South Dakota

Highlights

• #17 of 50: Economic output and wealth
• #18 of 50: Scale-ups
• #23 of 50: Talent

The seven inputs

Each input is a z-score against the other states: 0 is the average state, and each step is one standard deviation (capped at ±3). Ranks are among the 50 states.

• Venture capital -1.3 #47 of 50
• Startup formation -0.3 #31 of 50
• Scale-ups +0.2 #18 of 50
• Economic output and wealth +0.4 #17 of 50
• Innovation and patents -1.1 #45 of 50
• Talent +0.1 #23 of 50
• Momentum -1.7 #50 of 50

Top companies

The largest companies headquartered in South Dakota, by latest annual revenue.

1. Black Hills Corporation BKH · Utilities · Rapid City, SD $2.3B
2. NorthWestern Energy Group Inc. NWE · Utilities · Sioux Falls, SD $1.6B
3. Pathward Financial Inc. CASH · Financials · Sioux Falls, SD $840M

Roots Density Data, All Companies (public: SEC filings; private: Forbes Top Private Companies 2025). Ranked by latest annual revenue.

Metros in South Dakota

• Sioux Falls, SD #74 of 109 metros 32
• Rapid City, SD #97 of 109 metros 17