Race and Ethnicity
In 2005, the Census Bureau estimated that 88.5% of South Dakotans were White, 8.8% were American Indian or Alaskan Native, 2.1 were Hispanic (of any race), 0.8% were Black, 0.7% were Asian, while 2.1% belonged to more than one race. The five largest ancestry groups in South Dakota are: German (40.7%), Norwegian (15.3%), Irish (10.4%), Native American (8.3%), and English (7.1%). German-Americans are the largest ancestry group in most parts of the state, especially in the east, although there are also large Scandinavian populations in some counties. South Dakota has the nation's largest population of Hutterites, a communal Anabaptist group who emigrated from Europe in 1874.
American Indians, largely Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota (Sioux) are predominant in several counties. South Dakota has the third highest proportion of Native Americans of any state, behind Alaska and New Mexico. Five of the state's counties lie entirely within Indian reservations. Living standards on many reservations is often very low when compared with the national average. The unemployment rate in Fort Thompson, on the Crow Creek Indian Reservation, is 70%, and 21% of households there lack plumbing or basic kitchen appliances. A 1995 study by the U.S. Census Bureau found that 58% of homes on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation did not have a telephone.
As of the 2000 census, 1.90% of the population aged 5 or older speak German at home, while 1.51% speak Dakota, and 1.43% Spanish.
| By race | White | Black | AIAN* | Asian | NHPI* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 (total population) | 90.36% | 0.90% | 9.06% | 0.80% | 0.07% |
| 2000 (Hispanic only) | 1.21% | 0.04% | 0.24% | 0.02% | 0.01% |
| 2005 (total population) | 89.64% | 1.17% | 9.43% | 0.92% | 0.06% |
| 2005 (Hispanic only) | 1.83% | 0.07% | 0.23% | 0.02% | 0.00% |
| Growth 2000–05 (total population) | 1.98% | 33.36% | 7.02% | 17.99% | -9.87% |
| Growth 2000–05 (non-Hispanic only) | 1.25% | 31.10% | 7.20% | 18.58% | -5.69% |
| Growth 2000–05 (Hispanic only) | 55.60% | 78.64% | 0.17% | -6.21% | -41.54% |
| * AIAN is American Indian or Alaskan Native; NHPI is Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander | |||||
Read more about this topic: Demographics Of South Dakota
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