Marcia Hultman

Cabinet Secretary

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Labor Market Information Center

Hot Careers Data

The table below shows the projected employment and demand plus the average wage for each Hot Career--the data elements which put them on the Hot Careers list. The Top 30 occupations (those 30 Hot Careers with the most average annual openings) are identified with this symbol: 😎.

South Dakota Hot Careers
High Demand, High Wage Occupations
SOC* Code SOC* Title Average Annual Openings 2024
Employment		 2034
Employment		 Numeric
Change
2024 to
2034		 Percent
Change
2024 to
2034		 Average
Annual
Wage
2025		 Level of Education Recommended
in South Dakota
13-2011 Accountants and Auditors 😎 513 5,982 6,569 587 9.8% $85,030 Bachelor's degree
45-2091 Agricultural Equipment Operators 😎 256 1,566 1,706 140 8.9% $47,470 Less than high school
49-3021 Automotive Body and Related Repairers 80 839 917 78 9.3% $55,280 Some postsecondary education
49-3023 Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics 😎 244 2,516 2,803 287 11.4% $55,660 Some postsecondary education
49-3031 Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists 107 1,173 1,272 99 8.4% $59,480 Some postsecondary education
13-1199 Business Operations Specialists, All Other 145 1,604 1,651 47 2.9% $91,300 Some postsecondary education
13-1020 Buyers and Purchasing Agents 152 1,417 1,568 151 10.7% $78,690 Bachelor's degree
47-2031 Carpenters 😎 498 5,917 6,484 567 9.6% $51,330 High school diploma or equivalent
47-2051 Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers 😎 176 2,208 2,424 216 9.8% $48,800 High school diploma or equivalent
21-1021 Child, Family, and School Social Workers 😎 173 1,880 2,004 124 6.6% $53,320 Bachelor's degree
17-2051 Civil Engineers 81 1,123 1,254 131 11.7% $99,500 Bachelor's degree
21-2011 Clergy 😎 167 1,828 1,898 70 3.8% $60,180 Bachelor's degree
29-2010 Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians 😎 96 1,283 1,408 125 9.7% $60,940 Bachelor's degree
51-9124 Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders 146 1,375 1,488 113 8.2% $49,640 High school diploma or equivalent
13-1041 Compliance Officers 93 1,129 1,186 57 5.1% $80,090 Bachelor's degree
15-1211 Computer Systems Analysts 80 1,134 1,271 137 12.1% $106,040 Bachelor's degree
11-9021 Construction Managers 139 1,523 1,723 200 13.1% $123,320 Associate degree
31-9091 Dental Assistants 😎 188 1,236 1,413 177 14.3% $50,170 Some postsecondary education
47-2111 Electricians 😎 333 3,092 3,577 485 15.7% $61,980 Some postsecondary education
25-2021 Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education 😎 337 4,606 4,833 227 4.9% $52,680 Bachelor's degree
43-6011 Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants 😎 195 1,828 1,890 62 3.4% $56,200 High school diploma or equivalent
49-3041 Farm Equipment Mechanics and Service Technicians 131 1,242 1,469 227 18.3% $63,550 Some postsecondary education
11-3031 Financial Managers 91 1,009 1,190 181 17.9% $172,430 Bachelor's degree
33-2011 Firefighters 113 1,393 1,461 68 4.9% $51,180 Some postsecondary education
47-1011 First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers 😎 230 2,615 2,890 275 10.5% $78,970 High school diploma or equivalent
37-1011 First-Line Supervisors of Housekeeping and Janitorial Workers 104 793 856 63 7.9% $48,320 High school diploma or equivalent
49-1011 First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers 156 1,666 1,812 146 8.8% $82,680 Some postsecondary education
41-1012 First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers 91 1,024 1,107 83 8.1% $113,980 High school diploma or equivalent
43-1011 First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers 😎 214 2,179 2,251 72 3.3% $64,100 Some postsecondary education
51-1011 First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers 😎 209 1,918 2,094 176 9.2% $73,610 Some postsecondary education
41-1011 First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers 😎 541 5,183 5,526 343 6.6% $61,860 High school diploma or equivalent
53-1047 First-Line Supervisors of Transportation & Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisor 😎 173 1,554 1,720 166 10.7% $64,760 High school diploma or equivalent
11-9051 Food Service Managers 😎 218 1,746 1,927 181 10.4% $63,920 High school diploma or equivalent
11-1021 General and Operations Managers 😎 454 5,101 5,539 438 8.6% $153,020 Associate degree
39-5012 Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists 133 989 1,063 74 7.5% $48,310 Some postsecondary education
49-9021 Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers 124 1,207 1,373 166 13.8% $61,100 Some postsecondary education
53-3032 Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers 😎 786 6,848 7,507 659 9.6% $58,550 Some postsecondary education
13-1071 Human Resources Specialists 135 1,485 1,630 145 9.8% $74,450 Bachelor's degree
49-9041 Industrial Machinery Mechanics 152 1,273 1,622 349 27.4% $62,610 Some postsecondary education
53-7051 Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators 158 1,418 1,579 161 11.4% $48,730 High school diploma or equivalent
51-9061 Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers 140 1,074 1,162 88 8.2% $49,990 High school diploma or equivalent
41-3021 Insurance Sales Agents 😎 252 2,758 3,032 274 9.9% $82,200 Some postsecondary education
29-2061 Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses 😎 189 2,115 2,255 140 6.6% $54,990 Some postsecondary education
13-2072 Loan Officers 131 1,887 1,952 65 3.4% $85,970 Associate degree
49-9071 Maintenance and Repair Workers, General 😎 379 3,625 3,928 303 8.4% $49,790 High school diploma or equivalent
13-1111 Management Analysts 😎 381 3,935 4,437 502 12.8% $92,440 Bachelor's degree
11-9199 Managers, All Other 119 1,477 1,546 69 4.7% $122,010 Some postsecondary education
13-1161 Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists 148 1,482 1,657 175 11.8% $73,980 Bachelor's degree
11-9111 Medical and Health Services Managers 123 1,146 1,465 319 27.8% $130,720 Bachelor's degree
25-2022 Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education 166 2,279 2,392 113 5.0% $53,290 Bachelor's degree
29-1171 Nurse Practitioners 97 959 1,423 464 48.4% $125,160 Master's degree
47-2073 Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators 😎 229 2,362 2,633 271 11.5% $59,330 High school diploma or equivalent
47-2141 Painters, Construction and Maintenance 92 1,042 1,125 83 8.0% $47,710 High school diploma or equivalent
47-2152 Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters 😎 188 1,978 2,175 197 10.0% $55,530 Some postsecondary education
33-3051 Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers 😎 211 2,690 2,813 123 4.6% $64,320 Some postsecondary education
13-1082 Project Management Specialists 114 1,391 1,542 151 10.9% $88,360 Bachelor's degree
11-9141 Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Managers 138 1,523 1,657 134 8.8% $53,970 High school diploma or equivalent
29-1141 Registered Nurses 😎 946 14,208 16,133 1,925 13.6% $77,140 Bachelor's degree
41-4012 Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products 😎 521 5,348 5,734 386 7.2% $81,270 High school diploma or equivalent
25-2031 Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education 😎 237 3,423 3,596 173 5.1% $53,960 Bachelor's degree
15-1252 Software Developers 156 2,169 2,582 413 19.0% $104,790 Bachelor's degree
21-1018 Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors 160 1,605 1,879 274 17.1% $54,760 Bachelor's degree
51-4121 Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers 😎 422 3,782 4,164 382 10.1% $51,980 Some postsecondary education

Notes:

A smiley face with sunglasses like this 😎 following the occupational title indicates the occupation is a Top 30 career, ranked in the top 30 occupations with the greatest projected demand to 2042.

Learn how the Hot Careers and Top 30 occupations are identified.

*SOC - Standard Occupational Classification (See SOC occupational descriptions on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) website. The SOC taxonomy is revised as needed over time to appropriately reflect changes in occupational duties and expectations. The version of the taxonomy used for each particular data set shown above varies along with the timeframe used for that data set. Additionally, sometimes the taxonomy is adapted for a particular program or data set. Occupational classification for a particular program is often a work in progress, with codes for some occupations modified multiple times before a final, static code is determined. During such transitions, an occupation may have more than one code associated with it. For these reasons, we have included in the table above all codes associated (across the various data sets displayed) with the occupations listed. When using other resources for occupational data, if you do not find the occupation by the SOC code listed, please contact us for assistance.

For more information on average annual openings and other employment projections data used in the table above (2024 workers, 2034 workers, percent change 2024-2034), see our Employment Projections Technical Notes page.

For more information on average annual wages, please see our Occupational Wages Technical Notes page.

Employment projections data for additional occupations is available; please see our Occupational Projections menu.

Wage data is also available for additional occupations; please see our Occupational Wages menu.

Source: Labor Market Information Center, South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, July 2026.

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