Like all states, South Dakota has certain places that are going on hard times. These South Dakota places have an above-average percentage of people living in poverty, out of work, or not making as much as they should be.
Even as the economy continues to improve, it’s worthwhile to look at the places in each state struggling to make ends meet. So we set our sites on locating the poorest places in South Dakota.
To do so, we used Saturday Night Science to analyze the newest Census data from the American Community Survey for the 38 cities in South Dakota with more than 2,000 people.
$47,381 median income · 28.2% poverty · #1 lowest income in South Dakota
Winner, unfortunately, ranks as the poorest place in South Dakota thanks to combination of low pay and and a lack of jobs.
The city of 2,905 people averages the lowest median household income in South Dakota and the highest poverty rate. At the very least, the cost of living ranks in the bottom 15% of place in the state, so things like housing are relatively affordable.
$50,456 median income · 24.4% poverty · #4 lowest income in South Dakota
Located in
Clay County, South Dakota
The second poorest city in South Dakota is Vermillion.
The city ranks as having the 2nd highest incidence of poverty and 4th lowest median household income. However, the unemployment rate ‘only’ ranks as the highest in the Mount Rushmore State.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$49,157 median income · 21.9% poverty · #3 lowest income in South Dakota
Placing as the third poorest city, Flandreau’s median income ranks as the 3rd lowest.
And that’s a sign that there’s a relatively substantial jump in the quality of the economy from second to third place on our list. The poverty rate is 21.9% and ranks near the bottom of places in the state.
But what makes up for the relatively low incomes of the city is its low cost of living. The income you do make here goes further than in most parts of the Mount Rushmore State.
$48,875 median income · 18.7% poverty · #2 lowest income in South Dakota
Sisseton ranks as the fourth poorest place in South Dakota.
The town ranks as having the 2nd lowest median household income and the 5th highest incidence of poverty in the state.
That being said, there’s still a ton of cultural diversity in the city as it hosts many events throughout the year.
$63,493 median income · 16.9% poverty · #11 lowest income in South Dakota
Located in
Brookings County, South Dakota
The fifth poorest city in South Dakota is Brookings.
The city ranks as having the 11th lowest median income in the state. However, an extremely low cost of living prevents a good number of folks from living in poverty as the poverty rate only ranks as the 7th highest in South Dakota.
Still not the best news for Brookings.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$61,452 median income · 16.1% poverty · #10 lowest income in South Dakota
Located in
Beadle County, South Dakota
Huron ranks as the sixth poorest place in the Mount Rushmore State.
It ranks as having the 8th highest incidence of poverty and the 18th highest unemployment rate.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$65,357 median income · 18.3% poverty · #14 lowest income in South Dakota
Mobridge places as the seventh poorest city in South Dakota.
The city of over 2,932 ranks as having the 6th highest incidence of poverty in the state. However, it has a very low cost of living which helps to pay the bills each month.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$56,011 median income · 13.2% poverty · #7 lowest income in South Dakota
Milbank ranks as the eighth poorest city in South Dakota.
The big issue for the town is the unemployment rate which ranks as one of the highest in the state.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$66,338 median income · 21.1% poverty · #17 lowest income in South Dakota
Hot Springs couldn’t stay out of the top ten poorest places in South Dakota; it ranks number 9.
While the median income is the 17th lowest, there are a substantial number of people that live below the poverty line. Overall, Hot Springs ranks as having the 4th most people living in poverty of all the places we analyzed in South Dakota.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$58,620 median income · 12.5% poverty · #8 lowest income in South Dakota
Located in
Davison County, South Dakota
And rounding out the top ten poorest cities in South Dakota is Mitchell.
The city of 15,649 people ranks in the bottom 20% for both median income and poverty rate in the Mount Rushmore 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: $75,081
South Dakota statewide median: 11.9%
South Dakota statewide median: 2.9%
On the map
Where poverty hits hardest in South Dakota
Saturday Night Science
How we determined the poorest places in South Dakota for 2026
The first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they think about determining the poorest places is to simply the poverty rate. That is, the number of people living below a federally established level of income for a household of a certain size.
However, we don’t think that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the “poorest places”. So we used Saturday Night Science to look at this set of criteria from the newly released 2020-2024 American Community Survey:
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income
After we collected the data for all 38 places with more than 2,000 people in South Dakota, we ranked each place from 1 to 38 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the poorest.
We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a “Poor Score” with the place having the lowest overall Poor Score, Winner, crowned the “Poorest Place In South Dakota For 2026”.
The full plate
Detailed list of the poorest places to live in South Dakota
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Poor Score | Population | Median income | Poverty | Unemployment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Winner | 1.00 | 2,905 | $47,381 | 28.2% | 2.8% |
| 2 | Vermillion | 3.00 | 11,878 | $50,456 | 24.4% | 8.5% |
| 3 | Flandreau | 3.00 | 2,392 | $49,157 | 21.9% | 4.9% |
| 4 | Sisseton | 3.50 | 2,670 | $48,875 | 18.7% | 6.1% |
| 5 | Brookings | 9.00 | 23,948 | $63,493 | 16.9% | 4.5% |
| 6 | Huron | 9.00 | 14,385 | $61,452 | 16.1% | 2.6% |
| 7 | Mobridge | 10.00 | 2,932 | $65,357 | 18.3% | 0.9% |
| 8 | Milbank | 10.00 | 3,525 | $56,011 | 13.2% | 1.4% |
| 9 | Hot Springs | 10.50 | 3,548 | $66,338 | 21.1% | 1.8% |
| 10 | Mitchell | 11.00 | 15,649 | $58,620 | 12.5% | 1.0% |
| 11 | Aberdeen | 12.00 | 28,189 | $64,405 | 13.8% | 3.7% |
| 12 | Spearfish | 12.50 | 12,930 | $65,688 | 15.2% | 2.2% |
| 13 | Sturgis | 14.50 | 7,086 | $54,404 | 9.2% | 3.0% |
| 14 | Yankton | 14.50 | 15,540 | $67,804 | 14.1% | 2.0% |
| 15 | Belle Fourche | 15.50 | 5,804 | $65,071 | 10.6% | 2.6% |
| 16 | Rapid City | 18.00 | 77,946 | $70,870 | 12.5% | 2.6% |
| 17 | Springfield | 18.50 | 2,038 | $55,714 | 7.0% | 5.9% |
| 18 | Canton | 18.50 | 3,033 | $60,850 | 8.1% | 5.4% |
| 19 | Madison | 18.50 | 6,094 | $65,593 | 9.5% | 4.4% |
| 20 | Custer | 19.00 | 2,341 | $78,369 | 14.2% | 4.0% |
| 21 | North Sioux City | 19.50 | 3,045 | $71,908 | 11.0% | 5.1% |
| 22 | Chamberlain | 21.00 | 2,588 | $76,761 | 12.1% | 3.2% |
| 23 | Watertown | 22.00 | 23,044 | $69,600 | 9.0% | 1.8% |
| 24 | Pierre | 23.00 | 13,948 | $77,672 | 10.1% | 1.2% |
| 25 | Sioux Falls | 23.00 | 201,469 | $75,970 | 9.6% | 2.5% |
| 26 | Lennox | 25.50 | 2,468 | $81,761 | 9.6% | 1.0% |
| 27 | Lead | 26.50 | 3,006 | $73,047 | 7.5% | 0.0% |
| 28 | Fort Pierre | 26.50 | 2,410 | $70,357 | 5.6% | 0.6% |
| 29 | Box Elder | 26.50 | 12,902 | $73,008 | 7.5% | 4.9% |
| 30 | Dell Rapids | 28.50 | 3,905 | $100,170 | 9.4% | 0.3% |
| 31 | Elk Point | 29.50 | 2,537 | $90,473 | 8.5% | 3.0% |
| 32 | Volga | 31.00 | 2,408 | $78,828 | 6.1% | 1.4% |
| 33 | Summerset | 31.50 | 3,022 | $119,271 | 8.6% | 2.2% |
| 34 | Beresford | 32.00 | 2,360 | $78,793 | 5.2% | 1.8% |
| 35 | Hartford | 33.50 | 3,478 | $99,893 | 5.5% | 0.9% |
| 36 | Brandon | 36.50 | 10,996 | $110,806 | 1.4% | 1.2% |
| 37 | Harrisburg | 36.50 | 8,519 | $108,724 | 0.5% | 1.0% |
| 38 | Tea | 37.00 | 6,786 | $120,139 | 4.7% | 2.0% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 38 cities with more than 2,000 residents.
Summary
The poorest cities in South Dakota for 2026
Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the poorest places in South Dakota, we weren’t sure what we’d encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in South Dakota.
When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very bottom of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.
