These Are The 10 Trashiest Cities In South Dakota

Do you know anyone whom you’d refer to as Trashy? Most likely. Either there’s someone at your job, in your neighborhood, or in your family that you’d throw that label on.

Essentially, Trashy is everywhere.

While calling someone Trashy might be a mean-spirited way of ridiculing or poking fun at a particular demographic, it can also serve as a way to express disdain about the way someone lives their life. It isn’t as derogatory as using other racial slurs, and in fact, the term has a bit of humor associated with it, making it the focus of pop culture.

Take for instance Jerry Springer, Honey Boo Boo, Kid Rock, Eminem, Uncle Rico from Napoleon Dynamite and even Cousin Eddie in National Lampoon movies.

According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, trashy is defined as:

“A term used broadly to define a person or group of persons whom embody the concepts of ignorance, racism, violence, alcoholism, poverty, and anglo-saxon ancestry. Similarly used with the term ‘cracker,’ ‘hillbilly’ or ‘redneck’.”

So, using some data crunching, we should be able to measure where the most Trashy communities in the state of South Dakota are actually located.

After pouring over data, watching too many fist fights and perusing illiterate Facebook comments, we’ve determined these are the most Trashy cities in South Dakota:

1. Huron (Photos)
2. Watertown (Photos)
3. Rapid City (Photos)
4. Flandreau (Photos)
5. Mitchell (Photos)
6. Chamberlain (Photos)
7. Yankton (Photos)
8. Sioux Falls (Photos)
9. Sturgis (Photos)
10. Aberdeen (Photos)

Time to take some meth and stay up all night with us as we go through the cities one by one.

For more reading, check out:

• These Are The 10 Best Counties To Live In South Dakota
• 10 Cheapest Places To Live In South Dakota
• 10 Best Places To Raise A Family In South Dakota

How we determined the most trashy cities in South Dakota?

Using publicly available government data, as well as Google Maps, we were able to collect the data on the following trashy metrics:

• Cities where there are lots of white people
• Cities where residents are poorer than average
• Cities where a high number of residents are high school dropouts
• High drug use
• Higher than average Payday Loan Outlets and bargain stores
• Violent cities (measured in aggravated assaults)
• Cities with a high number of residents on welfare

We used the government Census for most of the data. For drug use and violence, we used FBI data, and for Cash Advance Outlets, we used Google Maps.

Simple, right?
We limited the analysis to cities that have over 1,000 people.
Then, we ranked each place from 1 to 28 for each of the trashy criteria.

Next, then averaged all the ranks to create a “trashy index”.

In the end, Huron ended up being the the most trashy city in the Mount Rushmore State.

1. Huron

Population: 14,904
Estimated Trashy: 3,204
Welfare population: 17%

Toss back a Natty Light, and suck down another Camel, Huron, cause you’re the whitest trash of all in South Dakota. This city in Beadle County ranks in the top 10% for several categories, including number of residents on welfare, most amount of high school dropouts, as well as a high number of aggravated assaults.

2. Watertown

Population: 23,196
Estimated Trashy: 5,674
Assaults: 3rd

Watertown is situated up in ‘the holler’ in the northeastern corner of Codington County. “South Dakota’s Rising Star” is one of the ‘most white’ cities on this list; and judging by the numbers, this place is pretty damn trashy. This city ranks in the top 5 for three separate trashy metrics, including number of aggravated assaults and for a large percentage of high school dropouts.

3. Rapid City

Population: 73,229
Estimated Trashy: 22,283
Thefts per capita: 5th

According to online forums, Rapid City is known as South Dakota’s trailer park. If you’re from this city in Pennington County, there is a good chance you know someone who did not graduate from high school. And, if you’re a dead-beat dad named Rick who snorts Tylenol (because he can’t afford adderall), and you moved to Hot Springs with your sister’s best friend, you might be from “The Gateway to the Black Hills.”

4. Flandreau

Population: 3,630
Estimated Trashy: 999
Welfare population: 18%

Flandreau is a little border town located just north of Sioux Falls. Though only two-thirds of the population is white, the number of drug-related crimes and aggravated assaults, combined with the high number of welfare recipients and high school dropouts, makes this trashy central for Moody County.

5. Mitchell

Population: 16,900
Estimated Trashy: 4,439
High school dropouts: 15%

Statistically, Mitchell ranks in the top 20 in a few categories, including number of aggravated assaults per capita, as well as number of poor, uneducated residents. Davison County residents who want to move up in the world make the trek to the big city of Sioux Falls to become assistant managers at the Walmart.

Just make sure you have a valid license and a working automobile before exiting– cuz ain’t nobody got time for that!

6. Chamberlain

Population: 6,210
Estimated Trashy: 939
Welfare population: 15%

Chances are, if you and your kids moved in with someone after two dates, than you might be from Chamberlain, South Dakota. A lot of your trash must be getting into fist fights at your local dollar store when it’s 50% off day, because you are fifth for aggravated assaults (meaning drunken fist fights).

7. Yankton

Population: 15,196
Estimated Trashy: 3,674
High school dropouts: 17%

Sadly, a large percentage of Yankton’s population’s income is based on welfare, workers comp, unemployment benefits, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. This city in Yankton County ranks very high for number of high school dropouts and aggravated assaults. For many here, the culture is as if Tonya Harding and Eminem got together and had a baby.

8. Sioux Falls

Population: 153,210
Estimated Trashy: 36,939
Payday Loan Outlets: 15

Well break out the Busch Light and rustle up some spray cheese, Sioux Falls, because your population is as close to 100% white as you can possibly get in South Dakota. This city in Minnehaha County was in the top 5 for poor, uneducated white residents, and ranks high for welfare recipients per capita.

With the large number of loan outlets, Sioux Falls, you don’t have to travel far to cash your welfare check.

9. Sturgis

Population: 7,196
Estimated Trashy: 1,674
Bargain Stores: 5

Located in the middle of nowhere South Dakota is Sturgis. Here a large number of people live on disability or work at one of the multiple bargain stores in town. Just because you shop at the local dollar stores does not make you ‘Country Chic,’ Meade County, it makes you trashy

10. Aberdeen

Population: 28,632
Estimated Trashy: 7,739
Assaults: 8th

Rounding out the list of the ten most trashy cities in South Dakota brings us to Aberdeen. Located in the northeast corner of “The Mount Rushmore State,” this is where the high class trashy live. You think you’re all that in Brown County with your one bargain store to show off your pajamas and wife beaters.

There You Have It

According to the official dictionary definition of Trashy, and based on stereotypes that the internet says are true, using science to determine the most Trashy cities in a state can’t be too far off.

If you’re analyzing cities in South Dakota with lots of angry welfare recipients, single mothers and where people have lots of options for payday cash loans, this is an accurate list.

If you’re curious enough, here are the least trashy places in South Dakota:

1. Summerset
2. Brandon
3. Beresford

For more South Dakota reading , check out:

• These Are The 10 Most Redneck Cities In South Dakota
• These Are The 10 Fastest Growing Cities In South Dakota
• 10 Small Towns In South Dakota Where You’d Never Want To Live