South Dakota - Cities and Towns

Cities and Towns

See also: List of cities in South Dakota and List of South Dakota counties

Sioux Falls is the largest city in South Dakota, with an estimated 2009 population of 158,008, and a metropolitan area population of 238,122. The city, founded in 1856, is located in the southeast corner of the state. Retail, finance, and healthcare have assumed greater importance in Sioux Falls, where the economy was originally centered on agri-business and quarrying.

Rapid City, with a 2009 estimated population of 67,107, and a metropolitan area population of 124,766, is the second-largest city in the state. It is located on the eastern edge of the Black Hills, and was founded in 1876. Rapid City's economy is largely based on tourism and defense spending, because of the close proximity of many tourist attractions in the Black Hills and Ellsworth Air Force Base.

Aberdeen is the third largest city in South Dakota, with an estimated population of 24,992, and a micropolitan area population of 39,139. Located in the northeast corner of the state, it was founded in 1881 during the expansion of the Milwaukee Railroad.

The next seven largest cities in the state, in order of descending 2009 population, are Watertown (20,350), Brookings (20,184), Mitchell (14,747), Pierre (14,072), Yankton (13,866), Huron (11,281), and Vermillion (10,417). Pierre is the state capital, and Brookings and Vermillion are the locations of the state's two largest universities. Of the ten largest cities in the state, only Rapid City is located west of the Missouri River.