The 10 Most Expensive Places To Live In South Dakota For 2023


We used science and data to determine which cities in South Dakota that will put a big dent in your wallet.

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Editor’s Note: We updated this article for 2023. This is our tenth time ranking the most expensive places to live in South Dakota.

Everyone wants a home that mixes affordability with comfort and South Dakota does this very well. Families love the Mount Rushmore State's beaches, midlands, and mountains as tourists before moving here and calling it home.

But before you decide to relocate, you have to do some research into the exact cost of living around the state -- and that's how we're going to help you.

These are the places in South Dakota that cost a pretty penny -- the most expensive cities in the state.

After we saved up for months and could finally afford it, we landed on this list of the ten most expensive cities in South Dakota for 2023.

So where is the most expensive place to live in South Dakota? That would be Piedmont.
the 2017-2021 American Community Survey for the 65 places in South Dakota with more than 1,000 people.

Here are the 10 most expensive places to live in South Dakota for 2023:

  1. Piedmont
  2. Spearfish
  3. Box Elder
  4. Rapid City
  5. Brookings
  6. Lead
  7. Belle Fourche
  8. Volga
  9. Vermillion
  10. Sioux Falls

What's the most expensive place to live in South Dakota? Well, HomeSnacks crunched the numbers and discovered that Piedmont is the most expensive place to live in South Dakota.

So hopefully Britton (the cheapest place to live in South Dakota) can show these guys how to live on a budget in the coming years. Read on for how these places had costs rise faster than inflation.

And if you already knew these places were expensive, check out some more reading about South Dakota and the most expensive cities in the country:

The 10 Most Expensive Places To Live In South Dakota For 2023

1. Piedmont

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 1,017
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.6x (most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 44.6x (most expensive)
More on Piedmont: Real Estate | Data

The median income in Piedmont comes in at $51,833 and the median home value is $238,000 for 2023.

2. Spearfish

Spearfish, SD

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 12,031
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.5x (2nd most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 60.5x (10th most expensive)
More on Spearfish: Real Estate | Data | Photos

The median income in Spearfish comes in at $52,258 and the median home value is $237,100 for 2023.

3. Box Elder

Box Elder, SD

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 11,527
Rank Last Year: 3 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 3.3x (10th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 57.0x (5th most expensive)
More on Box Elder: Real Estate | Data | Photos

The median income in Box Elder comes in at $62,972 and the median home value is $206,600 for 2023.

4. Rapid City

Rapid City, SD

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 73,942
Rank Last Year: 4 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 3.6x (6th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 64.7x (13th most expensive)
More on Rapid City: Real Estate | Data | Photos

The median income in Rapid City comes in at $58,072 and the median home value is $208,400 for 2023.

5. Brookings

Brookings, SD

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 23,432
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 5)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 3.6x (5th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 67.8x (19th most expensive)
More on Brookings: Real Estate | Data | Photos

The median income in Brookings comes in at $54,676 and the median home value is $198,000 for 2023.

6. Lead

Lead, SD

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 2,989
Rank Last Year: 8 (Up 2)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 3.7x (3rd most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 55.8x (4th most expensive)
More on Lead: Real Estate | Data | Photos

The median income in Lead comes in at $43,125 and the median home value is $157,800 for 2023.

7. Belle Fourche

Belle Fourche, SD

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,561
Rank Last Year: 18 (Up 11)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 3.3x (9th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 51.7x (2nd most expensive)
More on Belle Fourche: Real Estate | Data | Photos

The median income in Belle Fourche comes in at $46,151 and the median home value is $151,500 for 2023.

8. Volga

Volga, SD

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 2,146
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 3)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 3.2x (12th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 66.8x (16th most expensive)
More on Volga: Real Estate | Data | Photos

The median income in Volga comes in at $57,540 and the median home value is $183,300 for 2023.

9. Vermillion

Vermillion, SD

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 11,506
Rank Last Year: 6 (Down 2)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 3.5x (8th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 66.7x (15th most expensive)
More on Vermillion: Real Estate | Data | Photos

The median income in Vermillion comes in at $47,920 and the median home value is $169,500 for 2023.

10. Sioux Falls

Sioux Falls, SD

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 189,258
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 3.3x (11th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 74.8x (30th most expensive)
More on Sioux Falls: Real Estate | Data | Photos

The median income in Sioux Falls comes in at $66,761 and the median home value is $218,600 for 2023.

Methodology: How We Determined The Most Expensive Places To Live In The Mount Rushmore State For 2023

Map Of The Cheapest Places To Live In South Dakota
The two most important things to think about when it comes to being able to afford if you can live comes down to:

  1. How much do money do I make?
  2. How much do I have spend to live there?

You need to understand your costs in the context of how much money you make.

For example, if the median household earns $100,000 and spends $40,000 on housing it's actually cheaper to live there than a place with a median income of $50,000 and housing costs of $21,000. You might spend more on housing, but you have more money overall to play with.

With that example in mind, we derived several statistics from the latest Census American Community Survey 2017-2021 around incomes and costs. They are:

  • Median Home Price / Median Income (lower is better)
  • Median Income / Median Rent (Higher is better)
  • Median Home Price

We added simply median home price because high home prices generally correlate with higher expenses for all costs related to homes (heating, electricity, etc).

You can then compare these metrics in each of the places in South Dakota to figure out which is the most expensive.

What you are left with is a "Cost of Living Index" by taking the average rank of each of these metrics for each city.

So we used that cost of living index in order to rank all of the 65 places in South Dakota that have more than 1,000 people.

The place with the highest cost of living in South Dakota according to the data is Piedmont. You can download the data here.

Summary: Taking A Chunk Out Of Your Paycheck In South Dakota For 2023

Well there you have it, the places in South Dakota that have the highest cost of living, with Piedmont ranking as the most expensive city in the Mount Rushmore State.

Here's a look at the most affordable cities in South Dakota according to the data:

  1. Britton
  2. Clear Lake
  3. Parkston

For more South Dakota reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Most Expensive Cities In South Dakota

Rank City ExpensiveScore Population Home/Income Ratio Income/Rent Ratio
1 Piedmont 1.67 1,017 4.6x 44.6x
2 Spearfish 5.33 12,031 4.5x 60.5x
3 Box Elder 8.67 11,527 3.3x 57.0x
4 Rapid City 9.67 73,942 3.6x 64.7x
5 Brookings 12.0 23,432 3.6x 67.8x
6 Lead 12.33 2,989 3.7x 55.8x
7 Belle Fourche 14.33 5,561 3.3x 51.7x
8 Volga 14.67 2,146 3.2x 66.8x
9 Vermillion 14.67 11,506 3.5x 66.7x
10 Sioux Falls 16.33 189,258 3.3x 74.8x
11 Watertown 17.67 22,577 3.1x 68.8x
12 Sturgis 17.67 7,088 3.6x 73.9x
13 North Sioux City 19.0 2,956 2.8x 71.0x
14 Mitchell 20.33 15,677 3.1x 65.8x
15 Deadwood 20.67 1,317 3.6x 75.6x
16 Harrisburg 21.0 6,645 2.7x 76.5x
17 Summerset 21.0 2,875 2.7x 82.8x
18 Dell Rapids 21.33 3,940 3.0x 87.9x
19 Hot Springs 22.33 3,407 2.9x 58.4x
20 Aberdeen 26.67 28,500 2.9x 83.0x
21 Custer 27.0 2,067 2.6x 73.2x
22 Tea 27.67 5,535 2.5x 91.6x
23 Brandon 28.0 10,745 2.7x 109.0x
24 Lennox 29.33 2,617 2.7x 84.1x
25 Winner 29.33 2,882 2.5x 54.0x
26 Yankton 29.33 15,332 2.8x 89.4x
27 Pierre 30.0 14,126 2.5x 91.4x
28 Wagner 30.67 1,533 2.7x 67.5x
29 Chamberlain 32.0 2,400 2.6x 80.1x
30 Garretson 32.67 1,367 2.6x 89.6x
31 Gettysburg 33.0 1,464 2.4x 70.4x
32 Baltic 33.67 1,263 2.3x 91.8x
33 Beresford 34.33 2,359 2.4x 92.3x
34 Madison 35.0 6,388 2.4x 78.0x
35 Gregory 36.67 1,317 2.2x 61.0x
36 Elk Point 37.67 2,248 2.4x 92.8x
37 Crooks 40.0 1,365 2.0x 103.2x
38 Huron 40.33 14,060 2.1x 69.9x
39 Flandreau 41.0 2,298 2.4x 84.3x
40 Mobridge 41.0 3,215 2.0x 63.1x
41 Sisseton 42.0 2,433 2.3x 74.4x
42 Aurora 42.0 1,339 2.2x 109.4x
43 Platte 42.67 1,178 2.5x 107.1x
44 Hartford 42.67 3,263 2.1x 106.4x
45 Martin 43.33 1,212 1.8x 57.9x
46 Freeman 44.67 1,711 2.2x 84.4x
47 Redfield 45.33 2,160 2.1x 80.2x
48 Eagle Butte 45.33 1,421 1.4x 57.8x
49 Springfield 45.33 2,108 2.1x 75.6x
50 Tyndall 45.67 1,210 1.8x 67.5x
51 Canton 45.67 3,054 2.2x 105.4x
52 Ipswich 45.67 1,183 2.1x 90.0x
53 Salem 46.33 1,221 1.8x 76.4x
54 Miller 47.0 1,338 2.4x 95.0x
55 Fort Pierre 47.0 2,426 2.0x 97.1x
56 Groton 47.33 1,641 1.8x 91.3x
57 Milbank 49.0 3,488 2.2x 117.3x
58 Lemmon 49.0 1,252 1.7x 69.1x
59 Clark 49.33 1,152 1.8x 74.0x
60 Webster 50.67 1,772 2.2x 92.6x
61 De Smet 50.67 1,128 1.9x 103.1x
62 Mission 51.5 1,216 1.5x 71.6x
63 Parkston 52.33 1,761 1.9x 96.2x
64 Clear Lake 53.33 1,396 2.1x 113.7x
65 Britton 55.33 1,096 1.7x 96.4x

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About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.