Do Georgia Residents Get In-State Tuition in South Dakota? (Undergraduate, 2026)
No — Georgia residents pay full non-resident undergraduate tuition in South Dakota, about $13,600 a year at University of South Dakota against $10,000 for residents. There is no exchange program between Georgia and South Dakota; the only route to the in-state rate is establishing South Dakota residency, which takes 12 months.
- You would pay
- $13,600/yr
- Resident pays
- $10,000/yr
- Over 4 yrs
- No saving available
Tuition and mandatory fees only, compiled from published rates and rounded. Excludes housing, books and course differentials. Eligibility is decided by the institution, not by this page.
Open this pair in the checker to switch level, compare other states, or copy a link to the result.
There is no agreement between these two states at undergraduate level. The full non-resident rate applies: $13,600 at University of South Dakota, where a resident pays $10,000.
Georgia residents start from $12,100 a year, the in-state undergraduate rate at University of Georgia. Measured against that, South Dakota costs $1,500 a year more than staying home. 12 other states offer Georgia residents a reduced undergraduate rate, the lowest being Mississippi at about $9,900.
If the gap decides the question, price the alternative honestly — two years at a Georgia public institution followed by transfer is the route that most often closes a $3,600 annual difference.
Every route from Georgia to South Dakota
No exchange program or bilateral agreement connects these two states at undergraduate level, so the route table is empty.
Where Georgia residents pay less
Staying home, a Georgia resident pays $12,100 a year for in-state undergraduate tuition at University of Georgia. The cheapest South Dakota option for you is $13,600 at University of South Dakota, which is $1,500 a year more than staying home, or $6,000 over 4 years.
Georgia belongs to Academic Common Market (ACM) at undergraduate level, so 12 of 50 states offer Georgia undergraduate students a reduced rate. South Dakota is not one of them.
| State | Route | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Georgia to Mississippi | Academic Common Market · University of Mississippi | $9,900 |
| Georgia to West Virginia | Academic Common Market · West Virginia University | $9,900 |
| Georgia to Arkansas | Academic Common Market · University of Arkansas | $10,300 |
| Georgia to Maryland | Academic Common Market · University of Maryland, College Park | $11,900 |
| Georgia to Louisiana | Academic Common Market · Louisiana State University | $12,000 |
Georgia's neighboring states, compared
What a Georgia resident pays for undergraduate tuition in each state that borders Georgia, cheapest first:
- Alabama$13,700/yr · Academic Common Market
- South Carolina$13,700/yr · Academic Common Market
- Tennessee$14,100/yr · Academic Common Market
- Florida$28,700/yr · non-resident
- North Carolina$39,300/yr · non-resident
Compare all 50 states from Georgia in the checker. Each figure is one reference campus per state, not a state average.
South Dakota residency, in brief
South Dakota grants in-state tuition after 12 months of domicile before the term begins (SDBOR Policy 3:5), and a financially dependent student takes the parents' domicile. Moving to South Dakota to enroll does not by itself start the clock.
South Dakota residency requirements in full · how long every state requires
Step by step
- Budget for the non-resident rate at University of South Dakota: $13,600 a year against $10,000 for residents.
- Check whether the specific campus you want offers its own non-resident scholarship or a border-county waiver — those are institutional, sit outside the state agreements, and are the most commonly missed discount.
- If you plan to stay, price the residency route: South Dakota requires 12 months of domicile, and a financially dependent student takes the parents' domicile, so the family would need to move.
- Read the South Dakota Board of Regents rules in full before you enroll — classification is decided once, and re-classification later in a degree is the hardest version of this problem.
Official links
Related
Asked and answered
›Do Georgia residents get in-state tuition in South Dakota?
No. Georgia residents pay the full non-resident rate of $13,600 at University of South Dakota. The only route to the $10,000 in-state rate is establishing South Dakota residency.
›How long does it take to get in-state tuition in South Dakota?
South Dakota requires 12 months of domicile before the term begins (SDBOR Policy 3:5), and a financially dependent student takes the parents' domicile.
›How much would undergraduate study in South Dakota actually cost a Georgia resident?
About $13,600 a year in tuition and mandatory fees at University of South Dakota, against $10,000 for a South Dakota resident. Figures are compiled 2025–26 published rates and exclude housing, books and course-specific differentials.
›Where can Georgia residents get reduced undergraduate tuition?
In 12 states at undergraduate level. Outside South Dakota, the lowest are Mississippi ($9,900), West Virginia ($9,900), Arkansas ($10,300). Each figure is one reference campus, and awards are made campus by campus.
›Is studying in South Dakota cheaper than staying in Georgia?
No. Georgia's in-state undergraduate rate is $12,100 a year at University of Georgia, and the cheapest South Dakota option for a Georgia resident is $13,600, so South Dakota costs about $1,500 more a year, or $6,000 over 4 years, in tuition and fees alone.
Sources
Every eligibility rule on this page is checked against the operating compact commission or the state's own residency authority. Last verified 2026-08-07.
Tuition figures on this page are compiled 2025–26 published rates (basis: published compiled), rounded to the nearest $100 and refreshed each June. Eligibility rules are checked against the cited compact commission or residency authority.
- South Dakota Board of Regents — residency for tuition purposes ↗Accessed 2026-08-07
- University of South Dakota — tuition and fees ↗Accessed 2026-08-07
- University of Georgia — tuition and fees ↗Accessed 2026-08-07
How this page was made
Compiled and checked by Billy Reiner, editor of In-State Check. Last verified 2026-08-07.
- Compiled from published rate pages
- The in-state and non-resident figures are tuition and mandatory fees for one full-time year, read from University of South Dakota’s own 2025–26 rate page and rounded to the nearest $100. Housing, books, travel and course-specific differentials are not included in them.
- Checked against the administering body
- Compact membership at this level was checked against the commission that runs the program (WICHE, SREB). The residency test — the durational requirement, the domicile evidence and the dependent-student rule — was checked against South Dakota Board of Regents, SDBOR Policy 3:5. Nothing here is taken from another comparison site.
Not advice. In-State Check is independent of every college, compact and state agency named here. Residency classification and award decisions are made by the institution you apply to. Found an error? Send the page URL and the source that contradicts it to [email protected], and the page is corrected and re-dated. Full methodology.