SD
Black Hills State University
0.90 incidents / 1,000 students
Spearfish, SD · Clery Act 2024 · Public
Black Hills State University
Across 2022–2024, Black Hills State University reported 8 incidents in the Clery Criminal Offenses section, and the yearly count fell over that span (largest filed category: Rape). Nearby same-state same-level comparison: Northern State University.
- 0.90
- Incidents / 1k students
- #575
- Rank of 2,072
- #11
- SD rank
- 3,346
- Enrolled students
0.90 reported score-category incidents per 1,000 students
Black Hills State University reports 0.90 2024 score-category incidents per 1,000 - 42% below Marion Technical College. Similar-enrollment scored peers: Marion Technical College (1.20/1k); Clarkson University (1.49/1k); The Chicago School at Los Angeles (0.00/1k); Honolulu Community College (1.20/1k); California Lutheran University (3.88/1k). Same-state same-level set also includes Northern State University (1.62/1k); Dakota State University (0.79/1k); South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (0.78/1k); Augustana University (8.79/1k); University of Sioux Falls (0.69/1k); Mount Marty University (4.67/1k); Kairos University (0.00/1k); Oglala Lakota College (0.00/1k). Largest Criminal Offenses total across filed years: Rape.
Data source U.S. Department of Education, OPE Campus Safety and Security Survey
- incidents / 1,000 students
- 0.90
- of 2,072 ranked nationally
- #575
- safer than ranked campuses its size
- 72%
- Criminal Offenses, 2024
- 2
Source: U.S. Department of Education OPE Campus Safety and Security Survey
Data updated August 2026
Clery Act plate
Sheet 219046 · Black Hills State University 0.90/1k score rate · #575/2,072
RATE-QUIET · RANK-MID · ST-MID · BELOW-PEER · ZERO-NONE · TREND-DOWN · CAT-LEAD · ENR-SMALL · FIRE-ZERO
- RATE-QUIET 0.90/1k
- RANK-MID #575/2,072
- ST-MID #11 in state
- BELOW-PEER Marion Technical College · 0.30 back
- ZERO-NONE Scored
- TREND-DOWN ↓ 60%
- CAT-LEAD Rape
- ENR-SMALL 3,346
- FIRE-ZERO 0 fires filed
Nearest enrollment peer: Marion Technical College (+0.30/1k)
Black Hills State University sheet RATE-QUIET · RANK-MID · ST-MID · BELOW-PEER · ZERO-NONE · TREND-DOWN · CAT-LEAD · ENR-SMALL · FIRE-ZERO · peer Marion Technical College. Codes from this campus OPE filing: score-category rate, national/state rank, named enrollment peer, zero posture, Criminal Offenses trend, lead category, enrollment band, fire filing. Not a moving recommendation.
Clery plate RATE-QUIET · RANK-MID · ST-MID · BELOW-PEER · ZERO-NONE · TREND-DOWN · CAT-LEAD · ENR-SMALL · FIRE-ZERO. Nearest similar-enrollment peer is Marion Technical College (+0.30/1k). National rank #575 of 2,072 scored campuses. Instrument codes from this campus OPE sheet; compare similarly sized peers before treating any single rate as decisive.
Black Hills State University reports 0.90 2024 score-category incidents per 1,000 - 42% below Marion Technical College. Similar-enrollment scored peers: Marion Technical College (1.20/1k); Clarkson University (1.49/1k); The Chicago School at Los Angeles (0.00/1k); Honolulu Community College (1.20/1k); California Lutheran University (3.88/1k). Same-state same-level set also includes Northern State University (1.62/1k); Dakota State University (0.79/1k); South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (0.78/1k); Augustana University (8.79/1k); University of Sioux Falls (0.69/1k); Mount Marty University (4.67/1k); Kairos University (0.00/1k); Oglala Lakota College (0.00/1k). Largest Criminal Offenses total across filed years: Rape.
Peer-rate neighbourhood around Black Hills State
Lowest/highest enrollment peers plus campuses nearest Black on score-category rate. Full ladder: /rankings/safest-campuses.
- The Chicago School at · lowest peer 0
The Chicago School at Los Angeles — lowest peer
0 per 1,000 students
- Black Hills State University · this campus 0.9
Black Hills State University — this campus
0.9 per 1,000 students
- Marion Technical College · near 1.2
Marion Technical College — near
1.2 per 1,000 students
- Honolulu Community College · near 1.2
Honolulu Community College — near
1.2 per 1,000 students
- Clarkson University · near 1.49
Clarkson University — near
1.49 per 1,000 students
- California Lutheran University · highest peer
California Lutheran University — highest peer
3.88 per 1,000 students
What this shows Neighbourhood of similar-enrollment peers around Black Hills State University's 0.90/1k rate, not a full-corpus distribution reprint.
Reporting-period change
What changed in 2024
Black Hills State University increased from 1 to 2 reported on-campus incidents between the 2023 and 2024 reporting years in the U.S. Department of Education OPE Campus Safety Survey.
This is a change in reported incidents, not a measure of individual safety. Enrollment, reporting practice, and category coverage can affect the count.
See national reporting-year changesSignature insight · size does not equal danger
Campus size vs reported safety rate
Among 14 SD 4-year peers in this comparison, Black Hills State University is larger than 69% and safer-reporting than 46% - the larger, higher-reporting quadrant. Axes are within-sample percentiles so outliers share the same frame; a higher safety percentile means a lower Clery incidents-per-1,000 rate.
Read the chart as text
- Point 1: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 77, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 31
- Point 2: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 85, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 54
- Point 3: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 62, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 62
- Point 4: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 54, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 0
- Point 5: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 46, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 69
- Point 6: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 38, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 8
- Point 7: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 31, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 77
- Point 8: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 23, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 77
- Point 9: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 15, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 77
- Point 10: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 8, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 23
- Point 11: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 0, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 77
- Point 12: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 92, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 15
- Point 13: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 100, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 38
- Black Hills State University: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 69, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 46
Read the chart as a table
| Campus | Enrollment | Rate / 1k | Size pct | Safety pct |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sisseton Wahpeton College | 206 | 0.00 | 0 | 77 |
| Sinte Gleska University | 592 | 1.69 | 8 | 23 |
| Dakota Wesleyan University | 892 | 0.00 | 15 | 77 |
| Oglala Lakota College | 1,188 | 0.00 | 23 | 77 |
| Kairos University | 1,239 | 0.00 | 31 | 77 |
| Mount Marty University | 1,284 | 4.67 | 38 | 8 |
| University of Sioux Falls | 1,450 | 0.69 | 46 | 69 |
| Augustana University | 2,390 | 8.79 | 54 | 0 |
| South Dakota School of Mines and Technology | 2,576 | 0.78 | 62 | 62 |
| Black Hills State University (this campus) | 3,346 | 0.90 | 69 | 46 |
| Northern State University | 3,708 | 1.62 | 77 | 31 |
| Dakota State University | 3,774 | 0.79 | 85 | 54 |
Sample of 12 campuses from the plot (sorted by enrollment). Source: U.S. Department of Education OPE Campus Safety Survey + IPEDS enrollment. Rate = on-campus Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents per 1,000 students; lower is safer-reporting, not a personal-risk forecast.
What changed between 2023 and 2024
Reported on-campus incidents at Black Hills State University rose from 1 to 2 (+100%). The increase shows up in Rape (0 to 2). Falling over the same period: Burglary (1 to 0).
This describes reported incidents, not crime. Clery counts move with reporting policy, awareness campaigns and how a campus staffs its security authorities, so a rise can reflect better capture of reports and a fall can reflect worse capture. One year of movement at a single campus is not a trend.
What actually gets reported at Black Hills State University
Across 3 reporting years, on-campus incidents were recorded in 4 Clery Act categories here: Rape, Burglary, Fondling and Motor Vehicle Theft. Rape accounts for most of them.
The remaining 7 categories were reported with no on-campus incidents, among them Aggravated Assault, Arson, Incest and Murder / Non-Negligent Manslaughter. Under the Clery Act that zero is an affirmative report that nothing in the category occurred, not an absence of data, which is why the table below lists those rows rather than dropping them.
Counts describe incidents reported under the Clery Act for the on-campus geography. Reporting practice varies between institutions, so counts are not a direct measure of relative safety.
Crime Statistics by Year
11 categories 3 reporting years on-campus onlyBlack Hills State University: Criminal Offenses by year
Declining 60% (5 → 2 incidents)
Read the chart as text
| Period | On-campus incidents |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 5 |
| 2023 | 1 |
| 2024 | 2 |
| Crime Type | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rape | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Burglary | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Fondling | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Motor Vehicle Theft | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Aggravated Assault | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Arson | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Incest | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Murder / Non-Negligent Manslaughter | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Negligent Manslaughter | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robbery | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Statutory Rape | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Source: US Dept of Education OPE Campus Safety Survey. Table figures show the Criminal Offenses section; other Clery tables are separate
Fire Safety
| Year | Fires | Inj. | Deaths | Cat I | Cat II |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Arrests & Disciplinary Actions
9 category-year records| Category | Year | Arrests | Discipline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drugs | 2024 | 0 | 3 |
| Liquor | 2024 | 0 | 64 |
| Weapons | 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Drugs | 2023 | 2 | 0 |
| Liquor | 2023 | 0 | 49 |
| Weapons | 2023 | 0 | 2 |
| Drugs | 2022 | 4 | 0 |
| Liquor | 2022 | 0 | 53 |
| Weapons | 2022 | 0 | 0 |
Black Hills State University vs peer institutions
Side-by-side safety scores for 3 peers of similar enrollment
Scores are $2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents per 1,000 enrolled students (lower is fewer in those categories).
OH
Marion Technical College
1.20 incidents / 1,000 students
NY
Clarkson University
1.49 incidents / 1,000 students
Cost context
Where Black Hills State University sits on price and outcomes
At $15,911, Black Hills State University's reported average net price is cheaper than 35% among 20 South Dakota colleges with a reported figure. The state median is $18,146.
- $15,911
- average net price
- $18,146
- South Dakota median
- 1.5×
- six-year earnings to median debt
- $6,741
- reported income-bracket spread
Net price moves with income here, but not sharply: $11,863 for families reporting under $30,000 against $18,604 above $110,000, a difference of $6,741. Aid narrows the gap without closing it, so the $15,911 average sits reasonably close to what most brackets report.
Six-year median earnings of $38,927 run about 2.4 times the annual net price. The margin is real but narrow, so how many years of price a student actually pays matters a great deal here.
Average net price reflects grant and scholarship aid for aided students, not a personal offer. Earnings cover former students who received federal aid; neither measure predicts an individual's outcome.
Academic & Financial Profile
Tuition & Costs
- In-State Tuition
- $8,764
- Out-of-State Tuition
- $11,866
- Avg Net Price
- $15,911
- Median Debt
- $26,000
- Pell Grant Recipients
- 20%
Admissions
- Acceptance Rate
- 96%
- SAT Average
- 1087
- SAT Math Range
- 500-570
- ACT Average
- 21
- ACT Range
- 18-24
Outcomes
- 4-Year Graduation Rate
- 40%
- Retention Rate
- 72%
- Median Earnings (6yr)
- $38,927
- Median Earnings (10yr)
- $46,674
- Loan Repayment (3yr)
- 78%
Source: IPEDS & College Scorecard. Methodology.
Similar Institutions
Showing 5 of 1,230 similar institutions by enrollment size.
Marion Technical College
Marion, OH · 3,346 enrolled
Safety Score 1.20
Clarkson University
Potsdam, NY · 3,348 enrolled
Safety Score 1.49
The Chicago School at Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA · 3,344 enrolled
Safety Score 0.00
Honolulu Community College
Honolulu, HI · 3,342 enrolled
Safety Score 1.20
California Lutheran University
Thousand Oaks, CA · 3,351 enrolled
Safety Score 3.88
Closest by National Rank
Black Hills State University (national rank #575) sits near Spartanburg Community College (#576) and Laurus College (#574) on the scored national list, nearest by rank, not by size or state.
Nationwide campuses with similar scale or Clery rate
Two Clery-derived peer sets for Black Hills State University, both outside SD so the neighborhoods are not state containment (Similar Institutions and national-rank neighbors above stay enrollment- or rank-based).
Similar enrollment (nationwide)
Marion Technical College
Marion, OH · 3,346 enrolled
Safety score 1.20
Clarkson University
Potsdam, NY · 3,348 enrolled
Safety score 1.49
The Chicago School at Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA · 3,344 enrolled
Safety score 0.00
California Lutheran University
Thousand Oaks, CA · 3,351 enrolled
Safety score 3.88
Olivet Nazarene University
Bourbonnais, IL · 3,339 enrolled
Safety score 3.59
Shepherd University
Shepherdstown, WV · 3,339 enrolled
Safety score 1.50
Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Erie-Behrend College
Erie, PA · 3,336 enrolled
Safety score 6.00
SUNY at Purchase College
Purchase, NY · 3,333 enrolled
Safety score 6.30
Similar 2024 Clery rate (nationwide)
Laurus College
San Luis Obispo, CA · 1,116 enrolled
Safety score 0.90
Lake Erie College
Painesville, OH · 1,108 enrolled
Safety score 0.90
Salus University
Elkins Park, PA · 1,106 enrolled
Safety score 0.90
Lackawanna College
Scranton, PA · 2,211 enrolled
Safety score 0.90
College of Staten Island CUNY
Staten Island, NY · 11,033 enrolled
Safety score 0.91
Baldwin Wallace University
Berea, OH · 3,305 enrolled
Safety score 0.91
Morehead State University
Morehead, KY · 8,791 enrolled
Safety score 0.91
Mount St. Joseph University
Cincinnati, OH · 2,265 enrolled
Safety score 0.88
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Black Hills State University safe?
Black Hills State University has a safety score of 0.90 (2024 on-campus Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents per 1,000 enrolled students) and ranks #575 nationally out of 2,072 ranked institutions - nearest similar-enrollment comparison: Marion Technical College (1.20/1k). Same-state same-level set: Northern State University (1.62/1k); Dakota State University (0.79/1k); South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (0.78/1k); Augustana University (8.79/1k); University of Sioux Falls (0.69/1k); Mount Marty University (4.67/1k); Kairos University (0.00/1k); Oglala Lakota College (0.00/1k).
What crimes are reported at Black Hills State University?
For calendar year 2024, Black Hills State University reported Rape (2) in the Criminal Offenses section. Every other category in that section was reported at zero; other Clery tables are separate.
How does Black Hills State University compare to similar schools?
Black Hills State University reports 42% fewer 2024 score-category incidents per 1,000 than Marion Technical College. Scored similar-enrollment peers on this page: Marion Technical College (1.20/1k); Clarkson University (1.49/1k); The Chicago School at Los Angeles (0.00/1k); Honolulu Community College (1.20/1k); California Lutheran University (3.88/1k). Same-state same-level set: Northern State University (1.62/1k); Dakota State University (0.79/1k); South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (0.78/1k); Augustana University (8.79/1k); University of Sioux Falls (0.69/1k); Mount Marty University (4.67/1k); Kairos University (0.00/1k); Oglala Lakota College (0.00/1k).
Does Black Hills State University have fire safety data?
Yes. Black Hills State University reports fire safety data for on-campus residential facilities, including total fires, injuries, deaths, and fire damage categories. No fires were reported in the most recent year.
Every figure on PlainCampus is rendered directly from federal Clery Act source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on federal Clery Act source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.
PlainCampus is for informational purposes only and does not constitute safety, security, legal, or enrollment advice; the data describes reported on-campus activity, it is not a complete picture of safety at any campus and cannot predict any individual student's experience. See our appropriate use guidance.
PlainCampus is for informational purposes only and does not constitute safety, security, legal, or enrollment advice.