Medical assistant jobs in South Dakota

A medical assistant in South Dakota earns a median of $41,870 per year, or $20.13 per hour. Median means the middle point, so half of medical assistants earn more than that and half earn less. Nationally, the median is $45,690.

The middle half of medical assistants in the state earn from $37,730 to $45,870. The lowest-paid tenth makes $35,980 or less, while the best-paid tenth earns $48,960 or more. That puts South Dakota 35th among the 50 states and Washington, DC for median medical assistant pay.

The Sioux Falls area has the most medical assistant jobs among the metro areas listed. Among the 3 metro areas listed, Sioux City, which stretches into Iowa and Nebraska, offers the highest pay.

The numbers come from the federal wage survey. To ask about training, choose one accredited program on our South Dakota program page and send the short "Request information" form.

Yes. South Dakota's labor agency expects medical assistant jobs to grow from 1,180 in 2024 to 1,380 by 2034. This works out to 16.9% growth, ahead of the 12.5% national rate, and it places South Dakota 20th of 51 for growth.

Because the state is small, the overall number of jobs remains low. It ranks 48th of 51 for total jobs and for yearly openings. The 170 annual openings cover both newly created positions and openings left behind when workers leave.

You don't need a state license to work as a medical assistant in South Dakota. The old registration law was repealed in 2021.

Even so, certification still matters for certain duties. Certification means you passed an exam run by a national credentialing organization. For scheduled injections, nurses may delegate the task only to a nationally certified medical assistant. Delegating means the nurse assigns you a task and remains responsible for it. In outpatient clinics, registered nurses may also give certified medical assistants certain nursing duties, though not IV therapy.

X-ray work follows a separate rule. Taking X-rays requires credentials from ARRT, a license issued by another state, or 80 documented hours of training. Certification lets you take on more duties, like nurse-delegated injections, so it's worth choosing a program that prepares you for a national exam.

We list four schools in South Dakota that send medical assistant graduate numbers to the federal education survey. Of those, 3 run a program accredited by CAAHEP or ABHES. Such accreditation means an outside organization has reviewed the program against national standards.

Nationwide, the median program length reported by career schools is 9 months, and most of those programs take 7 to 9 months. Nationwide, median published in-district tuition and fees at public colleges are $4,346 for a year of full-time study. At career schools that quote a price for the whole program, the median comes to $17,257, and that includes books.

Some programs offer classes online. However, the externship always takes place in person. It gives you supervised practice in an actual clinic.

Ready to ask a school about its program? The short "Request information" form is on our South Dakota program page, and it works like this:

1. Pick one accredited program from the list.
2. Type your name, email address, phone number, ZIP code and start time.
3. Submit the form, and your request reaches that single school.

With jobs growing faster here than nationally and most programs nationwide taking under a year, now is a good time to start. Pick the accredited program that fits you and send the short form today, so you can ask that school about its costs and next start date.