There’s no denying it: there are plenty of places in South Dakota that are downright beautiful and full of excitement.
Unfortunately, not all towns and cities in Mount Rushmore State are so lucky.
Just like in all U.S. States, there are definitely some boring places within South Dakota’s’ borders. You know the places where everyone has an AARP card and the most exciting thing they do all day is post a picture of their grandchild on Facebook.
Like Fort Pierre, for instance. In our latest analysis, we found that this city was the most boring city in all of South Dakota according to Saturday Night Science. But don’t feel bad if you’re a resident of Fort Pierre. There are plenty of other boring, lackluster places in South Dakota as well.
Here they are. Try not to jump out of your seat with excitement.
44.2 median age · 35.0% married households · #5 oldest in South Dakota
39.5 median age · 42.0% married households · #16 oldest in South Dakota
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
43.0 median age · 31.0% married households · #7 oldest in South Dakota
50.0 median age · 31.0% married households · #3 oldest in South Dakota
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
51.2 median age · 26.0% married households · #2 oldest in South Dakota
43.6 median age · 30.0% married households · #6 oldest in South Dakota
Winner is a city in Tripp County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 2,897 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Tripp County. Winner also serves as the administrative center of neighboring Todd County, which does not have its own county seat. The nearest airport is Winner Regional Airport.
Winner was laid out in 1909, and named for the fact the town had emerged the “winner” as the county’s most successful trading point.
39.3 median age · 43.0% married households · #19 oldest in South Dakota
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
38.0 median age · 34.0% married households · #22 oldest in South Dakota
42.2 median age · 21.0% married households · #8 oldest in South Dakota
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
39.4 median age · 26.0% married households · #18 oldest in South Dakota
Located in
Hughes County, South Dakota
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 the quiet settles in South Dakota
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the boring cities in the Mount Rushmore State
You would present the following case to your friends if you were argueing with them at a bar about the most boring place to live in South Dakota. And that’s why we call it Saturday Night Science.
Because our data speaks more truth than feelings.
To figure out how boring a place is, we factored in things we generally think make people exciting, and then we figure out which cities have the least number of those exciting people.
We used the U.S. American Community Census data to gather the information presented here. Some of the things people tend to think of as making a city’s population boring include:
- % of Population Over 25 (higher is more boring)
- % of Married Household (higher is more boring)
- Average Age (higher is more boring)
- % of Households With Kids (higher is more boring)
- Population density (lower is more boring)
Then, our algorithm generates a ranking for each place in these categories. After crunching the numbers, all of the cities ranked from most boring to most exciting.
For this ranking, we used every South Dakota city with at least 2,000 residents. This keeps us from prejudicing our rankings by including very small pockets of retired people.
Grab your rocker and hold on.
We updated this article for 2026, and it’s our eleventh time ranking the most boring cities in South Dakota.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Most Boring Cities In South Dakota For 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Boring Score | Population | Average Age | % Married | % Kids |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fort Pierre | 9.80 | 2,410 | 44.2 | 35.0% | 23.4% |
| 2 | Hartford | 9.90 | 3,478 | 39.5 | 42.0% | 39.2% |
| 3 | Chamberlain | 12.00 | 2,588 | 43.0 | 31.0% | 26.2% |
| 4 | Milbank | 12.60 | 3,525 | 50.0 | 31.0% | 21.6% |
| 5 | Custer | 12.90 | 2,341 | 51.2 | 26.0% | 21.2% |
| 6 | Winner | 14.20 | 2,905 | 43.6 | 30.0% | 23.2% |
| 7 | Dell Rapids | 14.20 | 3,905 | 39.3 | 43.0% | 32.4% |
| 8 | Lennox | 14.60 | 2,468 | 38.0 | 34.0% | 35.8% |
| 9 | Canton | 14.90 | 3,033 | 42.2 | 21.0% | 25.3% |
| 10 | Pierre | 14.90 | 13,948 | 39.4 | 26.0% | 31.1% |
| 11 | Watertown | 15.20 | 23,044 | 39.5 | 32.0% | 27.0% |
| 12 | Mobridge | 15.50 | 2,932 | 41.7 | 32.0% | 24.8% |
| 13 | Beresford | 15.60 | 2,360 | 35.5 | 38.0% | 37.2% |
| 14 | Hot Springs | 15.60 | 3,548 | 59.4 | 17.0% | 18.4% |
| 15 | Belle Fourche | 16.40 | 5,804 | 38.3 | 23.0% | 31.8% |
| 16 | Lead | 16.50 | 3,006 | 46.5 | 26.0% | 14.6% |
| 17 | Mitchell | 16.60 | 15,649 | 39.6 | 33.0% | 22.7% |
| 18 | Flandreau | 17.40 | 2,392 | 38.5 | 28.0% | 32.0% |
| 19 | Summerset | 17.70 | 3,022 | 35.1 | 26.0% | 48.1% |
| 20 | Sturgis | 18.40 | 7,086 | 40.3 | 22.0% | 29.4% |
| 21 | Spearfish | 18.80 | 12,930 | 40.0 | 20.0% | 21.8% |
| 22 | Brandon | 19.00 | 10,996 | 36.7 | 27.0% | 41.9% |
| 23 | Harrisburg | 20.00 | 8,519 | 31.1 | 31.0% | 53.8% |
| 24 | Madison | 20.20 | 6,094 | 40.1 | 25.0% | 24.1% |
| 25 | Yankton | 20.20 | 15,540 | 41.4 | 24.0% | 25.3% |
| 26 | Box Elder | 21.40 | 12,902 | 28.8 | 10.0% | 42.7% |
| 27 | Elk Point | 21.60 | 2,537 | 35.5 | 19.0% | 39.1% |
| 28 | Huron | 21.60 | 14,385 | 36.1 | 23.0% | 31.8% |
| 29 | Aberdeen | 21.80 | 28,189 | 36.4 | 28.0% | 27.5% |
| 30 | Springfield | 22.60 | 2,038 | 42.0 | 13.0% | 7.8% |
| 31 | Tea | 23.40 | 6,786 | 30.6 | 28.0% | 64.1% |
| 32 | Sisseton | 23.90 | 2,670 | 34.2 | 21.0% | 34.2% |
| 33 | Volga | 24.20 | 2,408 | 28.0 | 37.0% | 28.2% |
| 34 | Sioux Falls | 24.80 | 201,469 | 35.5 | 23.0% | 29.3% |
| 35 | Brookings | 32.40 | 23,948 | 24.7 | 15.0% | 21.3% |
| 36 | Vermillion | 35.20 | 11,878 | 23.1 | 12.0% | 18.6% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 36 cities with more than 2,000 residents.
Summary
There You Have It – Now That You’re Asleep
On a ranking like this, there are usually no winners, but since South Dakota isn’t necessarily the most boring state in the United States, the cities on this ranking can at least take solace that there are, in fact, more boring cities in the country.
The most boring cities in South Dakota are Fort Pierre, Hartford, Chamberlain, Milbank, Custer, Winner, Dell Rapids, Lennox, Canton, and Pierre.
If you’re also curious enough, here are the most exciting places in South Dakota, according to science.
