South Dakota by the numbers
In South Dakota, the median worker earns $45,620 a year, the typical home is worth $236,800 and carries $2,590 of property tax, and the average household pays $138 a month for electricity at 15.73¢ per kilowatt-hour.
Midwest MISO / SPP Regulated monopoly
Energy
South Dakota has good generation fundamentals: federal hydropower from the Missouri River dams, a strong wind resource, and no expensive mandates. What it does not have is customer density. Fewer than a million people are spread across seventy-five thousand square miles, and someone has to pay for the poles and wire between them.
That fixed-cost-per-customer problem is the main reason South Dakota sits above North Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa despite similar generation. It also explains why the state's rate rose faster than its neighbours'. When capital spending rises, there are fewer customers to spread it across.
Federal hydro allocations through the Western Area Power Administration remain a genuine advantage, particularly for the co-operatives and municipal systems that hold them.
Averaged across the twelve months to May 2026, South Dakota households used 981 kilowatt-hours a month and paid $138. At the state median wage that is about 6.3 hours of work a month to keep the lights on. For heating, gas is still cheaper to run than a heat pump here, by about $5.38 per million BTU.
Work and pay
The median South Dakota worker earned $45,620 in 2024, 7.8% below the national median. What distinguishes a state's labour market is rarely its biggest occupations, which are retail and food service everywhere, but what it has disproportionately.
| Occupation | Concentration | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Forest and Conservation Workers | 40.33× | $37,690 |
| Gambling Change Persons and Booth Cashiers | 11.03× | $29,450 |
| Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation | 9.26× | $45,650 |
| Residential Advisors | 7.37× | $36,780 |
| Conveyor Operators and Tenders | 7.29× | $43,080 |
Property tax
The median South Dakota homeowner pays $2,590 a year on a home worth $236,800, an effective rate of 1.09% against a national 0.98%. Nobody sets that rate. It is what falls out of county, city, school district and special district levies applied to an assessed value, so the state figure is a weighted average of 36 counties rather than a posted number.
Cost of living
Prices in South Dakota run at 88.6 where the national average is 100, ranking it #46 of 51. Goods sit at 95.5, which is close to national almost everywhere because most goods are shipped and priced nationally. Rents sit at 67.6, and that is where states actually separate from one another. A median wage of $45,620 therefore buys what $51,490 buys nationally.
Metro areas priced separately: Sioux Falls (90.6) , Rapid City (89.2) , Sioux City (86.5) .
Housing
House prices in South Dakota rose 1.1% over the year to 2026 Q2, against a median across all states of +2.7%. Over ten years the index is +92.0%. Prices are at or near their record level.
Who supplies the power
20 utilities report residential service in South Dakota, together serving 347,840 customers. Regulated monopoly.
South Dakota: common questions
What does it cost to live in South Dakota?
Prices overall run at 88.6 against a national average of 100, with rents at 67.6. The typical home is worth $236,800 and carries $2,590 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.09% against a national 0.98%. Electricity averages $138 a month at 15.73¢ per kilowatt-hour. Against that, the median wage is $45,620.
What is the property tax rate in South Dakota?
The effective rate is 1.09% of home value, from a median bill of $2,590. It is set locally rather than by the state, so the figure is a weighted outcome across 36 counties. County by county rates.
Does a salary go further in South Dakota?
The median wage of $45,620 buys what $51,490 buys nationally, once local prices are taken out. A state paying above the national median while charging above it for housing can leave a household no better off, and this is the arithmetic that shows which side of that line South Dakota falls on.
Is South Dakota expensive for electricity?
It ranks #31 of 51 jurisdictions on price at 15.73¢ per kilowatt-hour, -14.7% against the U.S. average. On the actual bill it ranks 34 of 51, because households there use 981 kWh a month against a national 871.
What is the median salary in South Dakota?
$45,620 across all occupations, about $21.93 an hour, covering 452,940 wage and salary workers as of 2024.
Who supplies electricity in South Dakota?
20 utilities report residential service, the largest being Northern States Power Co - Minnesota with 92,204 customers. Regulated monopoly.
Electricity May 2026, gas 2024, utilities 2024, wages 2024. All figures from federal statistical agencies. Methodology · Sources