Everyone wants a bit of a blissful breeze or a scoop of sunny sanctuary when looking for a place to live in South Dakota.
The more sun, the more you can go outside. The more you go outside, the more you’ll feel at peace. The more you’ll feel at peace, the more you’ll enjoy where you live.
So it makes sense to try and find the places with the best weather in South Dakota. We used Saturday Night Science to compare the number of sunny days, total precipitation, and the deviation from the ideal 70-degree weather for 11 places in South Dakota over 10,000 people.
Grab your shades and put away your raincoat as we look at the cities with the best weather in South Dakota.
322.7 sunny days · 59.0 degree average high
Located in
Hughes County, South Dakota
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
322.7 sunny days · 59.3 degree average high
Located in
Pennington County, South Dakota
Rapid City is the second most populous city in South Dakota and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek, on which the city is established, it is set against the eastern slope of the Black Hills mountain range. The population was 67,956 as of the 2010 Census. Known as the “Gateway to the Black Hills” and the “City of Presidents”, it is split by a low mountain ridge that divides the western and eastern parts of the city. Ellsworth Air Force Base is located on the outskirts of the city. Camp Rapid, a part of the South Dakota Army National Guard, is located in the western part of the city. The historic “Old West” town of Deadwood is nearby. In the neighboring Black Hills are the popular tourist attractions of Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Memorial, Custer State Park, and Wind Cave National Park.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
318.3 sunny days · 58.4 degree average high
Located in
Davison County, South Dakota
Mitchell is the county seat of Davison County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 15,254 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
313.3 sunny days · 60.4 degree average high
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
313.7 sunny days · 59.2 degree average high
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
319.7 sunny days · 55.2 degree average high
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
319.0 sunny days · 57.3 degree average high
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
317.5 sunny days · 54.2 degree average high
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
316.4 sunny days · 59.2 degree average high
Located in
Lawrence County, South Dakota
Spearfish is a city in Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 10,494 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
317.0 sunny days · 53.9 degree average high
Located in
Codington County, South Dakota
Watertown is a city in and the county seat of Codington County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 21,482 at the 2010 census. It is the fifth largest city in South Dakota. It is also the principal city of the Watertown Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Codington and Hamlin counties.
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 best weather is
Saturday Night Science
How We Determined The Cities In South Dakota With The Best Weather
To rank the most fair weather cities in South Dakota, we used Saturday Night Science and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) database, to see which cities in the Mount Rushmore State get the best weather.
We used the following criteria to find the best weather:
- Number of sunny days
- Highest average low
- Average high deviation from 70 degrees
- Least amount of rain
- Least amount of snow
We ranked each city of over 10,000 people in South Dakota from best to worst on each criterion. We then averaged each ranking into a weather quality index. The city with the best index, Pierre, was anointed the city with the best weather in South Dakota.
Before we get too far, here are the annual precipitation rates for major cities: Sioux Falls (26.6 inches), Rapid City (18.6 inches), and Aberdeen (21.7 inches).
The cities with the best weather in South Dakota are Pierre, Rapid City, Mitchell, Vermillion, Yankton, Aberdeen, Huron, Brookings, Spearfish, and Watertown.
There’s a complete chart at the bottom.
The full plate
Detailed List Of Places With The Best Weather In South Dakota
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Sunny Days | Avg. High | Precipitation (Inches) | Snow (Inches) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pierre | 13,938 | 322.7 | 59.0 | 18.2 | 32.8 |
| 2 | Rapid City | 71,692 | 322.7 | 59.3 | 18.6 | 42.3 |
| 3 | Mitchell | 15,543 | 318.3 | 58.4 | 24.8 | 34.0 |
| 4 | Vermillion | 10,746 | 313.3 | 60.4 | 27.3 | 32.7 |
| 5 | Yankton | 14,531 | 313.7 | 59.2 | 27.0 | 34.8 |
| 6 | Aberdeen | 27,418 | 319.7 | 55.2 | 21.7 | 38.3 |
| 7 | Huron | 13,159 | 319.0 | 57.3 | 23.2 | 41.6 |
| 8 | Brookings | 22,974 | 317.5 | 54.2 | 24.9 | 32.4 |
| 9 | Spearfish | 10,980 | 316.4 | 59.2 | 22.2 | 132.1 |
| 10 | Watertown | 21,919 | 317.0 | 53.9 | 22.5 | 36.0 |
| 11 | Sioux Falls | 164,341 | 312.9 | 56.7 | 26.6 | 40.6 |
Source: NOAA climate data. 11 South Dakota cities with more than 10,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: The Cities With The Best Weather In South Dakota For 2026
If you’re looking for the South Dakota cities with the most sunny days, the least rain and snow, and highs closest to a perfect 70 degrees, this is an accurate list.
The cities with the best weather in South Dakota are Pierre, Rapid City, Mitchell, Vermillion, Yankton, Aberdeen, Huron, Brookings, Spearfish, and Watertown.
