South Dakota Apprenticeship Programs
South Dakota's registered-apprenticeship system is small — 3,000 active apprentices across 148 programs as of September 2026 — so its structure, not its size, is the story below.
- Active apprentices
- 3,000
- National rank
- #45 / 51
- Completion rate
- 63%
- Completion wage
- $27
South Dakota ranks #45 of 51 jurisdictions by active registered apprentices - about 0.4% of all U.S. registered apprentices. Its 63% completion rate sits 4.8 pts above the 58.2% national average, and apprentices who finish raise their pay by 83% - from $15 to $27 an hour.
Apprenticeship filing desk
Jurisdiction SO · South Dakota
South Dakota registered-apprenticeship filing: 3,000 active apprentices (rank 45/51), 148 programs, 63% completion.
- BOOK-TRACE 3,000
- RANK-LOWER #45
- PROG-SPARSE 148
- COMP-MID 63%
- WAGE-STRONG +83%
- SHARE-SMALL 0.4%
- NEW-FY 800
Nearest enrollment peer: North Dakota (200 apprentice gap)
U.S. Department of Labor registered-apprenticeship filing stamps for this jurisdiction. Read: future proof careers
Where South Dakota sits among all 51 jurisdictions
Enrollment by jurisdiction; South Dakota is marked near the small end. Inventory size is not a quality ranking.
South Dakota vs all states by active apprentices
Where this state's DOL registered-apprenticeship enrollment sits among every tracked jurisdiction
3,000 45th of 51 higher than 6 of 51 states
States and territories, banded by active apprentices
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Labor registered-apprenticeship data · 2026-09-25
Source: U.S. Department of Labor registered-apprenticeship data, compiled by PlainWorkforce.
Reading South Dakota's numbers
What stands out in this state's DOL filing, most distinctive first. Every figure below is computed from the state's own row in the dataset.
The signature stat: completion
If one figure defines this system it is follow-through: 63% completion, better than 92% of states.
One of the smallest systems
At rank 45 of 51 with 3,000 active apprentices (0.4% of the national total), this is one of the country's smallest registered systems — which makes the per-program and intake figures above the more telling comparison.
Many small programs
Enrollment is unusually distributed: 148 programs averaging 20.3 apprentices apiece against a 23.6 national norm. A long tail of small sponsors carries the system.
Fast intake pipeline
New registrations are running hot: 800 in the latest fiscal year equals 26.7% of the active base (national pace 25.9%). If completions keep up, this system is compounding.
Typical wage progression
Pay runs $14.75/hour at the start and $27.00 at completion — a 83.1% progression near the 82.7% norm.
South Dakota's largest registered-apprenticeship occupations, ranked by AI-exposure score, most sit well below the 37% occupation-wide average (the dotted line), which is exactly why the trades are AI-resilient. Bars link to the full occupation profile where tracked.
- Electrician 13%
- Sheet Metal Worker 23%
- Plumber 27%
- Carpenter 28%
- HVAC Mechanic -
AI-exposure scores are PlainWorkforce's analysis of O*NET task data; the 37% line is the average across all 832 tracked occupations. Lower = more AI-resilient.
Frequently asked questions
How many apprentices does South Dakota have?
About 3,000 active registered apprentices, one of the smaller state totals (rank 45 of 51), in roughly 148 programs.
What is the apprenticeship completion rate in South Dakota?
63% — 4.8 points above the 58.2% national average, one of the stronger completion records among the states.
How much do apprentices earn in South Dakota?
Entry wages average $14.75/hour, rising to about $27.00 at completion (83.1% growth).
What are the top apprenticeship trades in South Dakota?
The dataset's largest registered-apprenticeship occupations for South Dakota are Electrician, Plumber, Carpenter, HVAC Mechanic, Sheet Metal Worker — construction trades dominate registered apprenticeship in every state.
Is apprenticeship growing in South Dakota?
The intake numbers say yes: 800 new apprentices registered in the latest fiscal year, 26.7% of the current active base and above the 25.9% national pace.
Compare other states
Put these numbers to use
Use South Dakota's apprenticeship numbers above to plan a specific trade path, not just compare states.
- Real wage and growth numbers weigh an apprenticeship path against a college degree. Apprenticeships vs college
- The full occupation directory covers wage and AI exposure for any specific trade. Browse all occupations
- The occupations projected to add the most jobs through 2034 are worth a look. Fastest-growing occupations
U.S. Department of Labor Registered Apprenticeship data is the source here; enrollment and completion both vary by program and year.
Every figure on PlainWorkforce is rendered directly from BLS/O*NET source data, no number is typed in by an editor. Enrollment and wage figures are rounded. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these figures, or report a data error. Data current as of U.S. Department of Labor, Registered Apprenticeship.
Sources: U.S. Department of Labor, Registered Apprenticeship (active apprentices, registered programs, completion rates, and wages by state), O*NET (occupation task data, for the linked AI-exposure scores).