Fastest Growing Jobs in South Dakota

National growth leaders filtered through South Dakota's actual employment footprint – BLS 2024–2034

Where South Dakota already employs the growth list

Ranked by published South Dakota employment (not by national growth %). Sibling state pages diverge here because the occupation title set and order change with the OEWS footprint.

  1. 1. Home Health and Personal Care Aides · Healthcare Support Occupations 4,210 jobs · +17%
  2. 2. Software Developers · Computer and Mathematical Occupations 2,380 jobs · +15.8%
  3. 3. Cooks, Restaurant · Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations 1,890 jobs · +14.9%
  4. 4. Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors · Community and Social Service Occupations 1,710 jobs · +16.8%
  5. 5. Medical Assistants · Healthcare Support Occupations 1,340 jobs · +12.5%
  6. 6. Industrial Machinery Mechanics · Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations 1,230 jobs · +16.1%
  7. 7. Medical and Health Services Managers · Management Occupations 1,140 jobs · +23.2%
  8. 8. Animal Caretakers · Personal Care and Service Occupations 1,110 jobs · +12.1%
  9. 9. Nurse Practitioners · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 1,020 jobs · +40.1%
  10. 10. Financial Managers · Management Occupations 1,000 jobs · +14.8%
  11. 11. Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors · Personal Care and Service Occupations 950 jobs · +11.9%
  12. 12. Information Security Analysts · Computer and Mathematical Occupations 770 jobs · +28.5%
  13. 13. Physician Assistants · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 680 jobs · +20.4%
  14. 14. Occupational Therapists · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 490 jobs · +13.8%
  15. 15. Respiratory Therapists · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 430 jobs · +12.1%
  16. 16. Computer Network Architects · Computer and Mathematical Occupations 420 jobs · +11.9%
  17. 17. Speech-Language Pathologists · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 410 jobs · +15%
  18. 18. Computer and Information Systems Managers · Management Occupations 380 jobs · +15.2%
  19. 19. Diagnostic Medical Sonographers · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 370 jobs · +13%
  20. 20. Physical Therapist Assistants · Healthcare Support Occupations 300 jobs · +22%

Largest South Dakota footprint

Home Health and Personal Care Aides

4,210 jobs in-state

That role's growth

+17%

national projection 2024-2034

OEWS coverage

41/50

South Dakota employment published

National #1 growth

Wind Turbine Service Technicians

+49.9% · different from state footprint lead

Growth % and openings are national BLS projections. The employment and wage columns are South Dakota OEWS estimates where published.

In South Dakota, the national percentage leader Wind Turbine Service Technicians (+49.9%) currently accounts for 180 OEWS jobs while the largest in-state footprint among this growth list is Home Health and Personal Care Aides (4,210 jobs , +17% projected). Next by in-state count: Software Developers (2,380) and Cooks, Restaurant (1,890).

That mismatch is the useful South Dakota read: percentage growth ranks a national change rate, not how many workers the state already employs in the role. Of the 50 national growth rows, 41 publish South Dakota employment; 21 of those covered rows are projected at +15% or more (all-occupations baseline 3.1%). Among the ten largest OEWS rows on this list, 33% of summed employment sits in Healthcare Support Occupations (2 occupations).

Annual openings (growth plus replacements) still live on each occupation profile. A high percentage on a tiny base can add fewer South Dakota seats than a mid-single-digit gain on a large OEWS count. Education and credential columns on the profile set the entry clock; several fast-growth rows need multi-year training before the projection window helps a new entrant.

South Dakota footprint order on the national growth list

Rows with published South Dakota employment are sorted by in-state jobs. Occupations without a state OEWS row stay at the bottom in national growth order.

# Occupation Growth %
1 Home Health and Personal Care Aides +17%
2 Software Developers +15.8%
3 Cooks, Restaurant +14.9%
4 Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors +16.8%
5 Medical Assistants +12.5%
6 Industrial Machinery Mechanics +16.1%
7 Medical and Health Services Managers +23.2%
8 Animal Caretakers +12.1%
9 Nurse Practitioners +40.1%
10 Financial Managers +14.8%
11 Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors +11.9%
12 Information Security Analysts +28.5%
13 Physician Assistants +20.4%
14 Occupational Therapists +13.8%
15 Respiratory Therapists +12.1%
16 Computer Network Architects +11.9%
17 Speech-Language Pathologists +15%
18 Computer and Information Systems Managers +15.2%
19 Diagnostic Medical Sonographers +13%
20 Physical Therapist Assistants +22%
21 Ophthalmic Medical Technicians +19.8%
22 Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary +17.3%
23 Community Health Workers +11.3%
24 Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary +16.8%
25 Occupational Health and Safety Specialists +12.5%
26 Data Scientists +33.5%
27 Logisticians +16.7%
28 Wind Turbine Service Technicians +49.9%
29 Massage Therapists +15.4%
30 Mechanical Door Repairers +11.4%
31 Financial Examiners +18.5%
32 Medical Equipment Repairers +12.9%
33 Health Information Technologists and Medical Registrars +14.7%
34 Clinical and Counseling Psychologists +11.2%
35 Occupational Therapy Assistants +19.2%
36 Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmers +12.8%
37 Marriage and Family Therapists +12.6%
38 Solar Photovoltaic Installers +42.1%
39 Orthotists and Prosthetists +13.3%
40 Forensic Science Technicians +12.8%
41 Recreational Vehicle Service Technicians +11.5%
42 Actuaries +21.8%
43 Operations Research Analysts +21.5%
44 Psychiatric Technicians +20%
45 Computer and Information Research Scientists +19.7%
46 Hearing Aid Specialists +18.4%
47 Epidemiologists +16.2%
48 Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists +14.6%
49 Counselors, All Other +12.6%
50 Therapists, All Other +11.5%

Nearby & Related Pages

Related growth and salary pages for South Dakota and the broader U.S. labor market.

South Dakota Overview

Full state salary data

Highest Paying in South Dakota

Top 100 by median salary

National Rankings

Fastest growing jobs nationwide

Home Health and Personal Care Aides

Largest South Dakota footprint on this list

Job Outlook Explorer

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About This Data

Employment projections come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections program, covering 2024 to 2034. Growth rates represent the projected percentage change in national employment over the 10-year period.

State employment and salary data comes from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. Some occupations may not have state-level data for South Dakota if employment is too small to report.

Last updated: May 2025. Source: BLS Employment Projections program, 2024–2034 and BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025.

State employment totals for South Dakota from BLS OEWS State and Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates, May 2025.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. State employment and wage rows use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and openings use national BLS Employment Projections for 2024–2034. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.