South Dakota Housing Market: Home Prices, Rent and Affordability
The typical South Dakota home is worth $321,574, up 2.5% over the past year and up 24.2% over five years, 12.8% below the national $368,697 (Zillow, latest release). That ranks #30 of 50 on price. A 20%-down mortgage runs $1,654 a month and takes about $90,326 of income; the median South Dakota household earns $72,280, $18,046 short.
In Sioux Falls, the state's largest metro, typical rent is $1,289 a month against a $1,752 principal-and-interest payment on the typical home, so renting is $463 a month cheaper before taxes, insurance and maintenance. The market is cool: 25.4% of listings cut their price (national 26.4%), homes go pending in 60 days (national 53), and for-sale inventory is up 12.5% from a year ago.
All figures are Zillow Research's published numbers for August; median household income is from the Census Bureau. How the data works → · Home prices in all 50 states →
South Dakota Housing by the Numbers
How much does a house cost in South Dakota? The typical home is worth $321,574, the median sale price is $337,783 and the median list price $368,283. The six figures below describe the market this month, each with the national comparison.
How Have South Dakota Home Prices Changed?
The typical South Dakota home value every month since 2000, with the national typical home as a dashed line. Values rose 2.5% over the past year, are up 24.2% over five years, up 76.3% over ten, and up 195% since January 2000.
Is It Cheaper to Rent or Buy in South Dakota?
Two direct answers from the Zillow data. Rent versus buy sets typical asking rent in Sioux Falls, the state's largest metro, against the mortgage payment on the typical home there, since Zillow publishes rents by metro rather than by state. The affordability gap is the income needed to buy the typical South Dakota home minus what the median household actually earns.
Rent vs. buy · Sioux Falls, SD
The payment excludes property tax (1.14% of value in South Dakota), insurance and maintenance, all of which push the cost of owning higher; renting builds no equity. If values kept rising at the past five years' pace (24.2%), equity would narrow that gap over a long stay.
Affordability gap · #22 of 50
A $1,654 monthly payment takes 27.5% of the median South Dakota household's income before property tax and insurance; lenders generally cap total housing costs near 28–31%. Full budget for your household →
Is South Dakota a Buyer's or a Seller's Market?
Market temperature is our label from three Zillow signals compared with the national market: the share of listings with a price cut, days from listing to pending (days on market), and whether homes for sale are up from a year ago. South Dakota is cool: it leans toward buyers: two of the three market signals point cooler than the national market.
Median sale price $337,783 against a median list price of $368,283, so the typical home closes 8.3% below asking.
Where the South Dakota market is heading
Compared with a year ago, two of the three signals point looser, in buyers' favor: the share of listings with a price cut is down 0.6 points from a year ago to 25.4%, homes take 6 days longer to go pending than a year ago (60 now), and the number of homes for sale is up 12.5%. The typical home value rose 2.5% over the same period and is 0.3% below its April 2026 peak of $322,544. We publish no forecasts: these are Zillow's current-month readings, not a prediction of where South Dakota home prices go next.
Home Values and Rents in South Dakota Cities
Zillow publishes a city-level home value or rent for 18 of the South Dakota cities we track. The most expensive is Spearfish ($455,619) and the cheapest Huron ($180,990). Click a city for its full profile.
| City | Population | Home value | 1 yr | 5 yr | Rent | Rent 1 yr | Value ÷ income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sioux Falls | 206,405 | $332,295 | +1.3% | ||||
| Rapid City | 79,409 | $361,540 | +2.0% | ||||
| Aberdeen | 28,297 | $243,866 | +6.1% | ||||
| Brookings | 23,710 | $325,401 | +5.5% | ||||
| Watertown | 22,859 | $315,177 | +4.2% | ||||
| Mitchell | 15,637 | $254,780 | +1.6% | ||||
| Yankton | 15,501 | $276,337 | +1.2% | ||||
| Huron | 14,347 | $180,990 | +3.5% | ||||
| Pierre | 14,008 | $299,554 | +4.0% | ||||
| Spearfish | 12,551 | $455,619 | -0.6% | ||||
| Box Elder | 12,457 | $366,720 | +2.3% | ||||
| Vermillion | 11,800 | $276,371 | +1.6% | ||||
| Brandon | 10,996 | $394,982 | +2.0% | ||||
| Harrisburg | 7,790 | $362,813 | +0.5% | ||||
| Sturgis | 7,111 | $376,562 | +2.2% | ||||
| Tea | 6,339 | $388,858 | +0.2% | ||||
| Madison | 6,158 | $269,467 | +1.1% | ||||
| Belle Fourche | 5,741 | $339,748 | +2.2% |
Home value and rent are Zillow's city-level indexes; population and median household income are Census ACS. Cities without a Zillow index are omitted. All South Dakota cities ranked →
How South Dakota Compares With Nearby States
The Midwest states closest to South Dakota on price. Each card links to that state's housing page; the compare link puts the two states side by side on every category.
More on South Dakota
South Dakota dashboard
→Overall rank and grade, every category score, taxes, utilities, safety, schools and all tracked cities.
What you'd keep in South Dakota
→Take-home after housing, taxes, childcare, utilities and groceries for your household and income.
Who is moving to South Dakota
→IRS migration data: where new residents come from, where leavers go, and what both groups earn.
South Dakota Housing Market FAQ
What is the average house price in South Dakota?
$321,574 is the typical South Dakota home value according to the latest Zillow Research release of the Zillow Home Value Index, which tracks homes in the middle third of the market. The median sale price was $337,783 and the median list price $368,283. That makes South Dakota the #30 most expensive state; the national typical home is worth $368,697.
Are home prices dropping in South Dakota?
No. The typical South Dakota home value rose 2.5% over the past year, though it remains 0.3% below its April 2026 peak of $322,544. Over five years it is up 24.2% and over ten years up 76.3%. Nationally, values rose 1.2% over the year.
How have South Dakota home prices changed over the past 1, 5 and 10 years?
+2.5% over one year, +24.2% over five years and +76.3% over ten years for the typical South Dakota home value, per the latest Zillow Research release; the national figures are +1.2%, +20.3% and +77.9%. Since January 2000 the typical South Dakota home is up 195%. The monthly chart above shows the full series against the national line.
Will the South Dakota housing market crash?
We publish no forecasts, so this page cannot answer that; it can show the current readings and the historical worst case. Right now the typical South Dakota home value is 0.3% below its April 2026 peak of $322,544 after it rose 2.5% over the past year; 25.4% of listings have cut their price (national 26.4%), homes go pending in 60 days (national 53), and inventory is up 12.5% from a year ago, per Zillow Research. The largest decline in Zillow's monthly series for South Dakota was 2.2% from February 2009 to June 2011, and values took 11 months to regain that peak.
Is it a good time to buy a house in South Dakota?
The South Dakota market is cool right now, which means it leans toward buyers: two of the three market signals point cooler than the national market. 25.4% of listings cut their price (national 26.4%), homes go pending in 60 days (national 53), and for-sale inventory is up 12.5% from a year ago. Affordability is the constraint: buying the typical home takes $90,326 of income, $18,046 more than the median household earns. Whether the timing is right also depends on mortgage rates and how long you plan to stay.
Is South Dakota a buyer's or seller's market?
South Dakota leans toward buyers. Fewer listings are cutting prices than the national average (25.4% vs. 26.4%), homes take 60 days to go pending (national 53), and the number of homes for sale is up 12.5% from a year ago at 4K listings. Two of those three signals point toward buyers.
What is the average rent in South Dakota?
In Sioux Falls, South Dakota's largest metro, the typical asking rent is $1,289 a month, up 3.9% over the past year and up 24.1% over five years, per the Zillow Observed Rent Index. The national typical rent is $1,948. Among South Dakota cities we track, rents range from $960 to $1,515 a month.
Is it cheaper to rent or buy in South Dakota?
Renting is cheaper month to month in Sioux Falls, South Dakota's largest metro. Typical rent is $1,289 and the principal-and-interest payment on the typical home with 20% down is $1,752, a difference of $463 a month in favor of renting. The payment excludes property tax (1.14% of value in South Dakota), insurance and maintenance, and renting builds no equity, so the full answer depends on how long you stay.
How much income do you need to buy a house in South Dakota?
About $90,326 a year, using Zillow's assumptions of 20% down at current mortgage rates and a payment of no more than 30% of income. The median South Dakota household earns $72,280, so the typical household is $18,046 short. That is the #22 smallest affordability gap of the 50 states. The monthly payment of $1,654 equals 27.5% of the median household's income.
Where are homes cheapest and most expensive in South Dakota?
Among the South Dakota cities we track with Zillow data, the most expensive typical home is in Spearfish ($455,619) and the cheapest in Huron ($180,990). Also at the top: Brandon ($394,982), Tea ($388,858), and Sturgis ($376,562). The city table above lists every tracked South Dakota city with its value, one-year change and rent.
How does South Dakota compare with nearby states?
In the Midwest, the closest comparisons on price are Wisconsin ($339,699, up 5.1% in a year), Illinois ($297,573, up 5.3% in a year), and Minnesota ($350,752, up 2.5% in a year). South Dakota's typical home is $321,574, up 2.5%. On affordability, South Dakota ranks #22 of 50 versus Wisconsin at #28, Illinois at #19, and Minnesota at #16.
How current is the South Dakota housing data?
Every figure on this page comes from Zillow Research, which publishes state, metro and city data free each month for the prior month; the latest month shown is August. Median household income is from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. We rebuild the page from the newest Zillow files as they are released.
Home values, rents, mortgage payments, income needed, inventory, price cuts, days to pending and sale and list prices are published by Zillow Research and shown as released, with attribution. Median household income and city populations are from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. Home prices and housing markets in all 50 states →