South Dakota

South Dakota is a state in the United States. South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. Its capital is Pierre and most populous is Sioux Falls. Other important cities are Rapid City, Sturgis and Aberdeen. Famous attractions include Mount Rushmore, the Black Hills, Crazy Horse mountain sculpture, The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and the Corn Palace. About 890,000 people lived there in 2020.

South Dakota is bordered to the north by North Dakota, to the south by Nebraska, to the east by Iowa and Minnesota, and to the west by Wyoming and Montana.

There are nine Native American tribes that live in South Dakota.

Most of South Dakota's land was bought in the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. South Dakota and North Dakota both became states in 1889.

Many Democrats have represented South Dakota in Congress. However, most politicians in South Dakota are Republicans. More than 90% of the state legislature are Republicans.

Cities and towns

Sioux Falls is the largest city in South Dakota. In 2020, 192,517 people lived there. 281,958 people live in its metro area.
The city was founded in 1856. It is in the southeast corner of the state. When the city was first founded, the economy was mostly agribusiness and quarrying. Today, retail, finance, and healthcare are most important to the city's economy.Thompson (ed.), p. 554.

 Towns 
Rapid City is the second-largest city in South Dakota. 74,703 lived there in 2020.144,558 people live in its metro area. It is located in the Black Hills, and was founded in 1876.Hasselstrom, p. 331. The biggest part of the city's economy is government services. The biggest employers include Ellsworth Air Force Base, the National Park Service, US Forest Service, and the Indian Health Service. Tourism is also a big part of Rapid City's economy. It is close to Mount Rushmore, Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, and Deadwood, and other attractions

+ 10 largest cities in South Dakota2022 rankCityCountyPopulationin 2020 Sioux FallsMinnehahaLincoln192,517 Rapid CityPennington74,703 AberdeenBrown28,495 BrookingsBrookings23,377 WatertownCodington22,655 MitchellDavison15,660 YanktonYankton15,411 HuronBeadle14,263 Pierre(the capital)Hughes14,091 SpearfishLawrence12,193

Related pages
 Colleges and universities in South Dakota
 List of counties in South Dakota

 References 

 Other websites 

 The Official Home Page of South Dakota 


Category:1889 establishments in the United States