---
title: Black Hills State University — cost, debt & earnings (College Scorecard)
location: Spearfish, SD
control: Public
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (2026-06-10 release)
sourceUrl: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
---

# Black Hills State University

Spearfish, SD · Public · Bachelor-granting

> Federal College Scorecard institution **medians** — not a prediction of any one student's outcome, and not a figure for any single program. Earnings/debt cover federally-aided students.

## The bottom line

| Figure | Value | Status |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Typical earnings, 10 yrs after entry | $46,674 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $28,912 – $63,502 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $15,000 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $11,000 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 43% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $21,277 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 66% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.32× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $18,674 | derived |

**43% of students finish** — the loans are owed whether or not you graduate, so read every figure below next to this number.

Typical **federal** loan debt is $15,000 (≈ 32% of a year's typical earnings here). Note: this counts federal loans only — not private loans, Parent PLUS, or family savings — so true borrowing is usually higher; and because dropouts borrow less, low-completion schools can show a deceptively low debt figure.

## Earnings by major (the number that decides "worth it")

> **Different measure — read on its own terms.** These are median earnings **1 year after completing the program** (early career, graduates only) — NOT the 10-years-after-entry school-wide figure above. Do not compare a program figure to the school figure; compare majors to each other. The Dept. of Education omits programs with too few graduates.

By program, early-career pay ranges from $21,080 to $46,294 across 14 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Curriculum and Instruction. | Master's Degree | $46,294 | not reported |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Master's Degree | $45,515 | not reported |
| Human Resources Management and Services. | Master's Degree | $43,372 | not reported |
| Special Education and Teaching. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,787 | $23,351 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,943 | not reported |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,857 | $23,594 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Master's Degree | $36,708 | $27,500 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,641 | $27,000 |
| Community Organization and Advocacy. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,934 | $27,375 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,825 | not reported |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,162 | $27,000 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,935 | $24,764 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,611 | not reported |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $21,080 | $23,000 |

## What this is — and is NOT

Institution-wide medians from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. **Not** a prediction of what you would earn or owe, **not** a figure for any single program (a CS and a fine-arts graduate of the same school diverge enormously), **not** proof the school caused the outcome (selection, not causation), and **not** a "best college" ranking. Explore Black Hills State University by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?219046

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Structured data (JSON-LD), each figure labeled by epistemic status: `/education/black-hills-state-university-sd.jsonld` · all schools: `/education`