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 %
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 %
Sanford Researchusd 9 $37,392 81.82%
Lower Brule Day School 9 $41,155 90.00%
Sgt Inc 9 $59,865 90.00%
Deloitte Consulting Llp 9 $61,589 90.00%
Sencore Inc 9 $68,804 90.00%
Cyberthink Inc 9 $67,438 90.00%
Raven Industries Inc 9 $82,897 90.00%
Queryai Inc 9 $75,538 100.00%
Continental Casualty Company 9 $84,409 100.00%
Wurth Electronics Midcom Inc 8 $53,044 88.89%
Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Rocking Diamond Livestock 11 $20,154 100.00%
Anderson Bros Farms Llc 11 $31,578 100.00%
Kirk Aughenbaugh Agriculture 11 $28,057 100.00%
Kent Schneider 10 $30,717 100.00%
Vanwell Livestock Inc 10 $16,043 100.00%
Baldwin Ag Llc 10 $31,947 100.00%
Burnham Bros 10 $33,727 100.00%
Jeffery Paplow 10 $23,044 100.00%
Jon Hofer 10 $31,949 100.00%
Karlen Ranch 10 $30,197 100.00%
Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Regional Health Network Inc 1 $47,736 33.33%
Vertical Bridge Management Llc 1 $51,418 33.33%
Daktronics Inc 1 $55,370 33.33%
Marc Lippens Dba Lippens Agria Dairy 1 $68,349 33.33%
Toshiba America Business Solutions 1 $63,107 33.33%
Coeur Mining Inc 1 $114,962 33.33%
W Brown Farm Ltd 1 $27,726 33.33%
Advanced Technologies Inc 1 $45,614 33.33%
American Connections 1 $31,845 33.33%
Edco Health Information Solutions Inc 1 $57,429 33.33%

Top Industries in South Dakota (All Years)

Industry # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Full Service Restaurants 11 $27,656 61.11%
Casino Hotels 11 $21,309 64.71%
Oilseed And Grain Farming 10 $33,405 66.67%
Hog And Pig Farming 10 $47,426 90.91%
Beef Cattle Ranching And Farming 9 $37,911 81.82%
Geophysical Surveying And Mapping Services 8 $56,005 72.73%
Computer Systems Design Services 8 $54,488 72.73%
Hotels Except Casino Hotels And Motels 8 $21,752 80.00%
Other Grain Farming 6 $30,933 60.00%
Prefabricated Wood Building Manufacturing 6 $48,270 66.67%

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