South Dakota

Population 907,428

6 Sources Updated September 10, 2026

907,428

Population

334,922,499 U.S.

$75,081

Median Income

$80,734 national

$76.8B

GDP (current $), change real

1.8%

Unemployment

4.0% national

Community Data / United States / South Dakota

County Map Demographics Economy Industry Concentration Housing Workforce Counties AI Insights

County Map

Click a county to view its economic profile

Demographics & Population

Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates

Household Income

Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates

Median Household

$75,081

Per Capita

$40,550

Mean Household

$98,527

Poverty Rate

11.9%

Age & Race / Ethnicity

Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B01001, B02001, B03003

Cohorts

Under 18 · 24.2%

18-34 · 21.9%

35-54 · 23.3%

55-64 · 12.6%

65+ · 18%

Race & Ethnicity

White80.7%

American Indian and Alaska Native7.5%

Two or More Races6.5%

Black or African American2.3%

Some Other Race1.6%

Asian1.4%

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander0%

Hispanic or Latino(any race)4.8%

Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.

Educational Attainment

Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+

93.2%

High School+

National: 89.6%

+3.6 pts

31.9%

Bachelor's+

National: 35.7%

3.8 pts

10%

Graduate+

National: 14.1%

4.1 pts

Employment Overview

Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates

907,428

Population

475,223

Labor Force

Employed

461,290

Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2024 annual

1.8%

2025 is not shown for South Dakota: a state annual average needs all 12 months and the Bureau of Labor Statistics has published 11. County pages draw on the separate annual series and may show 2025.

Mean Commute 9 min below national avg

17.8 min

Work From Home vs 15.1% national

9.7%

Labor Force and Employed are ACS 5-Year survey estimates; the Unemployment Rate above comes from BLS LAUS, a separate monthly survey with its own methodology. The two won't reconcile by subtracting one from the other.

South Dakota's median household income sits 7% below the national median. At 11.9%, its poverty rate runs 0.6 pts below the ~12.5% national level, relevant for federal funding eligibility narratives. Bachelor's-or-higher attainment of 31.9% trails the national average of 35.7%.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates (released December 2025). Figures reflect the most recent Census release, older news reports may cite prior vintages.

Key Takeaways

Income gap: Households earn meaningfully less than the national median, affecting retail demand, housing absorption, and tax base statewide.
Broadly in line with U.S. norms across income, poverty, education, and age.

Economy & Industry

Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis

$76.8B

Gross Domestic Product · 2024

Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis · CAGDP2 Regional GDP

88.586

Cost of Living - Below Avg

Top Private-Sector Industries by Employment

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics · Quarterly Census of Employment & Wages 2025 Annual · Private sector only, with government shown below

Top private-sector industries by employment in South Dakota, with employment, share of top sectors, and average wage. Government employment is excluded and reported separately below the table.
Industry	Employment	% of Top Sectors	Avg Wage
1Health Care and Social Assistance	71,670	24.4%	$70,688
2Retail Trade	53,919	18.4%	$38,524
3Manufacturing	44,307	15.1%	$66,214
4Accommodation and Food Services	42,594	14.5%	$24,044
5Wholesale Trade	22,330	7.6%	$85,911
6Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	18,420	6.3%	$91,897
7Administrative and Support and Waste Management	13,743	4.7%	$51,307
8Other Services (except Public Administration)	13,396	4.6%	$48,582
9Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation	8,176	2.8%	$24,911
10Management of Companies and Enterprises	5,248	1.8%	$122,524

Government employment · context only

76,497

Public-sector jobs are not in the table above and are not part of any share or location quotient on this page. Both are measured on the private economy only, 383,895 private jobs in 2025: every location quotient divides by that total, and the % of Top Sectors column divides by the sectors listed above. Private employment is the standard basis for measuring industry concentration because government employment mostly serves the resident population rather than an outside market. Nothing on this card is expected to add up with the government figure.

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Key Takeaways

Largest private-sector industry: Health Care and Social Assistance employs 71,670 workers (24.4% of the tracked sectors), at an average wage of $70,688. Every industry figure on this page is private sector; government employs a further 76,497 and is counted separately.
Economic scale: State GDP of $76.8B (2024).
Wage stratification: Management of Companies and Enterprises averages $122,524 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $24,044, a 5.1x spread in the same economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.

Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP (CAGDP2).

Industry Concentration

Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.

Chart source: BLS QCEW · broad NAICS supersector · private sector · Location Quotient vs. national private-sector employment share. The same supersector axes appear on every profile, so the shape can be compared across geographies.

Concentrated Industries

List source: BLS QCEW · 3-digit NAICS sub-sector · private sector · Location Quotient vs. national private-sector employment share.
Same source and same private-sector basis as the Top Industries table above. These sit at a finer level than the chart's supersector axes, so the two sets of values are not directly comparable. The sub-sector view surfaces specialization the supersector view masks, such as Animal Production and Aquaculture here.

Animal Production and Aquaculture

5.81x

4,530

Miscellaneous Manufacturing

2.60x

4,582

Gasoline Stations and Fuel Dealers

2.54x

7,660

Textile Product Mills

2.16x

578

Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing

2.13x

2,042

Food Manufacturing

2.12x

10,866

Machinery Manufacturing

1.91x

5,987

Wood Product Manufacturing

1.83x

2,120

Credit Intermediation and Related Activities

1.83x

13,546

Hospitals

1.78x

28,573

+ 4 more sub-sectors at LQ ≥ 1.5, holding a further 19,276 jobs. See the spider chart for the broader picture.

Attraction Opportunities - Below-Average Industries

LQ < 0.5, below-average employment, screened against industrial power cost. Source: BLS QCEW · 3-digit NAICS sub-sector

0.18x

Apparel Manufacturing

42 employed

0.30x

Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers

384 employed

0.34x

Publishing Industries and Telecommunications

868 employed

0.40x

Electrical Equipment, Appliance Manufacturing

501 employed

0.43x

Educational Services

3,996 employed

Screened on industrial power cost only. Industrial electricity in South Dakota costs 8.68¢/kWh against 8.62¢/kWh nationally (2025). Land area and freight access are not assessed at state level. Source: EIA.

Key Takeaways

Top specialization: Animal Production and Aquaculture concentrates at 5.81x the national norm, top-decile concentration, the kind of signature sector that defines a region's economic identity.
Cluster depth: 14 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base across the state.
Attraction whitespace: 5 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment.

Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.

Industry Employment Composition

South Dakota's Top Sectors by Workforce Share

Each rectangle's area is proportional to that sector's share of the top private supersectors. Hover for exact employment.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW 2025 Annual · Private sector, NAICS supersectors

Housing & Affordability

Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026

Housing Overview

Source: Census Bureau ACS 2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064

$257,400

Median Home Value vs 2019

$946

Rent/Mo

68.6%

Owner-Occ

10.5%

Vacancy

3.4x

Home Value to Income Ratio

vs. ~4.1x national average

HUD Fair Market Rents (Statewide)

Renter-household-weighted average across 66 Fair Market Rent areas · Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026 · Affordability threshold and renter cost burden from Census ACS B25119, B25070

Studio

$786/mo$641 to $921

1 Bedroom

$884/mo$708 to $1,018

2 Bedroom

$1,094/mo$929 to $1,336

3 Bedroom

$1,463/mo$1,114 to $1,770

4 Bedroom

$1,778/mo$1,230 to $2,178

30% of monthly median renter household income (~$1,140/mo, from a renter median of $45,599) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.

Measured: 36.4% of renter households already pay 30% or more of income on rent, and 16.2% pay 50% or more.

Key Takeaways

In line with national: Home value to income ratio of 3.4x sits near the ~4.1x national average; affordability is neither a clear advantage nor a recruitment friction.
Elevated vacancy: 10.5% vacancy rate; potential redevelopment opportunity.
Affordable rent tiers: 3 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom sizes sit below what a household on the median renter income of $45,599 can pay without cost burden (~$1,140/mo), and 36.4% of renter households are measured as cost-burdened.

Source: Census ACS housing tables.

Workforce Pipeline

Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition

Labor Market Overview

Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23025, B08303, B08301

524,374

Working Age (18-64) vs 2019

vs 2019

Mean Commute 9 min below national avg

17.8 min

Work From Home vs 15.1% national

9.7%

Education & Talent Pipeline

Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard

Bachelor's+

31.9%

HS Diploma+

93.2%

6 Largest Institutions by Credentials Awarded

Degrees, certificates, and other credentials awarded last academic year (College Scorecard).

South Dakota State University 2,703/yr

University of South Dakota 2,132/yr

Augustana University 818/yr

Southeast Technical College 797/yr

Lake Area Technical College 793/yr

University of Sioux Falls 586/yr

Aging Workforce

Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables

21.9%

55-64 of working-age population (18-64)

Same cohort is 12.6% of total population, the basis used in the Demographics cohort chart.

Elevated retirement risk, above the 20% threshold. Succession planning recommended.

Workforce by Occupation

Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+

Management / Professional

40%

Service

15.8%

Sales & Office

19.8%

Construction / Maint.

11%

Production / Transport

13.4%

Bars are drawn on a 0% to 40% axis, so bar length is proportional to actual share. Labels give each group's share of 461,290 employed workers.

Key Takeaways

Healthy participation: 69.7% of the population aged 18+ is in the labor force, reflecting a steady, available workforce statewide.
Short commutes: 17.8-minute mean commute is a quality-of-life and labor-access advantage for site selectors.

Source: ACS workforce data.

County Profiles

66 counties in South Dakota

AI Insights

Sample output. Pulse AI analysis draws on 6 federal data sources.

Sample AI Insight

South Dakota shows strong potential for animal production and aquaculture attraction, with a 5.81x concentration and 4,530 jobs in this sub-sector.

Cluster depth across animal production and aquaculture, miscellaneous manufacturing, and gasoline stations and fuel dealers creates supply-chain attraction leverage, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.

Industry Shift Analysis

Manufacturing Automation Risk

High

Healthcare Growth Forecast

+4.2% CAGR

Remote Work Migration

67/100

Prospect Match Scores

Advanced Manufacturing

92/100

Life Sciences

84/100

Data Centers

71/100

Illustrative example

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Data Sources

Updated from official federal government data.

Census ACS 5-Year2024

BLS QCEW2025

BEA Regional GDP2024

Census CBP2024

HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026

USAspending.govFY2026

Frequently Asked Questions

Key economic and demographic figures for South Dakota, from federal data sources.

What is the population of South Dakota?

907,428 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).

What is the median household income in South Dakota?

$75,081 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).

What is the unemployment rate in South Dakota?

1.8% (2024 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).

What is the GDP of South Dakota?

$76.8B (BEA CAGDP2 (Regional)).

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