South Dakota·Management Occupations·SOC 11-9151

Best Social programs in South Dakota, ranked by enrollment

Plan, direct, or coordinate the activities of a social service program or community outreach organization.

18 schools in South Dakota run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,113 people a year. The job pays a median of $86,870 in South Dakota across about 450 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledSocial Services DirectorTransitional Care DirectorChild Welfare Services DirectorVocational Rehabilitation AdministratorCase ManagerClub ManagerParole DirectorProgram Manager
Graduates / yr
1,113
in South Dakota
Median pay · South Dakota
$86,870
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
450
people employed
Schools
18
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
48%
across those schools
Median net price
$22,086
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in South Dakota that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

8 programs in South Dakota that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in South Dakota (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own South Dakota page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1834
74.9%
14$43,506$25,000
278
7.0%
2$44,700$24,000
374
6.6%
4$35,168$29,279
447
4.2%
3$43,506$25,000
530
2.7%
1$45,374$26,000
621
1.9%
3$37,264$26,140
717
1.5%
1$39,102$27,000
812
1.1%
2$36,206$29,240

Top 18 schools in South Dakota

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 11 of the 18 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1University of South Dakota
Vermillion, SD Public · 4 feeder programs
229Business Administration and Management, General$47,10760%99%
2California Intercontinental University
Sioux Falls, SD Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
183Business Administration and Management, General
3University of Sioux Falls
Sioux Falls, SD Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
117Business Administration and Management, General$44,30163%$19,43983%
4Black Hills State University
Spearfish, SD Public · 3 feeder programs
105Business Administration and Management, General$45,68243%96%
5National American University - Rapid City
Rapid City, SD Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
95Business Administration and Management, General$48,8270%$22,086
6Southeast Technical College
Sioux Falls, SD Public · 1 feeder programs
69Business/Commerce, General$37,38359%
7Dakota Wesleyan University
Mitchell, SD Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs
60Non-Profit/Public/Organizational Management48%$17,60873%
8Dakota State University
Madison, SD Public · 1 feeder programs
41Business Administration and Management, General$44,74851%88%
9Oglala Lakota College
Kyle, SD Public · 2 feeder programs
40Business Administration and Management, General9%
10Lake Area Technical College
Watertown, SD Public · 1 feeder programs
31Human Services, General$26,73073%
11Mount Marty University
Yankton, SD Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
31Business Administration and Management, General$39,62552%$22,97243%
12Mitchell Technical College
Mitchell, SD Public · 2 feeder programs
23Business Administration and Management, General76%
13Sinte Gleska University
Mission, SD Public · 1 feeder programs
23Human Services, General15%
14Northern State University
Aberdeen, SD Public · 1 feeder programs
22Business Administration and Management, General$43,66749%93%
15Sisseton Wahpeton College
Sisseton, SD Public · 2 feeder programs
18Behavioral Sciences21%
16Augustana University
Sioux Falls, SD Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
14Business Administration and Management, General$50,51673%$23,01168%
17Western Dakota Technical College
Rapid City, SD Public · 1 feeder programs
10Business Administration and Management, General$24,50354%
18South Dakota State University
Brookings, SD Public · 1 feeder programs
2Non-Profit/Public/Organizational Management62%98%

All 18 schools in South Dakota

Every school in South Dakota with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in South Dakota that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
University of South DakotaVermillionPublic2294
California Intercontinental UniversitySioux FallsPrivate for-profit1831
University of Sioux FallsSioux FallsPrivate not-for-profit1172
Black Hills State UniversitySpearfishPublic1053
National American University - Rapid CityRapid CityPrivate for-profit951
Southeast Technical CollegeSioux FallsPublic691
Dakota Wesleyan UniversityMitchellPrivate not-for-profit603
Dakota State UniversityMadisonPublic411
Oglala Lakota CollegeKylePublic402
Lake Area Technical CollegeWatertownPublic311
Mount Marty UniversityYanktonPrivate not-for-profit311
Mitchell Technical CollegeMitchellPublic232
Sinte Gleska UniversityMissionPublic231
Northern State UniversityAberdeenPublic221
Sisseton Wahpeton CollegeSissetonPublic182

What social and community service managers earn in South Dakota

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in South Dakota
$86,870
Mean annual
$90,180
Jobs in state
450
What the range looks like
10th pct$65,660Median$86,87090th pct$117,590
Versus the national median
+8.1%

U.S. median $80,390. South Dakota pays above the national figure.

Job concentration
0.74×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Metro areas in South Dakota

Sioux Falls, SD-MN
$91,120median
200 jobs
Rapid City, SD
$83,550median
80 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+6.4%
Faster than average
Openings per year
18,600
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
14,100
219,800 → 233,900
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Social and Community Service Managers page.

How to become a Social

Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree
Work experience needed
Less than 5 years

Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Top skills

Active LearningActive ListeningCritical ThinkingMonitoringWritingReading Comprehension

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in South Dakota

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 12 majors mapped to Social and Community Service Managers12 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 30.1701Behavioral Sciences
  • 30.5301Thanatology
  • 44.0000Human Services, General
  • 44.0201Community Organization and Advocacy
  • 44.0401Public Administration
  • 44.0701Social Work
  • 44.0702Youth Services/Administration
  • 44.0703Forensic Social Work
  • 44.0799Social Work, Other
  • 52.0101Business/Commerce, General
  • 52.0201Business Administration and Management, General
  • 52.0206Non-Profit/Public/Organizational Management

Common questions

Answers for people weighing social and community service managers programs in South Dakota.

What degree do you need to become a Social?+

Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Business Administration and Management, General, which awarded 834 degrees in South Dakota in 2024-25, 74.9% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Social?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 8 programs to this occupation. The largest are Business Administration, Business/Commerce, Human Services, Public Administration, plus 3 more. Together they graduate about 1,113 people a year in South Dakota.

How much do social and community service managers earn in South Dakota?+

The median is $86,870 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 8.1% above the U.S. median of $80,390. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for social and community service managers growing?+

BLS projects a +6.4% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, faster than average, with roughly 18,600 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in South Dakota?+

18 institutions in South Dakota reported graduates from at least one of the 8 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

What other job titles do social and community service managers work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Social Services Director, Transitional Care Director, Child Welfare Services Director, Vocational Rehabilitation Administrator among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 11-9151.

Social and Community Service Managers in other statesCaliforniaTexasArizonaNew YorkFloridaIndianaNorth CarolinaMassachusetts

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

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