Safest Places to Live in South Dakota of September 2026
Located in the Midwestern United States, South Dakota borders North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Montana. It officially became a state in 1889.
With around 865,000 residents, it is the fifth least populous and the fifth least densely populated state. Its capital is Pierre, while the largest city is Sioux Falls, which has around 175,000 residents.
South Dakota is famous for Mount Rushmore, which is a great tourist attraction. The economy of South Dakota relies on agriculture, this state having a largely rural culture.
Ranking Criteria
ElitePersonalFinance extracted the latest data from the FBI crime statistics in the United States. We took violent crime as the main criteria. To get our score, we used this formula:
Crime Score = ( Total Number of Violent Crimes / Population ) * 1,000
This way, safer cities got the lowest score, and those more vulnerable to crimes got higher scores.
The cities that did not report crimes to the FBI and those under 3,000 residents were not included in the list.
10 Safest Places in South Dakota of September 2026
| Rank: | City: | Population: | Total Number of Crimes: | Crime Score: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank:1 | City:Brandon | Population:10 244 | Total Number of Crimes:7 | Crime Score:0,68 |
| Rank:2 | City:Tea | Population:5 898 | Total Number of Crimes:8 | Crime Score:1,36 |
| Rank:3 | City:Vermillion | Population:10 833 | Total Number of Crimes:21 | Crime Score:1,94 |
| Rank:4 | City:Spearfish | Population:11 842 | Total Number of Crimes:23 | Crime Score:1,94 |
| Rank:5 | City:Belle Fourche | Population:5 600 | Total Number of Crimes:11 | Crime Score:1,96 |
| Rank:6 | City:Sturgis | Population:6 983 | Total Number of Crimes:14 | Crime Score:2,00 |
| Rank:7 | City:Brookings | Population:24 823 | Total Number of Crimes:54 | Crime Score:2,18 |
| Rank:8 | City:Madison | Population:7 558 | Total Number of Crimes:17 | Crime Score:2,25 |
| Rank:9 | City:Watertown | Population:22 233 | Total Number of Crimes:67 | Crime Score:3,01 |
| Rank:10 | City:Hot Springs | Population:3 485 | Total Number of Crimes:11 | Crime Score:3,16 |
Crime Score in All Cities in South Dakota of September 2026
If your city didn’t make our list, you could see our full list of South Dakota cities.
We can’t compare crime rates in small and large cities. That’s why ElitePersonalFinance made a detailed analysis and narrowed the results according to population segments:
- Under 3,000 Residents
- 3,000 – 10,000 Residents
- Over 10,000 Residents
(Other sites don’t include places with under 3,000 residents, but we included them.)
These are the results that we got:
Under 3,000 Residents
| Rank: | City: | Population: | Total Number of Crimes: | Crime Score: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank:1 | City:Faith | Population:413 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:2 | City:Rosholt | Population:434 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:3 | City:Murdo | Population:442 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:4 | City:Burke | Population:586 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:5 | City:Avon | Population:597 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:6 | City:Menno | Population:622 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:7 | City:Kimball | Population:662 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:8 | City:Alcester | Population:744 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:9 | City:Scotland | Population:814 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:10 | City:Centerville | Population:879 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:11 | City:Tyndall | Population:1 036 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:12 | City:Clark | Population:1 056 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:13 | City:Groton | Population:1 506 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:14 | City:Springfield | Population:1 935 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:15 | City:Beresford | Population:1 989 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:16 | City:Lead | Population:2 958 | Total Number of Crimes:2 | Crime Score:0,68 |
| Rank:17 | City:Freeman | Population:1 290 | Total Number of Crimes:1 | Crime Score:0,78 |
| Rank:18 | City:Sisseton | Population:2 423 | Total Number of Crimes:3 | Crime Score:1,24 |
| Rank:19 | City:Philip | Population:773 | Total Number of Crimes:1 | Crime Score:1,29 |
| Rank:20 | City:Tripp | Population:630 | Total Number of Crimes:1 | Crime Score:1,59 |
| Rank:21 | City:Summerset | Population:2 796 | Total Number of Crimes:5 | Crime Score:1,79 |
| Rank:22 | City:Lennox | Population:2 476 | Total Number of Crimes:5 | Crime Score:2,02 |
| Rank:23 | City:North Sioux City | Population:2 932 | Total Number of Crimes:6 | Crime Score:2,05 |
| Rank:24 | City:Elk Point | Population:1 857 | Total Number of Crimes:4 | Crime Score:2,15 |
| Rank:25 | City:Deadwood | Population:1 307 | Total Number of Crimes:3 | Crime Score:2,30 |
| Rank:26 | City:Wagner | Population:1 561 | Total Number of Crimes:4 | Crime Score:2,56 |
| Rank:27 | City:Kadoka | Population:714 | Total Number of Crimes:2 | Crime Score:2,80 |
| Rank:28 | City:Platte | Population:1 263 | Total Number of Crimes:4 | Crime Score:3,17 |
| Rank:29 | City:Chamberlain | Population:2 345 | Total Number of Crimes:16 | Crime Score:6,82 |
| Rank:30 | City:Flandreau | Population:2 323 | Total Number of Crimes:18 | Crime Score:7,75 |
| Rank:31 | City:Martin | Population:1 071 | Total Number of Crimes:27 | Crime Score:25,21 |
3,000 – 10,000 Residents
| Rank: | City: | Population: | Total Number of Crimes: | Crime Score: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank:1 | City:Tea | Population:5 898 | Total Number of Crimes:8 | Crime Score:1,36 |
| Rank:2 | City:Belle Fourche | Population:5 600 | Total Number of Crimes:11 | Crime Score:1,96 |
| Rank:3 | City:Sturgis | Population:6 983 | Total Number of Crimes:14 | Crime Score:2,00 |
| Rank:4 | City:Madison | Population:7 558 | Total Number of Crimes:17 | Crime Score:2,25 |
| Rank:5 | City:Hot Springs | Population:3 485 | Total Number of Crimes:11 | Crime Score:3,16 |
| Rank:6 | City:Canton | Population:3 521 | Total Number of Crimes:12 | Crime Score:3,41 |
| Rank:7 | City:Mobridge | Population:3 550 | Total Number of Crimes:13 | Crime Score:3,66 |
Over 10,000 Residents
| Rank: | City: | Population: | Total Number of Crimes: | Crime Score: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank:1 | City:Brandon | Population:10 244 | Total Number of Crimes:7 | Crime Score:0,68 |
| Rank:2 | City:Vermillion | Population:10 833 | Total Number of Crimes:21 | Crime Score:1,94 |
| Rank:3 | City:Spearfish | Population:11 842 | Total Number of Crimes:23 | Crime Score:1,94 |
| Rank:4 | City:Brookings | Population:24 823 | Total Number of Crimes:54 | Crime Score:2,18 |
| Rank:5 | City:Watertown | Population:22 233 | Total Number of Crimes:67 | Crime Score:3,01 |
| Rank:6 | City:Mitchell | Population:15 733 | Total Number of Crimes:59 | Crime Score:3,75 |
| Rank:7 | City:Box Elder | Population:10 077 | Total Number of Crimes:42 | Crime Score:4,17 |
| Rank:8 | City:Huron | Population:13 840 | Total Number of Crimes:58 | Crime Score:4,19 |
| Rank:9 | City:Pierre | Population:14 018 | Total Number of Crimes:65 | Crime Score:4,64 |
| Rank:10 | City:Sioux Falls | Population:185 628 | Total Number of Crimes:897 | Crime Score:4,83 |
| Rank:11 | City:Aberdeen | Population:28 870 | Total Number of Crimes:160 | Crime Score:5,54 |
| Rank:12 | City:Yankton | Population:14 730 | Total Number of Crimes:86 | Crime Score:5,84 |
| Rank:13 | City:Rapid City | Population:76 343 | Total Number of Crimes:540 | Crime Score:7,07 |
How safe do you feel?
Is your city safe enough? Are you worried because of the crime rate in your town? Do you have any thoughts on safety levels in the country?
If you want to share anything, feel free to leave a comment. That way, you can help us understand your perspective better.
Thank you!
Archives
- Safest Places to Live in South Dakota 2020
- Safest Places to Live in South Dakota 2019
- Safest Places to Live in South Dakota 2018
- Safest Places to Live in South Dakota 2017
- Safest Places to Live in South Dakota 2016
Sources:
