Brandon, Fort Pierre, Tea: These cities aren’t just some of the best places to live in South Dakota. They are also home to some of the richest people in the Mount Rushmore State.
Brandon in particular houses the richest residents in the state thanks, in part, to a median household income of $96,367 and a ridiculously low poverty rate of 2.089942153386826%.
If you’re thinking of moving to one of these towns, you’ll probably need to start saving. The richest places in South Dakota share common characteristics such as having a genius level populous, sky high home prices, and a Pleasantville level of married couples.
How did we come up with these mega wealthy cities? We analyzed Census data from the 2017-2021 American Community Survey for the 39 places in South Dakota with more than 2,000 people.
Here are the 10 richest places in South Dakota for 2023:
For more on how we calculated the top ten, read on or skip to the end for the full list of the richest cities in South Dakota.
Rich people not your cup of tea? Feel free to check out some more reading about South Dakota:
The 10 Richest Cities In South Dakota For 2023
1. Brandon
/10
Population: 10,745
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $96,367
Unemployment Rate: 1.5%
Poverty Rate: 2.1%
More on Brandon: Real Estate | Photos
2. Fort Pierre
/10
Population: 2,426
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Median Income: $77,545
Unemployment Rate: 0.3%
Poverty Rate: 4.4%
More on Fort Pierre: Real Estate | Photos
3. Tea
/10
Population: 5,535
Rank Last Year: 3 (No Change)
Median Income: $91,544
Unemployment Rate: 1.3%
Poverty Rate: 2.9%
More on Tea: Real Estate
4. Dell Rapids
/10
Population: 3,940
Rank Last Year: 4 (No Change)
Median Income: $75,677
Unemployment Rate: 0.3%
Poverty Rate: 6.3%
More on Dell Rapids: Real Estate | Photos
5. Summerset
/10
Population: 2,875
Rank Last Year: 7 (Up 2)
Median Income: $91,667
Unemployment Rate: 1.8%
Poverty Rate: 5.1%
More on Summerset: Real Estate
6. Harrisburg
/10
Population: 6,645
Rank Last Year: 5 (Down 1)
Median Income: $81,952
Unemployment Rate: 2.2%
Poverty Rate: 2.4%
More on Harrisburg: Real Estate
7. Hartford
/10
Population: 3,263
Rank Last Year: 6 (Down 1)
Median Income: $86,492
Unemployment Rate: 3.0%
Poverty Rate: 3.2%
More on Hartford: Real Estate | Photos
8. Elk Point
/10
Population: 2,248
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 3)
Median Income: $67,188
Unemployment Rate: 1.9%
Poverty Rate: 10.2%
More on Elk Point: Real Estate | Photos
9. Lennox
/10
Population: 2,617
Rank Last Year: 13 (Up 4)
Median Income: $59,516
Unemployment Rate: 0.5%
Poverty Rate: 11.1%
More on Lennox: Real Estate | Photos
10. Yankton
/10
Population: 15,332
Rank Last Year: 12 (Up 2)
Median Income: $59,190
Unemployment Rate: 1.0%
Poverty Rate: 10.4%
More on Yankton: Real Estate | Photos
Methodology: How We Determined The Richest Places In South Dakota For 2023
The first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they think about determining the richest places is to simply identify personal incomes. After all, rich people have really high salaries.
However, we don’t believe that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the “richest places”. So we looked at this set of criteria from the newly released 2017-2021 American Community Survey:
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income
- Unemployment Rate
Median household income is the most digestible way to understand how rich a place really is. The unemployment rate tries to capture the prospects for more people to become rich. If more people are employed, the richer the future looks.
After we collected the data for all 39 places with more than 2,000 people in South Dakota, we ranked each place from 1 to 39 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the richest.
We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a “Rich Score” with the place having the lowest overall Rich Score, Brandon, crowned the “Richest City In South Dakota For 2023”. You can download the data here.
You can learn more about the top ten below or skip to the end to see the rankings for all 39 places.
Summary: The Wealthiest Places In South Dakota For 2023
Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the richest 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 top of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.
If you’re curious enough, here are the poorest cities in South Dakota, according to data:
Poorest: Winner
2nd Poorest: Sisseton
3rd Poorest: Hot Springs
For more South Dakota reading, check out:
- Best Places To Raise A Family In South Dakota
- Cheapest Places To Live In South Dakota
- Most Dangerous Cities In South Dakota
Detailed List Of The Richest Cities In South Dakota
| Rank | City | RichScore |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brandon | 3.33 |
| 2 | Fort Pierre | 4.0 |
| 3 | Tea | 4.33 |
| 4 | Dell Rapids | 5.67 |
| 5 | Summerset | 6.33 |
| 6 | Harrisburg | 7.67 |
| 7 | Hartford | 10.0 |
| 8 | Elk Point | 13.0 |
| 9 | Lennox | 13.33 |
| 10 | Yankton | 13.67 |
| 11 | Beresford | 14.33 |
| 12 | Redfield | 14.33 |
| 13 | Sioux Falls | 14.67 |
| 14 | Pierre | 14.67 |
| 15 | Milbank | 15.0 |
| 16 | Volga | 16.0 |
| 17 | Box Elder | 17.67 |
| 18 | Canton | 17.67 |
| 19 | Watertown | 19.0 |
| 20 | Sturgis | 19.33 |
| 21 | Flandreau | 22.33 |
| 22 | Spearfish | 23.0 |
| 23 | Aberdeen | 23.33 |
| 24 | Rapid City | 23.67 |
| 25 | Chamberlain | 24.0 |
| 26 | North Sioux City | 24.33 |
| 27 | Madison | 24.33 |
| 28 | Huron | 24.67 |
| 29 | Mitchell | 25.33 |
| 30 | Springfield | 27.67 |
| 31 | Custer | 27.67 |
| 32 | Brookings | 28.67 |
| 33 | Belle Fourche | 30.67 |
| 34 | Mobridge | 30.67 |
| 35 | Lead | 31.0 |
| 36 | Vermillion | 35.0 |
| 37 | Hot Springs | 35.33 |
| 38 | Sisseton | 36.0 |
| 39 | Winner | 38.33 |
