State

South Dakota

South Dakota has a quality-of-life score of 64 out of 100 (high), ranking #19 of 51 US states. It ranks best on unemployment rate (low), average commute time (low) and rent as share of income (low). It ranks worst on mental health care shortage (high), distance to an Amtrak station (high) and average weekly wage (low).

64High
Quality-of-life score
#19 of 51 states
Population
935,094 (2025)
Land area
75,808 mi²
Density
12.3 /mi²
FIPS code
46

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the mapFederal contracts here
Location of South Dakota

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US states.

  • Safety52#25/51
  • Economy82#10/51
  • Housing92#5/51
  • Health54#24/51
  • Healthcare40#31/51
  • Environment88#7/49
  • Education48#27/51
  • Infrastructure24#39/51
  • Community61#20/51
  • Leisure & amenities82#10/51

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where South Dakota ranks highest and lowest among US states (score = percentile, 100 = best).

Strengths

Weaknesses

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

States like South Dakota five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of South Dakota in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

Federal contract spending

Federal grants & assistance

Grants, loans (counted at their subsidy cost), direct payments and insurance, by fiscal year of the action (USAspending.gov, FABS). Reported apart from contracts and never added to them.

Public money & outcomes

Federal money per resident by fiscal year next to how the place changed, and, when its money jumped, how it compares with similar counties. A comparison, not cause and effect.

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Counties of South Dakota

All 66 counties, best quality-of-life score first.

  1. 1Lincoln County99
  2. 2Lake County99
  3. 3Union County99
  4. 4Hand County98
  5. 5Kingsbury County97
  6. 6Hughes County97
  7. 7Potter County96
  8. 8Minnehaha County96
  9. 9Brookings County95
  10. 10Codington County94
  11. 11Edmunds County92
  12. 12Grant County92
  13. 13Yankton County92
  14. 14Moody County92
  15. 15Hutchinson County91
  16. 16Douglas County91
  17. 17Brown County91
  18. 18Marshall County91
  19. 19Davison County90
  20. 20Lawrence County90
  21. 21Deuel County89
  22. 22Turner County89
  23. 23Walworth County87
  24. 24Spink County87
  25. 25McCook County87
  26. 26Stanley County85
  27. 27Perkins County85
  28. 28Jerauld County85
  29. 29Hanson County82
  30. 30Custer County82
  31. 31Hamlin County81
  32. 32McPherson County80
  33. 33Haakon County80
  34. 34Sully County79
  35. 35Brule County79
  36. 36Campbell County79
  37. 37Meade County79
  38. 38Gregory County78
  39. 39Day County78
  40. 40Clark County77
  41. 41Miner County76
  42. 42Jones County75
  43. 43Faulk County75
  44. 44Pennington County74
  45. 45Harding County74
  46. 46Beadle County73
  47. 47Aurora County72
  48. 48Bon Homme County72
  49. 49Tripp County71
  50. 50Fall River County71
  51. 51Clay County71
  52. 52Hyde County65
  53. 53Sanborn County64
  54. 54Butte County62
  55. 55Roberts County56
  56. 56Charles Mix County53
  57. 57Lyman County49
  58. 58Dewey County36
  59. 59Buffalo County24
  60. 60Mellette County24
  61. 61Jackson County24
  62. 62Bennett County20
  63. 63Corson County19
  64. 64Todd County17
  65. 65Ziebach County14
  66. 66Oglala Lakota County6

Metro areas in South Dakota

Metropolitan and micropolitan areas based in South Dakota, largest first.

  1. Sioux Falls, SD-MN98314,638
  2. Rapid City, SD74156,934
  3. Aberdeen, SD9041,583
  4. Brookings, SD9737,635
  5. Watertown, SD9629,562
  6. Spearfish, SD9629,459
  7. Mitchell, SD9025,913
  8. Yankton, SD9123,635
  9. Pierre, SD9920,588
  10. Huron, SD7319,624
  11. Vermillion, SD7115,031

Largest cities and towns in South Dakota

By population.

  1. Sioux Falls201,469
  2. Rapid City77,946
  3. Aberdeen28,189
  4. Brookings23,948
  5. Watertown23,044
  6. Mitchell15,649
  7. Yankton15,540
  8. Huron14,385
  9. Pierre13,948
  10. Spearfish12,930
  11. Box Elder12,902
  12. Vermillion11,878
  13. Brandon10,996
  14. Harrisburg8,519
  15. Sturgis7,086
  16. Rapid Valley6,975
  17. Tea6,786
  18. Madison6,094
  19. Belle Fourche5,804
  20. Dakota Dunes3,936
  21. Dell Rapids3,905
  22. Hot Springs3,548
  23. Milbank3,525
  24. Hartford3,478

All 485 cities and towns in South Dakota

Neighboring states

Places that share a border, best score first.

Similar states

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

JSON · /api/v1/places/46