The 10 Whitest Cities In South Dakota For 2022


We used science and data to determine which cities in South Dakota are whiter than wonder bread.

You're at your local Whole Foods shopping for kale chips and asparagus water, trying to work out if you'll have time to stop at the Pottery Barn before you head to your yoga class taught by a girl named Sage. It hits you: you're leading the whitest life imaginable.

But does that mean the city you live in is one of the whitest places in South Dakota?

Don't worry, we've figured it out for you. Using actual census data combined with our favorite white people stereotypes (as confirmed by the internet), we can determine which cities are the whitest of the white in Mount Rushmore State.

After analyzing cities with populations greater than 5,000, we came up with this list as the whitest cities in South Dakota for 2022.

Here are the 10 whites places in South Dakota for 2022:

  1. Brandon
  2. Sturgis
  3. Madison
  4. Spearfish
  5. Watertown
  6. Mitchell
  7. Belle Fourche
  8. Brookings
  9. Yankton
  10. Vermillion

What is the whitest city in South Dakota for 2022? According to the most recent census data Brandon ranks as the whitest. If you're wondering, Huron is the least white city of all those we measured.

Read on below to see where your hometown ranked and why. Or check out the whitest states in America and the most diverse states in America.

For more South Dakota reading, check out:

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The 10 Whitest Cities In South Dakota For 2022

1. Brandon

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 10,030
% White: 95.28%
More on Brandon: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Brandon, SD

2. Sturgis

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 6,914
% White: 92.51%
More on Sturgis: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Sturgis, SD

3. Madison

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 7,249
% White: 91.18%
More on Madison: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Madison, SD

Source: Public domain

4. Spearfish

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 11,702
% White: 90.97%
More on Spearfish: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Spearfish, SD

5. Watertown

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 22,249
% White: 90.34%
More on Watertown: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Watertown, SD

Source: Public domain

6. Mitchell

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 15,599
% White: 88.52%
More on Mitchell: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Mitchell, SD

7. Belle Fourche

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,628
% White: 87.35%
More on Belle Fourche: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Belle Fourche, SD

8. Brookings

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 24,479
% White: 87.2%
More on Brookings: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Brookings, SD

9. Yankton

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 14,619
% White: 86.17%
More on Yankton: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Yankton, SD

Source: Public domain

10. Vermillion

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 10,852
% White: 83.95%
More on Vermillion: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Vermillion, SD

Methodology: How we determined the whitest places in South Dakota for 2022

In order to rank the whitest places in South Dakota, we had to determine what measurable criteria defines whiteness.

Obviously we had to count how many white people living there, specifically the percentage of white people living in each city in South Dakota.

Specifically, we looked at table B03002: Hispanic OR LATINO ORIGIN BY RACE. Here are the category names as defined by the Census:

  • Hispanic or Latino
  • White alone*
  • Black or African American alone*
  • American Indian and Alaska Native alone*
  • Asian alone*
  • Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone*
  • Some other race alone*
  • Two or more races*
* Not Hispanic or latino

Our particular column of interest here was the number of people who identified as White alone.

We limited our analysis to non-CDPs with a population greater than 5,000 people. That left us with 16 cities.

We then calculated the percent of residents that are White. The percentages ranked from 95.3% to 69.2%.

Finally, we ranked each city based on the percent of White population with a higher score being more White than a lower score. Brandon took the distinction of being the most White, while Huron was the least White city. You can download the data here.

Read on for more information on how the cities in South Dakota ranked by population of White residents or, for a more general take on diversity in America, head over to our ranking of the most diverse cities in America.

Summary: White Populations Across South Dakota

Measuring the locations with the highest percentage of white people, this list provides accurate information on the whitest places in South Dakota according to the most recent data.

If you're curious enough, here are the least White places in South Dakota:

  1. Huron
  2. Box Elder
  3. Rapid City

For more South Dakota reading, check out:

White Population By City In { state|title }}

Rank City % White Population
1 Brandon 95.28% 10,030
2 Sturgis 92.51% 6,914
3 Madison 91.18% 7,249
4 Spearfish 90.97% 11,702
5 Watertown 90.34% 22,249
6 Mitchell 88.52% 15,599
7 Belle Fourche 87.35% 5,628
8 Brookings 87.2% 24,479
9 Yankton 86.17% 14,619
10 Vermillion 83.95% 10,852
11 Aberdeen 83.03% 28,315
12 Pierre 81.34% 13,908
13 Sioux Falls 80.29% 180,927
14 Rapid City 76.67% 76,541
15 Box Elder 74.97% 9,937
16 Huron 69.25% 13,289

How Is The Area In ?

Editor's Note: We updated this article for 2022. This is our ninth time ranking the whitest cities in South Dakota.
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.