The 10 Poorest Cities In South Dakota For 2024


The poorest places in South Dakota are Hot Springs and Sisseton for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

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 40 cities in South Dakota with more than 2,000 people.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


The 10 Poorest Places In South Dakota For 2024:

  1. Hot Springs
  2. Sisseton
  3. Vermillion
  4. Winner
  5. Mitchell
  6. Mobridge
  7. Flandreau
  8. Brookings
  9. Lead
  10. Chamberlain

Poorest Places In South Dakota Map

What’s the poorest city in South Dakota? According to the facts, Hot Springs is the poorest place in South Dakota for 2024.

This isn’t a commentary on the people that live there or the vibrant culture and traditions of these places. Instead, it’s just a look at the facts.

For more South Dakota reading, check out:

The 10 Poorest Cities In South Dakota For 2024

1. Hot Springs

Hot Springs, SD

Source: Wikipedia User devriesm | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 3,465
Rank Last Year: 3 (Up 2)
Median Income: $47,337 (2nd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 27.1% (2nd highest)
People In Poverty: 937
More on Hot Springs: Data | Crime

Hot Springs, unfortunately, ranks as the poorest place in South Dakota thanks to combination of low pay and and a lack of jobs.

The city of 3,465 people averages the 2nd lowest median household income in South Dakota and the 2nd 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.

2. Sisseton

Sisseton, SD

Source: Wikipedia User Connor401 | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 2,564
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Median Income: $40,100 (lowest)
Poverty Rate: 24.6% (4th highest)
People In Poverty: 630
More on Sisseton: Crime

The second poorest city in South Dakota is Sisseton.

The city ranks as having the 4th highest incidence of poverty and lowest median household income. However, the unemployment rate ‘only’ ranks as the 4th highest in the Mount Rushmore State.

3. Vermillion

Vermillion, SD

Source: Wikipedia User User:Magicpiano | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 11,667
Rank Last Year: 4 (Up 1)
Median Income: $47,813 (3rd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 26.2% (3rd highest)
People In Poverty: 3,061
More on Vermillion: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Placing as the third poorest city, Vermillion’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 26.24% 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.

4. Winner

Winner, SD

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 2,905
Rank Last Year: 1 (Down 3)
Median Income: $52,500 (6th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 27.9% (highest)
People In Poverty: 810
More on Winner: Crime

Winner ranks as the fourth poorest place in South Dakota.

The town ranks as having the 6th lowest median household income and the 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.

5. Mitchell

Mitchell, SD

Source: Wikipedia User TCN7JM | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 15,656
Rank Last Year: 6 (Up 1)
Median Income: $51,763 (5th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 17.6% (5th highest)
People In Poverty: 2,760
More on Mitchell: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

The fifth poorest city in South Dakota is Mitchell.

The city ranks as having the 5th 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 5th highest in South Dakota.

Still not the best news for Mitchell.

6. Mobridge

Mobridge, SD

Source: Wikipedia User Eric Friedebach | CC BY 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 3,130
Rank Last Year: 5 (Down 1)
Median Income: $54,868 (9th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 16.5% (6th highest)
People In Poverty: 516
More on Mobridge: Data | Crime

Mobridge ranks as the sixth poorest place in the Mount Rushmore State.

It ranks as having the 6th highest incidence of poverty and the 30th highest unemployment rate.

7. Flandreau

Flandreau, SD

Source: Flickr User Sarah&Boston | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 2,246
Rank Last Year: 18 (Up 11)
Median Income: $54,821 (8th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 15.5% (9th highest)
People In Poverty: 347
More on Flandreau: Crime

Flandreau places as the seventh poorest city in South Dakota.

The city of over 2,246 ranks as having the 9th highest incidence of poverty in the state. However, it has a very low cost of living which helps to pay the bills each month.

8. Brookings

Brookings, SD

Source: Wikipedia User Jon Platek | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 23,530
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 3)
Median Income: $57,824 (14th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 16.5% (7th highest)
People In Poverty: 3,880
More on Brookings: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Brookings 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.

9. Lead

Lead, SD

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 2,993
Rank Last Year: 7 (Down 2)
Median Income: $54,555 (7th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 12.8% (16th highest)
People In Poverty: 383
More on Lead: Crime

Lead couldn’t stay out of the top ten poorest places in South Dakota; it ranks number 9.

While the median income is the 7th lowest, there are a substantial number of people that live below the poverty line. Overall, Lead ranks as having the 16th most people living in poverty of all the places we analyzed in South Dakota.

10. Chamberlain

Chamberlain, SD

Source: Wikipedia User Anne Swoboda from Griffith, IN, USA | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 2,538
Rank Last Year: 17 (Up 7)
Median Income: $59,375 (16th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 14.3% (12th highest)
People In Poverty: 363
More on Chamberlain: Crime

And rounding out the top ten poorest cities in South Dakota is Chamberlain.

The city of 2,538 people ranks in the bottom 20% for both median income and poverty rate in the Mount Rushmore State.

Methodology: How We Determined The Poorest Places In South Dakota for 2024

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 2018-2022 American Community Survey:

  • Poverty Level
  • Median Household Income

After we collected the data for all 40 places with more than 2,000 people in South Dakota, we ranked each place from 1 to 40 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, Hot Springs, crowned the “Poorest Place In South Dakota For 2024”.

This report has been updated for 2024, which is our tenth time ranking the poorest places in South Dakota.

Summary: The Poorest Cities In South Dakota For 2024

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.

If you’re curious enough, here are the richest cities in South Dakota, according to data:

    Richest: Brandon
    2nd Richest: Harrisburg
    3rd Richest: Hartford

For more South Dakota reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Poorest Places To Live In South Dakota

Rank City Population Poverty Rate Median Income People In Poverty
1 Hot Springs 3,465 27.1% $47,337 937
2 Sisseton 2,564 24.6% $40,100 630
3 Vermillion 11,667 26.2% $47,813 3,061
4 Winner 2,905 27.9% $52,500 810
5 Mitchell 15,656 17.6% $51,763 2,760
6 Mobridge 3,130 16.5% $54,868 516
7 Flandreau 2,246 15.5% $54,821 347
8 Brookings 23,530 16.5% $57,824 3,880
9 Lead 2,993 12.8% $54,555 383
10 Chamberlain 2,538 14.3% $59,375 363
11 North Sioux City 2,984 15.4% $62,284 458
12 Spearfish 12,268 13.1% $58,734 1,608
13 Springfield 2,216 10.6% $55,139 234
14 Madison 6,271 14.8% $62,756 926
15 Custer 2,043 16.2% $66,141 330
16 Huron 14,179 11.1% $57,702 1,571
17 Sturgis 7,121 7.2% $49,564 514
18 Watertown 22,718 12.3% $61,320 2,785
19 Aberdeen 28,388 13.0% $62,684 3,684
20 Rapid City 75,632 13.4% $62,784 10,149
21 Belle Fourche 5,670 8.7% $55,448 490
22 Lennox 2,603 12.2% $64,663 317
23 Milbank 3,506 11.4% $63,269 398
24 Yankton 15,421 8.0% $60,180 1,235
25 Redfield 2,253 6.8% $56,205 153
26 Pierre 14,105 11.7% $80,473 1,647
27 Volga 2,043 8.8% $66,285 179
28 Parkston 2,003 7.4% $70,982 148
29 Sioux Falls 193,401 9.7% $71,785 18,817
30 Elk Point 2,177 10.6% $80,500 230
31 Canton 3,060 7.4% $71,064 226
32 Box Elder 11,905 6.0% $71,532 715
33 Beresford 2,419 4.5% $71,343 108
34 Dell Rapids 3,953 7.1% $88,958 281
35 Summerset 2,950 7.0% $98,194 205
36 Fort Pierre 2,522 3.2% $81,150 79
37 Tea 5,922 5.2% $99,153 306
38 Hartford 3,340 3.5% $93,762 118
39 Harrisburg 7,157 2.3% $89,966 161
40 Brandon 10,919 2.7% $101,747 291
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.

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