Are you looking for love in South Dakota?
Or are you just hoping to hook up with a hot South Dakotan?
Either way, we’ve got you covered here.
If you live in South Dakota, there’s a pretty good chance there are a lot of singles in your area. The Mount Rushmore State has plenty of people over 18 who aren’t married or in a serious relationship.
That’s great news for people who are single and looking to mingle.
So, where are the best cities for singles in South Dakota? We used Saturday Night Science to find out.
23.1 median age · 12.0% married households
Located in
Clay County, South Dakota
Vermillion is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, in the southeastern corner of the state of South Dakota, and the eleventh largest city in the state. According to the 2010 Census, the population was 10,571. The city lies atop a bluff near the Missouri River.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
24.7 median age · 15.0% married households
Located in
Brookings County, South Dakota
Brookings is a city in Brookings County, South Dakota, United States. Brookings is the fourth largest city in South Dakota, with a population of 22,056 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Brookings County, and home to South Dakota State University, the largest institution of higher education in the state. Also found in Brookings are the South Dakota Art Museum, the Children’s Museum of South Dakota, the annual Brookings Summer Arts Festival, and the headquarters of a number of manufacturing companies and agricultural operations.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
35.5 median age · 23.0% married households
Located in
Minnehaha County, South Dakota
Sioux Falls is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 145th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County. and also extends into Lincoln County to the south. It is the 47th fastest-growing city in the United States and the fastest-growing metro area in South Dakota, with a population increase of 22% between 2000 and 2010.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
41.4 median age · 24.0% married households
Located in
Yankton County, South Dakota
Yankton is a city in, and the county seat of, Yankton County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 14,454 at the 2010 census. Yankton is the principal city of the Yankton Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes the entirety of Yankton County, and which had an estimated population of 22,702 as of July 1, 2015.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
46.5 median age · 26.0% married households
Lead is a city in Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 3,124 at the 2010 census. Lead is located in western South Dakota, in the Black Hills near the Wyoming state line.
42.0 median age · 13.0% married households
36.1 median age · 23.0% married households
Located in
Beadle County, South Dakota
Huron is a city in Beadle County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 12,592 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Beadle County. Huron was the home of now-defunct Huron University. The Huron Plainsman, also referred to as the Plainsman, is the newspaper. The first settlement at Huron was made in 1880. The city was named after the Huron Indians. It is currently the ninth largest city in South Dakota, but it once was the fourth. Huron was in the running for capital of South Dakota but lost out to Pierre due to Pierres positioning.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
28.0 median age · 37.0% married households
41.7 median age · 32.0% married households
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
36.4 median age · 28.0% married households
Located in
Brown County, South Dakota
Aberdeen is a city in and the county seat of Brown County, South Dakota, United States, about 125 miles northeast of Pierre. The city population was 26,091 at the 2010 census, making it the third most populous city in the state after Sioux Falls and Rapid City. Aberdeen is the principal city of the Aberdeen Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Brown and Edmunds counties and has a population of 40,602 in 2010. Aberdeen is considered a college town, being the home of both Northern State University and Presentation College.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is South Dakota’s statewide median.
On the map
Where South Dakota’s singles cluster
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How do you determine which city is best for singles in South Dakota anyways?
To give you the places in South Dakota which are best for singles to find one another, we used Saturday Night Science to look at a handful of metrics. Of course, we want to measure the type of people who live in each city and make some assumptions about what single people like.
So we researched the internet for a database that contains all that information.
We threw a lot of criteria at this one to get the best, most complete results possible. Using the 2020-2024 American Community Survey Census data produced for the state of South Dakota, we looked at every single city in the state. We paid particular attention to:
- Population density
- % of population that’s male vs. female (closer to a 50-50 ratio is better)
- % of households with kids
- Median age
- Number of unmarried people in each city
We then gave each city a “Singles Score.”
The higher the score, the better the city is for singles to find one another. We also limited our results to cities with over 2,000 people. For South Dakota, that meant a total of 36 cities.
We updated this article for 2026. This is our eleventh time ranking the best cities for singles in South Dakota.
Read on to see why Vermillion is the talk of the town while Hartford is probably a bit on the bland side.
The full plate
Best Cities For Singles In South Dakota
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Singles Score | Population | Median Age | % Married Households | % Households w/ Kids |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vermillion | 2.60 | 11,878 | 23.1 | 12.0% | 18.6% |
| 2 | Brookings | 5.40 | 23,948 | 24.7 | 15.0% | 21.3% |
| 3 | Sioux Falls | 10.80 | 201,469 | 35.5 | 23.0% | 29.3% |
| 4 | Yankton | 13.00 | 15,540 | 41.4 | 24.0% | 25.3% |
| 5 | Lead | 14.30 | 3,006 | 46.5 | 26.0% | 14.6% |
| 6 | Springfield | 14.40 | 2,038 | 42.0 | 13.0% | 7.8% |
| 7 | Huron | 14.80 | 14,385 | 36.1 | 23.0% | 31.8% |
| 8 | Volga | 15.20 | 2,408 | 28.0 | 37.0% | 28.2% |
| 9 | Mobridge | 15.70 | 2,932 | 41.7 | 32.0% | 24.8% |
| 10 | Aberdeen | 16.00 | 28,189 | 36.4 | 28.0% | 27.5% |
| 11 | Box Elder | 16.80 | 12,902 | 28.8 | 10.0% | 42.7% |
| 12 | Sisseton | 16.90 | 2,670 | 34.2 | 21.0% | 34.2% |
| 13 | Harrisburg | 17.80 | 8,519 | 31.1 | 31.0% | 53.8% |
| 14 | Madison | 17.80 | 6,094 | 40.1 | 25.0% | 24.1% |
| 15 | Elk Point | 18.40 | 2,537 | 35.5 | 19.0% | 39.1% |
| 16 | Tea | 18.60 | 6,786 | 30.6 | 28.0% | 64.1% |
| 17 | Mitchell | 18.80 | 15,649 | 39.6 | 33.0% | 22.7% |
| 18 | Spearfish | 19.00 | 12,930 | 40.0 | 20.0% | 21.8% |
| 19 | Dell Rapids | 19.00 | 3,905 | 39.3 | 43.0% | 32.4% |
| 20 | Belle Fourche | 19.40 | 5,804 | 38.3 | 23.0% | 31.8% |
| 21 | Sturgis | 19.60 | 7,086 | 40.3 | 22.0% | 29.4% |
| 22 | Pierre | 19.70 | 13,948 | 39.4 | 26.0% | 31.1% |
| 23 | Winner | 20.20 | 2,905 | 43.6 | 30.0% | 23.2% |
| 24 | Brandon | 20.60 | 10,996 | 36.7 | 27.0% | 41.9% |
| 25 | Hot Springs | 20.80 | 3,548 | 59.4 | 17.0% | 18.4% |
| 26 | Lennox | 21.20 | 2,468 | 38.0 | 34.0% | 35.8% |
| 27 | Canton | 21.30 | 3,033 | 42.2 | 21.0% | 25.3% |
| 28 | Chamberlain | 21.80 | 2,588 | 43.0 | 31.0% | 26.2% |
| 29 | Summerset | 22.10 | 3,022 | 35.1 | 26.0% | 48.1% |
| 30 | Watertown | 22.20 | 23,044 | 39.5 | 32.0% | 27.0% |
| 31 | Flandreau | 22.20 | 2,392 | 38.5 | 28.0% | 32.0% |
| 32 | Beresford | 23.40 | 2,360 | 35.5 | 38.0% | 37.2% |
| 33 | Milbank | 24.20 | 3,525 | 50.0 | 31.0% | 21.6% |
| 34 | Custer | 24.50 | 2,341 | 51.2 | 26.0% | 21.2% |
| 35 | Fort Pierre | 28.40 | 2,410 | 44.2 | 35.0% | 23.4% |
| 36 | Hartford | 29.10 | 3,478 | 39.5 | 42.0% | 39.2% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 36 cities with more than 2,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: The Best Cities For Singles In South Dakota For 2026
If you’re looking for a breakdown of cities in South Dakota ranked by criteria that most agree make a place a great spot for finding a single person (and potentially love), this is an accurate list.
The best cities for singles in South Dakota are Vermillion, Brookings, Sioux Falls, Yankton, Lead, Springfield, Huron, Volga, Mobridge, and Aberdeen.
