County · South Dakota

Pennington County, South Dakota

Pennington County, South Dakota has a quality-of-life score of 74 out of 100 (high), ranking #813 of 3,143 US counties. Within South Dakota it ranks #44 of 66 counties. It ranks best on unemployment rate (low), drug overdose deaths (low) and arts, entertainment and recreation (high). It ranks worst on distance to an airport (high), distance to an Amtrak station (high) and property crime rate (high).

74High

Quality-of-life score: #813 of 3,143 counties
South Dakota: #44 of 66 in SD
Population: 116,792 (2025)
Land area: 2,777 mi²
Density: 42.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 46103

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 77 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map Federal contracts here

Scores by category

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

Safety23#2,384/3,096
Economy94#179/3,143
Housing35#2,029/3,140
Health75#789/3,144
Healthcare74#806/3,143
Environment66#1,068/3,108
Education76#758/3,144
Infrastructure69#965/3,144
Community68#995/3,144
Leisure & amenities79#651/3,143

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Strengths

Unemployment rate · low2.0%
99/100South Dakota 2.1%United States 4.3%2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPartial year
Drug overdose deaths · low8.5 /100k
94/100South Dakota 8.0 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional data
Arts, entertainment and recreation · high10.3 /10k
93/100South Dakota 8.1 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Dentists · high93 /100k
93/100South Dakota 65 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute
Income adjusted for local prices · high$88,004
93/100South Dakota $85,453United States $73,2042024U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Primary care physicians · high108 /100k
93/100South Dakota 80 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute

Weaknesses

Distance to an airport · high287 mi
1/100South Dakota 114 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census Bureau
Distance to an Amtrak station · high266 mi
1/100South Dakota 185 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census Bureau
Property crime rate · high2,799 /100k
2/100South Dakota 1,312 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of Investigation
Violent crime rate · high667 /100k
3/100South Dakota 308 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of Investigation
Comfortable days · low22.3%
5/100South Dakota 22.8%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
Suicide rate · high31.9 /100k
7/100South Dakota 22.3 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional data

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
109,570 (2020) → 116,792 (2025)
+6.6%5 yearsUS 331,578,104 → 341,784,857
Drought exposureImproving
83% (2021) → 61% (Nov 2025–Oct 2026)
−22 pts5 yearsUS 40% → 43%
New homes permittedWorsening
12.4 /1k (2021) → 5.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−60%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Cost of buying a home todayWorsening
24.1% (Dec 2021) → 35.0% (Aug 2026)
+11 pts5 yearsUS 26.4% → 34.1%
Access to exercise opportunitiesWorsening
88.7% (2010 & 2021) → 79.1% (2022 & 2024)
−9.5 pts3 yearsUS 79.8% → 84.5%
Income adjusted for local pricesImproving
$60,374 (2019) → $88,004 (2024)
+46%5 yearsUS $55,567 → $73,204

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.

Over about five years, Pennington County, South Dakota improved on 11 of 32 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 16 moved within the margin of error and 3 barely changed.

Earlier period
Latest period
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among counties: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts. Periods differ by measure (most compare 2020 with 2025); each row names its own in its tooltip and in the table.

Improved11

Real income+46%$60,374 → $88,004
Household income+35%$58,919 → $79,338
Uninsured−2.4 points12.9% → 10.5%
Homicides−53%13.7 /100k → 6.4 /100k
Unemployment−2.8 points4.8% → 2.0%

Declined2

Price / income+0.8×3.3× → 4.1×
Commute+1.5 min17.9 min → 19.4 min

All 32 measures

Change of every measure of Pennington County, South Dakota between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Arts, entertainment and recreation	11.0 /10k2020	10.3 /10k2025	−7%	Within the margin of error	23%
Average commute time	17.9 min2015-2019	19.4 min2020-2024	+1.5 min	Declined	27%
Average weekly wage	$9202020	$1,1492025	+25%	Improved	57%
Bachelor's degree or higher	31.5%2015-2019	34.6%2020-2024	+3.2 points	Improved	57%
Broadband subscriptions	83.7%2015-2019	90.6%2020-2024	+6.9 points	Improved	22%
Child poverty rate	15.6%2019	11.7%2024	−3.9 points	Within the margin of error	81%
Distance to an airport	287 mi2020	287 mi2025	0 mi	Little change	50%
Drug overdose deaths	9.1 /100k2020	8.5 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026	−6.6%	Within the margin of error	31%
Effective property tax rate	1.29%2015-2019	1.00%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Little change	89%
Firearm deaths	19.2 /100k2020	25.0 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026	+30%	Within the margin of error	15%
Grocery stores	1.0 /10k2020	0.9 /10k2025	−15%	Within the margin of error	23%
Gyms and fitness centers	1.4 /10k2020	1.5 /10k2025	+6.3%	Within the margin of error	61%
High school diploma or higher	93.5%2015-2019	94.6%2020-2024	+1 points	Within the margin of error	32%
Home price to income ratio	3.3×2015-2019	4.1×2020-2024	+0.8×	Declined	18%
Homicide rate	13.7 /100k2020	6.4 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026	−53%	Improved	75%
Income adjusted for local prices	$60,3742019	$88,0042024	+46%	Improved	94%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4552015-2019	0.4602020-2024	+0.005	Within the margin of error	45%
Median household income	$58,9192019	$79,3382024	+35%	Improved	89%
New business applications	10.1 /1k2020	14.5 /1k2025	+43%	Improved	48%
Pharmacies	1.1 /10k2020	1.0 /10k2025	−6.2%	Within the margin of error	47%
Poverty rate	12.0%2019	9.8%2024	−2.2 points	Within the margin of error	86%
Property crime rate	3,276 /100k2020	2,799 /100k2025	−15%	Improved	20%
Public libraries	0.5 /10k2019	0.4 /10k2024	−18%	Within the margin of error	5%
Rent as share of income	28.8%2015-2019	29.5%2020-2024	+0.7 points	Within the margin of error	44%
Rent-burdened households	46.5%2015-2019	48.7%2020-2024	+2.2 points	Within the margin of error	41%
Restaurants and bars	11.0 /10k2020	10.7 /10k2025	−3.1%	Within the margin of error	39%
Students per teacher	15.9×2019	15.7×2024	−0.2×	Little change	32%
Suicide rate	31.9 /100k2020	31.9 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026	0%	Within the margin of error	58%
Traffic deaths	11.5 /100k2015-2019	13.6 /100k2020-2024	+18%	Within the margin of error	35%
Unemployment rate	4.8%2020	2.0%2025	−2.8 points	Improved	56%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	12.9%2019	10.5%2024	−2.4 points	Improved	75%
Violent crime rate	768 /100k2020	666 /100k2025	−13%	Improved	47%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 2303 counties that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: Regional Economic Accounts; Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages; Mapping Injury, Overdose, and Violence; American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates; Business Formation Statistics; Small Area Health Insurance Estimates; Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates; Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Return A master files; Public Libraries Survey; Common Core of Data; Fatality Analysis Reporting System; Distance to airports and intercity rail. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 3144 counties that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Counties like Pennington County, South Dakota five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Pennington County, 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.

For comparison, Pennington County, South Dakota itself moved +0.8 points in standing on average over the same 32 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

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).

Age and sex

113,512 residents

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79
60–69

Income

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

Household income

46,370 households (±532)

Pennington County, South Dakota
South Dakota share

Under $25k14%6,386
$25k–50k18%8,355
$50k–75k19%8,593

Homes

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

Owners and renters

46,370 households (±532)

Pennington County, South Dakota
South Dakota share

Own69%32,125
Rent31%14,245

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

56,090 workers (±1,112)

Pennington County, South Dakota
South Dakota share

Drive alone77%43,396
Carpool9.1%5,092
Public transit0.2%†95

Jobs and pay

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

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Rapid City, SD

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.

Pennington County has 4,137 employer establishments, 357 for every 10,000 residents (1.44× the US rate of 248; 1.13× South Dakota's), with 52,402 paid employees at an average annual pay of $51,101. The Census Bureau also counts 10,204 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 4,137; 10,204 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 357; US 248 · South Dakota 317
Paid employees: 52,402
Average annual pay: $51,101; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Pennington County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	325	28	1.35×More than typical	4,083	$69,921	439
Specialty trade contractors	325	28	1.81×More than typical	2,962	$59,317	637
Restaurants and other eating places	260	22.4	1.22×About typical	5,641	$24,444	36
Lessors of real estate	250	21.6	1.75×More than typical	657	$70,804	1,422
Construction of buildings	169	14.6	1.93×More than typical	946	$61,699	298
Automotive repair and maintenance	131	11.3	2.25×More than typical	682	$44,802	133
Offices of other health practitioners	120	10.4	1.70×More than typical	520	$42,765	219
Services to buildings and dwellings	118	10.2	1.51×More than typical	852	$25,608	466
Real estate agents and brokers	114	9.8	2.02×More than typical	178	$46,494	194
Traveler accommodation	114	9.8	5.45×More than typical	1,615	$28,474	75
Limited-service restaurants	108	9.3	1.16×About typical	2,411	$21,067	12
Full-service restaurants	105	9.1	1.18×About typical	2,558	$29,036	14

Rank places for an industry

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 115,867 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contract spending

In FY2026, federal agencies obligated $62M on contracts performed in Pennington County, South Dakota: $531 per resident (US $2,007).

Obligations: $62M; −52% vs FY2025
Per resident: $531; US $2,007
Sole-source: 7.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 3.6%; US 8.7%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of the Army$26.9M43%
Forest Service$5.9M9.6%
Department of the Navy$5.5M8.8%
Department of Veterans Affairs$5M8.0%
Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons$4.5M7.2%
National Park Service$4.2M6.7%
Defense Logistics Agency$2.6M4.2%
Federal Prison Industries / Unicor$2.1M3.3%

Top recipients

VRC METAL SYSTEMS, LLC$20.4M33%
BLACK HILLS AMMUNITION INC$7.3M12%
SOUTH DAKOTA SCHOOL OF MINES & TECHNOLOGY$5.3M8.6%
FOREST PRODUCTS DISTRIBUTORS, INC.$2.4M3.8%
GREENSTONE CONSTRUCTION, INC.$2.3M3.6%

Spending by fiscal year

38.7MFY2017
49.4MFY2018
166.3MFY2019
54.5MFY2020
57.9MFY2021
49.1MFY2022
77.7MFY2023
42M

Top industries (NAICS)

Scientific research and development services · 5417$25.1M41%
Other fabricated metal product manufacturing · 3329$7.1M12%
Nonresidential building construction · 2362$4.9M7.9%
Support activities for forestry · 1153$2.9M4.7%
Veneer, plywood, and engineered wood product manufacturing · 3212$2.7M4.4%
Other residential care facilities · 6239

Largest awards

B-21 EAST ALERT APRON ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION SHELTERS PROJECT NUMBER: FXBM253794ELLSWORTH AFB, SOUTH DAKOTA THIS SOLICITATION IS UNRESTRICTED (OPEN TO BOTH SMALL AND OTHER THAN SMALL BUSINESSES$59.9M
FEDERAL CONTRACTING INC· Pennington County, SD· Construction & real property· Sep 19, 2025 – May 26, 2026· W9128F25CA050
MORU 272051, REHABILITATE AND EXPAND WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT, MOUNT RUSHMORE NATIONAL MEMORIAL, KEYSTONE, SOUTH DAKOTA$27.1M
R.C.S. CONSTRUCTION, INC.· Pennington County, SD· Construction & real property· Dec 26, 2024 – Aug 4, 2026· 140P2025C0007
THE CONTRACTOR SHALL PERFORM RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES IN SUPPORT OF SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER (STTR) PHASE III CONTRACT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE ATTACHED TASK ORDER TEN (10) PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS).$22.9M
VRC METAL SYSTEMS, LLC· Pennington County, SD· Research & development

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 9, 2026, loaded Oct 9, 2026.

Explore contracts in Pennington County, South Dakota

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.

In FY2026, federal agencies obligated $963.7M in grants, loans, direct payments and insurance for Pennington County, South Dakota: $8,251 per resident (US $12,975).

Assistance · FY2026: $963.7M; −13% vs FY2025
Per resident: $8,251; US $12,975
Loan face value: $70.7M; lent or guaranteed
To individuals: 0.3%; counted, never named

Top programs

96.002 · Social Security Retirement Insurance$577.2M60%
64.109 · Veterans Compensation for Service-Connected Disability$146.9M15%
96.001 · Social Security Disability Insurance$50.8M5.3%
96.004 · Social Security Survivors Insurance$36M3.7%
93.600 · Head Start$15M1.6%
96.006 · Supplemental Security Income$14.6M1.5%
14.871 · Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers$13.9M1.4%
84.063 · Federal Pell Grant Program$9.1M0.9%

Top recipients (organizations)

STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA$17.6M1.8%
PIERRE, SD
PENNINGTON COUNTY HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT COMMISSION$16.8M1.7%
RAPID CITY, SD
YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES, INC$10.2M1.1%
RAPID CITY, SD
SOUTH DAKOTA SCHOOL OF MINES & TECHNOLOGY$10.1M1.1%
RAPID CITY, SD
GREAT PLAINS TRIBAL LEADERS HEALTH BOARD

Organizations only: awards to individuals and county aggregate records count in the totals but are never listed. Grants to state governments recorded at the agency's own address are counted statewide, not in the capital's county.

Top agencies

Social Security Administration$678.6M70%
Under Secretary for Benefits/Veterans Benefits Administration$165.2M17%
Department of Veterans Affairs
Federal Highway Administration$19.4M2.0%
Department of Transportation
Administration for Children and Families$16.9M1.8%
Department of Health and Human Services
Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing

Assistance by fiscal year

847.6MFY2021
859.3MFY2022
901.6MFY2023
965.9MFY2024
1.1BFY2025
963.7MFY2026

County aggregates

88%

Share of obligations reported only as county totals of many small awards (for example Social Security or Medicare payments), with no recipient named.

Source: Federal financial assistance transactions (Financial Assistance Broker Submission) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 8, 2026, loaded Oct 8, 2026 · FY2021–FY2026.

Explore grants in Pennington County, South Dakota

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.

How Pennington County, South Dakota compares: the federal money it received per resident, and how jobs, income, housing and other outcomes moved, each next to the United States.

Money per resident

By federal fiscal year (October to September, named by the year it ends), obligations per resident. A year with no record counts as $0.

Pennington County, South Dakota
United States
Year its money jumped
partial year

Federal contractsUS dollars per resident

Table view

Money per resident, Pennington County, South Dakota and the United States, by fiscal year
Fiscal years (FY2024 = October 2023 to September 2024)	Pennington County, South Dakota	United States
FY2017	$350	$1,436
FY2018	$440	$1,552
FY2019	$1,453	$1,654
FY2020	$497	$1,880
FY2021	$517	$1,810
FY2022	$429	$1,917
FY2023	$671	$2,079
FY2024	$361	$2,047
FY2025	$1,096	$2,165
FY2026	$531 (partial year)	$1,925
FY2027	$0 (partial year)	—

Construction contractsUS dollars per resident

Table view

Money per resident, Pennington County, South Dakota and the United States, by fiscal year
Fiscal years (FY2024 = October 2023 to September 2024)	Pennington County, South Dakota	United States
FY2017	$74.64	$93.28
FY2018	$80.85	$105
FY2019	$1,106	$128
FY2020	$221	$145
FY2021	$56.68	$117

Contracts and grantsUS dollars per resident

Table view

Money per resident, Pennington County, South Dakota and the United States, by fiscal year
Fiscal years (FY2024 = October 2023 to September 2024)	Pennington County, South Dakota	United States
FY2021	$1,498	$5,748
FY2022	$1,152	$5,221
FY2023	$1,493	$5,364
FY2024	$1,440	$5,501
FY2025	$2,689	$5,732
FY2026

Transportation grantsUS dollars per resident

Table view

Money per resident, Pennington County, South Dakota and the United States, by fiscal year
Fiscal years (FY2024 = October 2023 to September 2024)	Pennington County, South Dakota	United States
FY2021	$391	$298
FY2022	$267	$357
FY2023	$302	$301
FY2024	$516	$319
FY2025	$862	$360
FY2026

Housing assistanceUS dollars per resident

Table view

Money per resident, Pennington County, South Dakota and the United States, by fiscal year
Fiscal years (FY2024 = October 2023 to September 2024)	Pennington County, South Dakota	United States
FY2021	$167	$239
FY2022	$169	$185
FY2023	$163	$229
FY2024	$211	$229
FY2025	$223	$249
FY2026	$192

HHS grantsUS dollars per resident

Table view

Money per resident, Pennington County, South Dakota and the United States, by fiscal year
Fiscal years (FY2024 = October 2023 to September 2024)	Pennington County, South Dakota	United States
FY2021	$267	$2,304
FY2022	$191	$2,197
FY2023	$219	$2,274
FY2024	$234	$2,267
FY2025	$272	$2,397
FY2026

SBA lending volumeUS dollars per resident

Table view

Money per resident, Pennington County, South Dakota and the United States, by fiscal year
Fiscal years (FY2024 = October 2023 to September 2024)	Pennington County, South Dakota	United States
FY2021	$1,225	$1,186
FY2022	$491	$465
FY2023	$114	$76.52
FY2024	$103	$120
FY2025	$150	$148
FY2026	-$1.57

Fiscal years (FY2024 = October 2023 to September 2024)

How outcomes moved

Calendar years. Charts share the same years as the money above. Levels are shown as percent change since 2016; rates are shown as the rate itself.

Pennington County, South Dakota
United States
Years with money loaded
Year its money jumped

Job growthpercent

Table view

Job growth, Pennington County, South Dakota and the United States, by year
Calendar years	Pennington County, South Dakota	United States
2014

When its money jumped

A county-year with at least 10,000 residents whose money per resident is at least twice its earlier average counts as a jump. Each is compared with up to five similar counties in the same region whose money did not jump.

Federal contracts · FY2019

$1,453 per resident in FY2019, against an earlier average of $395 (3.7× that).

Compared with 15 similar counties

Sources: Regional Economic Accounts, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, Business Formation Statistics, Building Permits Survey, Cartographic Boundary Files, Gazetteer and metro delineations, Population Estimates Program, Small Area Health Insurance Estimates, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, Federal financial assistance transactions (Financial Assistance Broker Submission), Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System), Zillow Home Value Index, Observed Rent Index and affordability. JSON · /api/v1/outcomes/places/46103

See all comparisons

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.

Pennington County, South Dakota is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Dusty JohnsonR-SD · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 4.7%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

Metro area

The metro or micro area Pennington County belongs to. A county is in at most one.

Rapid City, SD74Central county

Cities and towns in Pennington County

Places whose residents live mostly in Pennington County, largest first.

Neighboring counties

Places that share a border, best score first.

Similar counties

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.

Mapping Injury, Overdose, and ViolenceCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2026-10-01
PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Daily county PM2.5 and ozone (EPA downscaler model)Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · release 2022
Care Compare: Hospital General Information and Timely and Effective CareCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Services · release 2026-07-22
Distance to airports and intercity railFederal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census Bureau · release 2025+amtrak-2026-04-23
Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Return A master filesFederal Bureau of Investigation · release 2025
National Risk IndexFederal Emergency Management Agency · release v1.20.0
Health Professional Shortage AreasHealth Resources and Services Administration · release 2026-10-09
Public Libraries SurveyInstitute of Museum and Library Services · release FY2024
Common Core of DataNational Center for Education Statistics · release 2024
U.S. Drought Monitor county statisticsNational Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAA · release 2026-10-06
Fatality Analysis Reporting SystemNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration · release 2024
nClimGrid-Daily county averagesNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · release 2025
Regional Economic AccountsU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis · release 2024
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
Quarterly Census of Employment and WagesU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2026 Q1
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Business Formation StatisticsU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-10-01
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Alternative Fuels Data Center station locatorU.S. Department of Energy · release 2026-10
Election Administration and Voting SurveyU.S. Election Assistance Commission · release 2024
Air Quality Index Annual Summary by CountyU.S. Environmental Protection Agency · release 2025
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement
Zillow Home Value Index, Observed Rent Index and affordabilityZillow Research · release 2026-08

JSON · /api/v1/places/46103

Calendar years	Pennington County, South Dakota	United States
2014	−5.7%	−4.2%
2015	−1.8%	−1.3%
2016	0.0%	0.0%
2017	+3.0%	+3.3%
2018	+5.3%	+6.8%
2019	+9.1%	+10.5%
2020	+19.6%	+19.4%
2021	+26.0%	+26.1%
2022	+32.2%	+30.6%
2023	+37.3%	+35.0%
2024	+43.3%	+41.0%
2025	+49.4%	+46.8%

Calendar years	Pennington County, South Dakota	United States
2014	−4.1%	−5.5%
2015	−2.3%	−1.9%
2016	0.0%	0.0%
2017	+2.9%	+4.1%
2018	+6.5%	+8.9%
2019	+11.9%	+13.5%
2020	+21.4%	+20.8%
2021	+36.0%	+32.1%
2022	+40.9%	+35.4%
2023	+49.8%	+42.9%
2024	+57.4%	+49.5%

Calendar years	Pennington County, South Dakota	United States
2014	4.3/1k	3.3/1k
2015	5.1/1k	3.7/1k
2016	6.6/1k	3.7/1k
2017	5.1/1k	3.9/1k
2018	5.5/1k	4.1/1k
2019	5.3/1k	4.2/1k
2020	10.7/1k	4.4/1k
2021	12.4/1k	5.2/1k
2022	12.7/1k	5.0/1k
2023	12.3/1k	4.5/1k
2024	10.2/1k	4.3/1k
2025	4.8/1k	4.2/1k

Calendar years	Pennington County, South Dakota	United States
2014	−6.1%	−6.9%
2015	+1.4%	−3.2%
2016	0.0%	0.0%
2017	+7.0%	+4.7%
2018	+14.0%	+7.5%
2019	+14.4%	+14.0%
2020	+20.8%	+16.9%
2021	+25.0%	+21.0%
2022	+31.2%	+29.7%
2023	+44.9%	+34.9%
2024	+54.0%	+41.6%

Calendar years	Pennington County, South Dakota	United States
2014	14.1%	15.5%
2015	12.2%	14.7%
2016	14.5%	14.0%
2017	12.9%	13.4%
2018	13.3%	13.1%
2019	12.0%	12.3%
2020	12.1%	11.9%
2021	11.6%	12.8%
2022	14.3%	12.6%
2023	11.6%	12.5%
2024	9.8%	12.1%

Calendar years	Pennington County, South Dakota	United States
2014	3.3%	6.2%
2015	3.1%	5.3%
2016	3.1%	4.9%
2017	3.1%	4.4%
2018	2.8%	3.9%
2019	2.8%	3.7%
2020	4.8%	8.1%
2021	2.7%	5.4%
2022	1.9%	3.7%
2023	1.8%	3.6%
2024	1.8%	4.0%
2025	2.0%	4.3%

Calendar years	Pennington County, South Dakota	United States
2014	−7.0% (Dec 2014)	−10.8% (Dec 2014)
2015	−3.3% (Dec 2015)	−5.2% (Dec 2015)
2016	0.0% (Dec 2016)	0.0% (Dec 2016)
2017	+5.0% (Dec 2017)	+6.4% (Dec 2017)
2018	+9.1% (Dec 2018)	+12.6% (Dec 2018)
2019	+16.9% (Dec 2019)	+18.1% (Dec 2019)
2020	+28.1% (Dec 2020)	+29.3% (Dec 2020)
2021	+52.4% (Dec 2021)	+49.8% (Dec 2021)
2022	+71.5% (Dec 2022)	+64.7% (Dec 2022)
2023	+75.5% (Dec 2023)	+69.0% (Dec 2023)
2024	+81.9% (Dec 2024)	+73.4% (Dec 2024)
2025	+85.3% (Dec 2025)	+73.7% (Dec 2025)

Calendar years	Pennington County, South Dakota	United States
2014	12.6%	13.5%
2015	13.1%	10.9%
2016	10.4%	10.0%
2017	11.7%	10.2%
2018	13.2%	10.4%
2019	12.9%	10.8%
2020	13.5%	10.4%
2021	12.3%	10.2%
2022	10.8%	9.5%
2023	10.6%	9.5%
2024	10.5%	9.8%

Calendar years	Pennington County, South Dakota	United States
2014	8.5/1k	8.5/1k
2015	7.7/1k	8.7/1k
2016	7.6/1k	9.1/1k
2017	12.7/1k	9.8/1k
2018	15.8/1k	10.7/1k
2019	10.3/1k	10.6/1k
2020	10.1/1k	13.1/1k
2021	13.0/1k	16.2/1k
2022	12.9/1k	15.1/1k
2023	14.4/1k	16.2/1k
2024	13.9/1k	15.4/1k
2025	14.5/1k	16.6/1k

Year	Pennington County, South Dakota	Comparison counties (average)	Range of comparison counties
Year −3	+0.7 points	+0.7 points	−0.2 points to +1.7 points
Year −2	+0.6 points	+0.4 points	−0.8 points to +1.3 points
Year −1	0.0 points	0.0 points	0.0 points to 0.0 points
Year 0	−0.8 points	+0.3 points	−0.5 points to +0.9 points
Year +1	−4.0 points	−6.2 points	−8.3 points to −4.0 points
Year +2	+4.3 points	+2.3 points	+0.7 points to +3.7 points

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends