At a glance: South Dakota

South Dakota is the 46th most populous state in the U.S., with 919,318 residents across its 75,809 square miles, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The state ranked No. 33 for business in 2024 by CNBC. The largest industry in South Dakota is credit card issuing, due to the state’s bank-friendly policies, followed by corn, wheat and soybean wholesaling and commercial banking. Those three industries combined for $33 billion in revenue in 2024.

Energy

South Dakota ranks No. 37 among states for energy production, with its leading production sources being non-combustible renewables, crude oil along with wood and waste, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

South Dakota ranks No. 9 for most energy consumption per capita. The leading energy sources consumed by South Dakotans are natural gas, biomass and motor gasoline.

South Dakotans’ residential electricity rate is $0.1386/kWh, cheaper than the national average. The commercial electricity rate is also cheaper; South Dakota’s commercial users pay a rate of $0.1016/kWh, compared to the national average commercial rate of $0.1259/kWh.

Industrial users pay $0.0801/kWh, just below the national average industrial electricity rate of $0.0804/kWh.

South Dakota’s residential natural gas price is $10.41 per thousand cubic feet, below the national average of $15.39, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Environment

Annual carbon emissions have increased 67 percent since 1970, while the state’s population grew by 33 percent during the same span. The population is projected to increase by another 6.5 percent, to 944,259 residents, by 2030.

The federal government lists 15 species in South Dakota as threatened or endangered.