Dacotah Inc 2 $54,146 100.00%
Usd School Of Medicine Residency Corp 2 $49,694 100.00%
Hermanson Egge Engineering Inc 2 $54,663 100.00%
Hcl America Inc 2 $63,908 100.00%
Dellait Llc 2 $50,752 100.00%
Siritek Inc 2 $53,862 100.00%
Unique Comp Inc 2 $51,251 100.00%
Just Kidding Child Care Center Inc 2 $55,932 100.00%
Adecco Group Namodis Inc 2 $57,075 100.00%
Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Olinger Farms Partnership 4 $29,536 100.00%
Diversified Seed Genetics Llc 4 $28,714 100.00%
Austin Gross 4 $35,365 100.00%
Daniel Von Eye Farms 4 $24,404 100.00%
Tabor Lumber Coop 4 $33,166 100.00%
Andrew Canham 4 $35,365 100.00%
Ajar Family Farm Llc 4 $28,917 100.00%
3b Farms 4 $24,965 100.00%
Ken Barber Farm 4 $34,897 100.00%
Baysinger Honey Llc 4 $35,667 100.00%
Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %

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