From Mount Rushmore’s grandeur to the Missouri River’s tranquillity, many affordable places to live in South Dakota are a short road trip to affordable fun.
We’ve meticulously sifted through US Census data using Saturday Night Science to compare real estate prices, living costs, and incomes. We identified the most affordable yet desirable places to live in South Dakota.
Companies like Brookings’ Daktronics and Sioux Falls’ Furniture Mart provide the opportunity to find employment in the more affordable cities in South Dakota. Welcome to where the buffalo roam, and the cost of living stays low.
$65,593 median income · $981 median rent · #4 home prices in South Dakota
Located in
Lake County, South Dakota
Madison took home the top spot on the list of the cheapest cities in South Dakota. The rule in South Dakota for affordable living is to stay in the southeast corner around Sioux Falls. Madison fits that bill as it’s about an hour north of Sioux Falls
With an average home price of $263,104 and an average rent of $981, you have plenty left each month to camp at Lake Herman State Park.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$61,452 median income · $888 median rent · #1 home prices in South Dakota
Located in
Beadle County, South Dakota
Huron, located in Beadle County in the southern part of South Dakota, is the second lowest cost city in the state. The city has the best home price to income in the Mount Rushmore State.
The cost of living index at 87 is below the state average, cementing Huron as a financially savvy selection. Besides, who doesn’t want the Word’s Largest Pheasant in their backyard.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$65,071 median income · $983 median rent · #11 home prices in South Dakota
Located in
Butte County, South Dakota
On our first trip to western South Dakota, we stop at the bell of the affordable ball, Belle Fourche, the third cheapest place in the state. It’s an hour or so north of Rapid City.
The overall cost of living index of 89 includes low index values for utilities (97), services (101), and healthcare (73).
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$67,804 median income · $790 median rent · #5 home prices in South Dakota
Located in
Yankton County, South Dakota
Yankton, across the Nebraska border and south of Sioux Falls, has the fifth lowest home prices and a solid seventh best home-price-to-income ratio. The city has the fourth lowest overall cost of living.
Yankton has been steadily getting cheaper over the years and has fun things to do, including being right next to the Lewis & Clark State Recreation Area, without breaking the budget.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$58,620 median income · $851 median rent · #3 home prices in South Dakota
Located in
Davison County, South Dakota
Mitchell, in Davison County, ranks as the fifth cheapest city in South Dakota. According to Zillow, the average home price is the third lowest in the state at $247,683.
Unlike most cities on this list, Mitchell stretches further west and is directly off of I-90 and hour west of Sioux Falls. The town is home to the Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village and Lake Mitchell.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$50,456 median income · $764 median rent · #6 home prices in South Dakota
Located in
Clay County, South Dakota
You’ll feel like a millionaire living in Vermillion, the sixth cheapest city in the Mount Rushmore State. It’s easy to save money when home prices are $272,882 and the overall cost of living sits at 94, -3.3% lower than the South Dakota average.
Vermillion is 40 minutes northwest of Sioux City.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$54,404 median income · $780 median rent · #15 home prices in South Dakota
Located in
Meade County, South Dakota
In Meade County, you’ll find the seventh cheapest city in the state – Sturgis. It squeaked onto the list with a manageable 95 overall cost of living index that is 4.0 points lower than the state average.
The home price to income ratio of 6.81 places 17th best statewide. That means you have more of your income to spend on the annual trip to Mount Rushmore National Memorial, about an hour and a half south.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$69,600 median income · $942 median rent · #8 home prices in South Dakota
Located in
Codington County, South Dakota
Another western town north of Brookings, Watertown ranks as the eighth least expensive place in South Dakota. It’s hard to find much different between all these eastern South Dakota places. It’s the same story with Watertown having only a $304,838, according to Zillow.
For fun things to do around Watertown, head to the water and Stokes-Thomas Lake City Park or Pelican Lake State Recreation Area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$64,405 median income · $762 median rent · #2 home prices in South Dakota
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
$63,493 median income · $889 median rent · #9 home prices in South Dakota
Located in
Brookings County, South Dakota
Brookings, one of the cheapest cities in South Dakota, is also one of the biggest. Located in western South Dakota, the town didn’t have to cook the books to achieve an overall cost of living of -7.7% lower than the South Dakota average.
The average rent in Brookings comes in at $889, the seventh lowest in the state.
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.
South Dakota statewide median: $317,148
South Dakota statewide median: $75,081
On the map
Where your money goes furthest in South Dakota
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the most affordable places to live in the Mount Rushmore State for 2026
Determining affordability for places in South Dakota boils down to how much it costs to live here.
You need to understand your costs relative to what people in the rest of the state are paying.
With that logic in mind, we derived several cost of living statistics from the latest Census American Community Survey 2020-2024 for South Dakota using Saturday Night Science. We indexed the cost of living statistics across the following categories:
- Housing
- Transportation
- Services
- Groceries
- Healthcare
- Utilities
These are then weighted together to produce an overall cost of living index where 100 is the United States average. Anything below 100 is relatively affordable. Anything over 100 is relatively expensive.
We applied the biggest weight to housing as it typically accounts for 25% or more of your budget. Additionally, housing costs are the highest variant cost across a state. We then compare these cost of living metrics for each place in South Dakota to figure out which is the least expensive.
The “Cost of Living Index” allows you to rank all of the 18 places in South Dakota that have more than 5,000 people from least expensive to most expensive. Any ties went to the larger city.
The place in South Dakota with the lowest cost of living according to the data is Madison.
We updated this article for 2026. This report reflects our eleventh time ranking the cheapest places to live in South Dakota.
The full plate
Cheapest Places To Live In South Dakota
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Cost Of Living Index | Median Income | Home Prices | Rent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Madison | 6,094 | 86 | $65,593 | $263,104 | $981 |
| 2 | Huron | 14,385 | 87 | $61,452 | $171,872 | $888 |
| 3 | Belle Fourche | 5,804 | 89 | $65,071 | $334,320 | $983 |
| 4 | Yankton | 15,540 | 91 | $67,804 | $270,787 | $790 |
| 5 | Mitchell | 15,649 | 93 | $58,620 | $247,683 | $851 |
| 6 | Vermillion | 11,878 | 94 | $50,456 | $272,882 | $764 |
| 7 | Sturgis | 7,086 | 95 | $54,404 | $370,733 | $780 |
| 8 | Watertown | 23,044 | 97 | $69,600 | $304,838 | $942 |
| 9 | Aberdeen | 28,189 | 98 | $64,405 | $240,644 | $762 |
| 10 | Brookings | 23,948 | 98 | $63,493 | $312,178 | $889 |
| 11 | Pierre | 13,948 | 98 | $77,672 | $293,980 | $983 |
| 12 | Sioux Falls | 201,469 | 99 | $75,970 | $329,723 | $1,035 |
| 13 | Rapid City | 77,946 | 99 | $70,870 | $361,496 | $1,109 |
| 14 | Box Elder | 12,902 | 100 | $73,008 | $367,456 | $1,491 |
| 15 | Harrisburg | 8,519 | 100 | $108,724 | $359,383 | $1,362 |
| 16 | Brandon | 10,996 | 102 | $110,806 | $387,890 | $976 |
| 17 | Tea | 6,786 | 102 | $120,139 | $381,056 | $1,220 |
| 18 | Spearfish | 12,930 | 104 | $65,688 | $456,937 | $963 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024, cost-of-living data. 18 places with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
South Dakota Affordability Summary
This is an accurate list of the most affordable places to live in South Dakota for 2026, if you’re looking at the cost of living numbers in South Dakota.
The cheapest cities in South Dakota are Madison, Huron, Belle Fourche, Yankton, Mitchell, Vermillion, Sturgis, Watertown, Aberdeen, and Brookings.
