The local economy of South Dakota and its counties, metro areas and cities, from official US government data.
Unemployment rate
2.0%
August 2026, 2.1% a year ago
Average weekly pay
$1,211
Q1 2026, 451,691 jobs
New homes permitted
5,973
Last 12 months to August 2026
Net people moving in
+2,417
2022 to 2023
Newest data: -. Not seasonally adjusted: compare with the same month a year earlier. Click a row for its history.
The newest unemployment rate, pay, new home permits, moves and gas price for South Dakota, updated as new official numbers come out.
Unemployment for South Dakota is seasonally adjusted; for its counties, metro areas and cities it is not, so compare a month with the same month a year earlier. Pay covers all jobs that pay into unemployment insurance. Building permits count homes approved to be built, not homes sold. Moves count households by where they filed their tax returns in two years in a row.
The unemployment rate in South Dakota was 2.0% in August 2026 (seasonally adjusted, preliminary), compared with 2.1% a year earlier. 476,316 people were employed out of a labor force of 485,944. Among its counties, Hyde County had the lowest rate (1.3%) and Corson County the highest (7.4%, not seasonally adjusted).
Average weekly pay in South Dakota was $1,211 in Q1 2026, up 4.2% from a year earlier, across 451,691 jobs at 41,117 business locations.
Building permits were issued for 742 new homes in South Dakota in August 2026 (343 single-family and 395 in buildings with 5 or more units). From January to August the total was 4,436, up 17.5% from the same months last year, and 5,973 in the last 12 months. The most homes were permitted in Minnehaha County (2,329), Pennington County (616), Lincoln County (391) over the last 12 months.
Yes. From 2022 to 2023, 27,271 people moved to South Dakota and 24,854 moved away, a net gain of 2,417 (+3.2 per 1,000 residents). Most newcomers came from Minnesota, Iowa, California, and most people who left went to Minnesota, Iowa, Texas.
The weekly survey does not publish a separate price for South Dakota. In its region, Midwest, regular gasoline averaged $4.29 per gallon in the week of September 28, 2026.