Bachelor's · Brookings, South Dakota

Is Civil Engineering at South Dakota State University worth it?

Medium confidence Medium confidence: 40–99 graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back fast: graduates typically recover the cost in about 2.6 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $78,549; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $88,600; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $23,844; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $82k (likely $82k – $107k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $49k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in SD; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 2.6 years (likely 2.1–3.3); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $230k (likely $119k – $352k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $827k (likely $585k – $1.09M); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 62%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26