The 10 Most Miserable Cities In South Dakota For 2023

Do you live in one of the most miserable places in South Dakota?

Only a third of South Dakotans say they are truly happy. That’s too bad, considering that folks in South Dakota don’t really have it too bad in the grand scheme of things.

But, we were curious – which South Dakota cities might be the most miserable? We’re about to find out, using Saturday Night Science and data.

After analyzing the 39 largest cities, we sadly present the most miserable cities in the Mount Rushmore State.

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Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table

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The 10 Most Miserable Places In South Dakota

1. Belle Fourche
2. Springfield
3. Canton
4. Sisseton
5. Beresford
6. Box Elder
7. Elk Point
8. North Sioux City
9. Flandreau
10. Huron

Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town ranked. If you have a smile on your face, you probably don’t live in one of these cities.

Oh, and by the way, Spearfish is the happiest place in South Dakota.

For more South Dakota reading, check out:

• Best Places To Live In South Dakota
• Safest Places To Live In South Dakota

The 10 Most Miserable Places In South Dakota For 2023

1. Belle Fourche

Source: Wikipedia User Bradleygee | CC BY-SA 2.0

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,561
Poverty Level: 10.4%
Median Home Price $151,500
Married Households 20.0%
Households With Kids 30.38%
More on Belle Fourche: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

2. Springfield

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 2,108
Poverty Level: 11.8%
Median Home Price $97,700
Married Households 11.0%
Households With Kids 17.9%
More on Springfield:

3. Canton

Source: Wikipedia User AlexiusHoratius | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 3,054
Poverty Level: 8.0%
Median Home Price $149,100
Married Households 33.0%
Households With Kids 35.77%
More on Canton: Data | Crime

4. Sisseton

Source: Wikipedia User Connor401 | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 2,433
Poverty Level: 19.8%
Median Home Price $92,100
Married Households 24.0%
Households With Kids 34.65%
More on Sisseton: Crime

5. Beresford

Source: Wikipedia User Jon Platek | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 2,359
Poverty Level: 4.5%
Median Home Price $171,000
Married Households 33.0%
Households With Kids 35.35%
More on Beresford: Crime

6. Box Elder

Source: Wikipedia User Jeffrey Beall | CC BY 4.0

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 11,527
Poverty Level: 7.1%
Median Home Price $206,600
Married Households 13.0%
Households With Kids 36.12%
More on Box Elder: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

7. Elk Point

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 2,248
Poverty Level: 10.2%
Median Home Price $163,400
Married Households 20.0%
Households With Kids 38.22%
More on Elk Point:

8. North Sioux City

Source: Flickr User Subharnab | CC BY 2.0

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 2,956
Poverty Level: 12.6%
Median Home Price $183,400
Married Households 7.0%
Households With Kids 29.1%
More on North Sioux City: Crime

9. Flandreau

Source: Flickr User Sarah&Boston | CC BY-SA 2.0

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 2,298
Poverty Level: 11.0%
Median Home Price $123,700
Married Households 25.0%
Households With Kids 31.83%
More on Flandreau: Crime

10. Huron

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 14,060
Poverty Level: 14.5%
Median Home Price $108,100
Married Households 24.0%
Households With Kids 36.64%
More on Huron: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Methodology: How We Measured The Most Miserable Cities In The Mount Rushmore State

To rank the unhappiest places in South Dakota, we had to determine what criteria make people happy. It isn’t a stretch to assume that happy people earn great salaries, are relatively stress-free, and have a stable home life.

So we went to the Census’s American Community Survey 2017-2021 report for the happy criteria, flipped the list with Saturday Night Science, and it spit out the answer.

Like magic.

Here are the criteria we used to measure misery:

• Percentage of residents with a college degree
• Average commute times
• Unemployment rates
• Cost of living
• % of married couples
• % of families with kids
• Poverty rate

After we decided on the criteria, we gathered the data for the 39 places in South Dakota with over 2,000 people.

We then ranked each place from one to 39 for each of the seven criteria, with a score of one being the most miserable (Any ties were given to the larger place).

Next, we averaged the seven rankings into a Miserable Index for each place with the lowest overall Miserable Index “earning” the title “Most Miserable City In South Dakota.”

If you’d like to see the complete list of states, most miserable to happiest, scroll to the bottom of this post to see the unabridged chart.

We updated this article for 2023, and it’s our tenth time ranking the most miserable cities in South Dakota.

There You Have It – The Least Happy Cities In South Dakota

As we said earlier, trying to determine the most miserable cities in South Dakota is usually a subjective matter.

But if you’re analyzing cities where people are not stable, where you’re stuck in traffic, and no one spent the time to go to college, then this is an accurate list.

If you’re curious enough, here are the happiest cities in South Dakota, according to science:

1. Spearfish
2. Pierre
3. Mitchell

For more South Dakota reading, check out:

• Best Places To Live In South Dakota
• Cheapest Places To Live In South Dakota
• Most Dangerous Cities In South Dakota
• Richest Cities In South Dakota
• Safest Places In South Dakota
• Worst Places To Live In South Dakota
• Most Expensive Places To Live In South Dakota

Miserable Cities In South Dakota For 2023