State rental market analysis · SD
South Dakota rental markets
18 tracked cities over 5,000 population, 18 ranked and summarized by their median Overall; 0 of 18 evaluable cities pass the modeled Buy & Hold screen. Every number traces to Census, Zillow and BLS. Compare state coverage and results →
Browse every South Dakota ZIP Code area → · the full server-rendered index for this state.
Part of the West North Central Census division (Midwest region).
The honest read
South Dakota has a median Overall of 47.1/100 across its ranked cities, but it is not assigned a headline state rank: 18 cities across 15 county contexts are evaluable for the Buy & Hold screen, below the published minimum of 20 cities and 10 county contexts. 18 ranked cities roll up into this grade. Its strongest factor is low unemployment: 2.0%, 1st of 51, backed by population growth (4th).
The biggest drag is gross rental yield: 4.8%, 40th of 51. A state grade is the median of its ranked cities, a screen for where to look, not underwriting. Open any city below for its full shown-math breakdown, or run a specific deal through the cap rate and cash-flow calculators.
Where it ranks, factor by factor
Every value is the median across the 18 ranked cities in this state. The national rank compares all 51 states on that one factor; the engine already flips inverted factors (affordability, low unemployment) so a better rank always means a better market. Each factor sits in one of the model’s three categories (Cash Flow, Growth, or Stability); this is a representative summary, and the full thirteen-factor breakdown is on each city’s page. Full methodology.
| Factor | Category | State value | National rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross rent yield | Cash Flow | 4.8% | #40 of 51 |
| Rent growth | Growth | 4.0% | #30 of 51 |
| Home value growth | Growth | 4.0% | #27 of 51 |
| Population growth | Growth | 1.6% | #4 of 51 |
| Job growth | Growth | 1.1% | #12 of 51 |
| Price-to-income | Cash Flow | 4.5× | #23 of 51 |
| Unemployment | Stability | 2.0% | #1 of 51 |
| Rental demand | Stability | 39% renters · 6.3% vacancy | two-part measure |
| Income growth | Growth | 5.2% | #20 of 51 |
Every city in South Dakota, ranked
Led by Harrisburg at 59/100. Click any column to re-sort; every city links to its full shown-math breakdown.
| SD rank | City | Grade | Cash Flow | Growth | Stability | Typical home value | Gross yield | National rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harrisburg | 59 | C | A | C | $362,813 | 4.2% | #794 |
| 2 med | Huron | 56 | B | C | C | $180,990 | 6.7% | #1120 |
| 3 med | Belle Fourche | 56 | C | C | B | $339,748 | 5.3% | #1126 |
| 4 | Box Elder | 53 | D | A | C | $366,720 | 5.0% | #1517 |
| 5 | Tea | 53 | D | A | C | $388,858 | 3.9% | #1521 |
| 6 | Spearfish | 52 | D | A | A | $455,619 | 4.0% | #1667 |
| 7 | Brandon | 51 | C | B | C | $394,982 | 4.2% | #1796 |
| 8 | Sioux Falls | 49 | D | B | C | $332,295 | 4.7% | #2097 |
| 9 | Watertown | 49 | D | B | B | $315,177 | 4.2% | #2099 |
| 10 | Brookings | 47 | D | B | B | $325,401 | 4.4% | #2408 |
| 11 | Rapid City | 42 | D | B | D | $361,540 | 4.9% | #3099 |
| 12 med | Yankton | 41 | D | C | C | $276,337 | 4.3% | #3333 |
| 13 | Pierre | 38 | C | D | C | $299,554 | 5.4% | #3632 |
| 14 | Mitchell | 37 | D | D | C | $254,780 | 4.5% | #3741 |
| 15 med | Vermillion | 35 | F | C | C | $276,371 | 4.2% | #3963 |
| 16 med | Madison | 34 | C | D | C | $269,467 | 6.1% | #3999 |
| 17 | Aberdeen | 34 | C | D | D | $243,866 | 5.4% | #4067 |
| 18 med | Sturgis | 29 | F | C | C | $376,562 | 3.5% | #4334 |
Data as of: Zillow ZHVI/ZORI through the latest monthly release · Census ACS 5-yr 2020–2024 · Census PEP July 2025 · BLS LAUS county 2025 annual (11-month average). Generated 2026-10-06. Methodology & limitations · underwrite any specific deal with the free calculators.
ZIP markets in South Dakota
375 Census ZIP Codes (ZCTAs) in South Dakota · 143 data-eligible for subscores. These are sub-city government areas ranked separately from the South Dakota city table. The overall Rental Investor ZIP Score leaderboard leads; the two component subscores (affordability, rental-market context) follow as independent percentiles. ZIP ranks are shown within the ZIP universe only, never mixed with, and not directly comparable to, city ranks. Vintage: the Key metric column is Census ACS 2020–2024 (5-year), the same release the city table above uses; the geographies differ, so the same measure can still disagree between the two.
Best overall ZIP Codes in South Dakota
Ranked by the overall Rental Investor ZIP Score. The # is each ZIP Code's canonical SD state rank; the smaller figure is its national rank. Separate from the South Dakota city table and not directly comparable to it.
| SD rank | ZIP Code | Overallgrade · national | Key metric |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | 57106Sioux Falls | A 71#365 nat | 4.4%Survey yield |
| #2 | 57108Sioux Falls | A 68#914 nat | 3.7%Survey yield |
| #3 | 57783Spearfish | A 68#935 nat | 3.1%Survey yield |
| #4 | 57006Brookings | A 67#1,002 nat | 3.9%Survey yield |
| #5 | 57104Sioux Falls | A 67#1,051 nat | 5.1%Survey yield |
| #6 | 57110Sioux Falls | A 67#1,123 nat | 3.1%Survey yield |
| #7 | 57107Sioux Falls | A 66#1,328 nat | 4.9%Survey yield |
| #8 | 57703Rapid City | A 65#1,748 nat | 6.0%Survey yield |
| #9 | 57071Volga | A 64#1,952 nat | 5.4%Survey yield |
| #10 | 57032Harrisburg | A 64#1,993 nat | 5.0%Survey yield |
| #11 | 57702Rapid City | B 63#2,428 nat | 3.9%Survey yield |
| #12 | 57103Sioux Falls | B 63#2,464 nat | 4.2%Survey yield |
Top affordability ZIP Codes in South Dakota
State-scoped leaders on the affordability subscore only (national rank shown is within that subscore’s data-eligible universe). Substantially an inverse housing-cost signal: a component of the overall score, not a predicted return.
| # | ZIP Code | Affordability | Key metric |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 57770Pine Ridge | 98#26 nat | 15.5%Survey yield |
| 2 | 57572Spring Creek | 93#223 nat | 18.2%Survey yield |
| 3 | 57623Dupree | 77#1,771 nat | 9.6%Survey yield |
| 4 | 57714Allen | 75#2,115 nat | 6.7%Survey yield |
| 5 | 57438Faulkton | 72#2,525 nat | 7.1%Survey yield |
| 6 | 57451Mina | 69#3,301 nat | 7.4%Survey yield |
| 7 | 57735Edgemont | 66#3,941 nat | 7.4%Survey yield |
| 8 | 57355Kimball | 65#4,092 nat | 6.9%Survey yield |
| 9 | 57625North Eagle Butte | 65#4,118 nat | 12.6%Survey yield |
| 10 | 57580Okreek | 65#4,302 nat | 7.5%Survey yield |
| 11 | 57016Chester | 63#4,620 nat | 5.7%Survey yield |
| 12 | 57472Selby | 62#5,053 nat | 8.1%Survey yield |
Deepest rental-market ZIP Codes in South Dakota
State-scoped leaders on the rental-market-context subscore only (national rank shown is within that subscore’s data-eligible universe). Rental depth/tightness: a separate component, never combined here with affordability.
| # | ZIP Code | Rental market | Key metric |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 57714Allen | 84#22 nat | 6.7%Survey yield |
| 2 | 57348Hitchcock | 77#548 nat | 4.2%Survey yield |
| 3 | 57783Spearfish | 75#855 nat | 3.1%Survey yield |
| 4 | 57732Deadwood | 75#893 nat | 4.0%Survey yield |
| 5 | 57049North Sioux City | 75#945 nat | 3.2%Survey yield |
| 6 | 57106Sioux Falls | 75#976 nat | 4.4%Survey yield |
| 7 | 57108Sioux Falls | 73#1,339 nat | 3.7%Survey yield |
| 8 | 57026Elkton | 71#1,854 nat | 5.7%Survey yield |
| 9 | 57770Pine Ridge | 70#1,932 nat | 15.5%Survey yield |
| 10 | 57241Hayti | 67#2,792 nat | 7.4%Survey yield |
| 11 | 57368Plankinton | 67#2,885 nat | 5.6%Survey yield |
| 12 | 57375Stickney | 67#2,981 nat | 5.9%Survey yield |