Do South Dakota Residents Get In-State Tuition in Minnesota? (Undergraduate, 2026)
Yes — South Dakota and Minnesota run Minnesota-Dakotas Tuition Reciprocity, so South Dakota residents can pay the Minnesota in-state undergraduate rate of about $16,500 a year instead of the $36,000 non-resident rate at University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Check the current terms before you apply.
- You would pay
- $16,500/yr
- Resident pays
- $16,500/yr
- Non-resident rate
- $36,000/yr
- Saved over 4 yrs
- $78,000
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.
Bilateral agreements are rarer than students assume, and this is one of them. Under Minnesota-Dakotas Tuition Reciprocity, a South Dakota resident at University of Minnesota Twin Cities pays about $16,500 rather than the $36,000 non-resident rate.
South Dakota residents start from $10,000 a year, the in-state undergraduate rate at University of South Dakota. Measured against that, Minnesota costs $6,500 a year more than staying home. 15 other states offer South Dakota residents a reduced undergraduate rate, the lowest being Wyoming at about $10,050.
Treat the figure below as a planning number rather than a quote. Rates are set per campus and per college within the campus, and a program in engineering or nursing frequently carries a differential the headline rate does not include.
Every route from South Dakota to Minnesota
| Route | What it gives you | Per year | Saving | Guaranteed? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota-Dakotas Tuition Reciprocity | Minnesota maintains standing reciprocity agreements with both Dakotas. Residents of either side pay a reciprocity rate at the other's public institutions, applied for through the Minnesota Office of Higher Education or the partner state's system office. | $16,500 | $19,500 | Yes, if eligible |
Where South Dakota residents pay less
Staying home, a South Dakota resident pays $10,000 a year for in-state undergraduate tuition at University of South Dakota. The cheapest Minnesota option for you is $16,500 at University of Minnesota Twin Cities, which is $6,500 a year more than staying home, or $26,000 over 4 years.
South Dakota belongs to Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) at undergraduate level, so 16 of 50 states offer South Dakota undergraduate students a reduced rate, and Minnesota is one of them.
| State | Route | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| South Dakota to Wyoming | Western Undergraduate Exchange · University of Wyoming | $10,050 |
| South Dakota to Iowa | UNI Neighboring State Rate · University of Northern Iowa | $10,201 |
| South Dakota to Montana | Western Undergraduate Exchange · University of Montana | $12,000 |
| South Dakota to Nevada | Western Undergraduate Exchange · University of Nevada, Las Vegas | $13,350 |
| South Dakota to New Mexico | Western Undergraduate Exchange · University of New Mexico | $13,350 |
South Dakota's neighboring states, compared
What a South Dakota resident pays for undergraduate tuition in each state that borders South Dakota, cheapest first:
- Wyoming$10,050/yr · Western Undergraduate Exchange
- Iowa$10,201/yr · UNI Neighboring State Rate
- Montana$12,000/yr · Western Undergraduate Exchange
- Minnesota$16,500/yr · Minnesota-Dakotas Tuition Reciprocity
- North Dakota$16,650/yr · Western Undergraduate Exchange
- Nebraska$28,700/yr · non-resident
Compare all 50 states from South Dakota in the checker. Each figure is one reference campus per state, not a state average.
Minnesota residency, in brief
Minnesota grants in-state tuition after 12 months of domicile before the term begins (Minn. Stat. § 135A.031), and a financially dependent student takes the parents' domicile. Moving to Minnesota to enroll does not by itself start the clock.
Minnesota residency requirements in full · how long every state requires
Step by step
- Read the current terms of Minnesota-Dakotas Tuition Reciprocity — bilateral agreements are renegotiated and can narrow to specific campuses or majors between academic years.
- Apply through the channel the agreement specifies; several are administered by the home state's higher-education agency, not by the receiving campus.
- Provide proof of South Dakota residency in the form the agreement requires.
- If you fall outside the agreement's scope, fall back to the residency route: 12 months of Minnesota domicile.
Official links
Related
Asked and answered
›Do South Dakota residents get in-state tuition in Minnesota?
Effectively yes, through Minnesota-Dakotas Tuition Reciprocity, but it is not residency. You pay the in-state rate of about $16,500 while remaining a South Dakota resident for every other purpose, and the benefit ends if you leave the approved program.
›How long does it take to get in-state tuition in Minnesota?
Minnesota requires 12 months of domicile before the term begins (Minn. Stat. § 135A.031), and a financially dependent student takes the parents' domicile.
›How much would undergraduate study in Minnesota actually cost a South Dakota resident?
About $16,500 a year in tuition and mandatory fees under Minnesota-Dakotas Tuition Reciprocity, against $36,000 at the published non-resident rate and $16,500 for a Minnesota resident. Over 4 years that is roughly $78,000 saved. Figures are compiled 2025–26 published rates and exclude housing, books and course-specific differentials.
›Where can South Dakota residents get reduced undergraduate tuition?
In 16 states at undergraduate level. Outside Minnesota, the lowest are Wyoming ($10,050), Iowa ($10,201), Montana ($12,000). Each figure is one reference campus, and awards are made campus by campus.
›Is studying in Minnesota cheaper than staying in South Dakota?
No. South Dakota's in-state undergraduate rate is $10,000 a year at University of South Dakota, and the cheapest Minnesota option for a South Dakota resident is $16,500, so Minnesota costs about $6,500 more a year, or $26,000 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 2026-09-27.
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.
- Minnesota Office of Higher Education — residency for tuition purposes ↗Accessed 2026-08-07
- University of Minnesota Twin Cities — tuition and fees ↗Accessed 2026-08-07
- University of South Dakota — 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 2026-09-27.
- 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 Minnesota Twin Cities’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, MHEC). The residency test — the durational requirement, the domicile evidence and the dependent-student rule — was checked against Minnesota Office of Higher Education, Minn. Stat. § 135A.031. 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.