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 %
Iran 4 $70,991 57.14%
Lebanon 4 $156,250 57.14%
Spain 4 $52,510 66.67%
Egypt 3 $109,976 50.00%
Jordan 3 $149,191 50.00%
Costa Rica 3 $31,536 60.00%
Jamaica 3 $20,467 60.00%
Turkey 3 $95,960 60.00%
El Salvador 2 $26,083 40.00%
Ecuador 2 $120,733 40.00%

Top Hiring Companies in South Dakota (All Years)

Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Eide Bailly Llp 1 $42,910 100.00%
Lt Technology Services Limited 1 $43,035 100.00%
The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society 1 $43,243 100.00%
Jn Bar Honey Pollination 1 $43,285 100.00%
Jn Bar Honey Co 1 $43,285 100.00%
American Horse School 1 $43,470 100.00%
South Dakota Trust Company 1 $43,576 100.00%
Hiebert Greenhouses Inc 1 $44,179 100.00%
Sutton Bay Golf Llc 1 $44,533 100.00%
Greenbyte Technologies Llc 1 $44,949 100.00%
Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Vilhauer Leasing Llc 3 $36,137 100.00%
Qa Inc 3 $34,854 100.00%
B B Harvesting 3 $20,578 100.00%
Helena Agri Enterprise Llc 3 $34,854 100.00%
Larry Braun Family Farms 3 $36,733 100.00%
Robbennolt Farms Inc 3 $33,828 100.00%
Dry Run Farms Inc 3 $36,733 100.00%
Nathan Skjoldal 3 $35,450 100.00%
James Erickson 3 $28,697 100.00%
Jamie Von Eye 3 $23,428 100.00%
Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %

Top Industries in South Dakota (All Years)

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