This page is built from the open postings on hospital and health-system career sites in South Dakota listed on Betterleap's job board: 2,021 open positions from 14 employers as of September 26, 2026, 1% of all open postings on the board, which ranks South Dakota #33 of 51 states. Registered nurses are 47.8% of the state's postings (554). Every figure below is a count or a posted pay range, never a job description; the method is at the end.
Where the jobs are in South Dakota
| # | City | Open postings | of which RN | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sioux Falls, SD | 631 | 119 | 6 |
| 2 | Rapid City, SD | 615 | 277 | 4 |
| 3 | Aberdeen, SD | 106 | 18 | 2 |
| 4 | Yankton, SD | 70 | 19 | 1 |
| 5 | Pierre, SD | 67 | 11 | 2 |
| 6 | Spearfish, SD | 46 | 12 | 3 |
| 7 | Mitchell, SD | 44 | 7 | 1 |
| 8 | Brookings, SD | 39 | 4 | 3 |
Every city links to its live listings; the state's registered-nurse listings are at RN jobs in South Dakota.
Health systems hiring the most in South Dakota
Counted by open postings on the system's own career site, so a system that lists every unit and shift separately ranks higher than one that posts one evergreen requisition per role.
| # | Employer | Open postings in SD |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Avera Health | 786 |
| 2 | Monument Health | 616 |
| 3 | Sanford Health | 477 |
| 4 | Kentfield Hospital | 54 |
| 5 | Brookings Health System | 29 |
| 6 | Huron Regional Medical Center | 20 |
| 7 | Encompass Health | 15 |
| 8 | Sonora Behavioral Health Hospital | 14 |
Which roles South Dakota employers are hiring
| Role | Open postings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| registered nurses | 554 | 47.8% |
| licensed practical nurses | 205 | 17.7% |
| certified nursing assistants | 130 | 11.2% |
| physicians | 104 | 9% |
| radiologic technologists | 45 | 3.9% |
| food service workers | 43 | 3.7% |
| patient access representatives | 41 | 3.5% |
| patient care technicians | 38 | 3.3% |
What nursing jobs pay in South Dakota
For reference, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 14,710 registered nurses employed in South Dakota with a mean wage of $37.09 an hour ($77,140 a year), OEWS May 2025.
Only 0.9% of South Dakota postings state a pay range with both ends: too few to publish a posted median (the rule is at least 100 postings and a median within a third of the BLS mean). The BLS figure above is the reliable reference for this state.
Licensing: working as a nurse in South Dakota
South Dakota is a member of the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) according to NCSBN's compact map (read September 26, 2026, which lists 40 member states). A nurse whose primary state of residence is South Dakota can hold a multistate license and practice in every other compact state without a new application, and a nurse with a multistate license issued elsewhere can accept a job in South Dakota without waiting for an endorsement. The state's board of nursing contact page is on NCSBN.
Licensing is issued by the state board of nursing: an approved nursing program, the NCLEX-RN (or NCLEX-PN), a background check and the board's application. The board's own pages are the source of truth for fees and timelines; this page does not restate them.
How this is built
- Scope: open postings on public hospital and health-system career sites, counted as of the date shown; job descriptions are never republished. Only postings whose location is in South Dakota count here; a posting listing several sites counts once, at its first site.
- Pay point: midpoint of the posted range, hourly (annual ÷ 2080), only where both ends and the unit are posted. The top of a posted range is never used as "the pay". A posted median is published only with at least 100 postings and within a third of the BLS mean.
- Freshness: counts are refreshed monthly and the page shows its date; a posting that leaves an employer's site drops out.
- References: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, state estimates; NCSBN Nurse Licensure Compact map data, read September 26, 2026.
Data as of September 26, 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How many open nursing jobs are there in South Dakota right now?
2,021 open postings from 14 hospital and health-system employers in South Dakota as of September 26, 2026, 554 of them for registered nurses. Sioux Falls has the most (631), then Rapid City (615).
What do registered nurses earn in South Dakota?
The BLS OEWS May 2025 mean for registered nurses in South Dakota is $37.09 an hour, $77,140 a year, across 14,710 employed RNs. Too few open postings state a pay range for a posted median to be published for this state.
Is South Dakota a Nurse Licensure Compact state?
Yes. South Dakota is an NLC member per NCSBN's compact map (read September 26, 2026), so a multistate license issued by another compact state is valid there.
Which hospitals are hiring nurses in South Dakota?
By open postings on their own career sites: Avera Health (786), Monument Health (616), Sanford Health (477) and 5 more listed above, as of September 26, 2026.