Feasibility Study Company Independent Feasibility Analysis

South Dakota · Evidence and Markets

South Dakota Feasibility Studies

Feasibility Study Company prepares feasibility studies in South Dakota for the owners and developers behind a project and for the SBA lenders, USDA programs and banks that will read them. The lead fact on this page is a tax share: tourism generated 16.5% of South Dakota's state sales tax collections in 2025, when 14.97 million visitors spent $5.16 billion by the Department of Tourism's count 1. The second is a forecast, NASS's Crop Production release of October 9, 2026 putting the state's corn crop at 881,840 thousand bushels 2, and a South Dakota feasibility study consultant sets a hotel, campground or farm-service project against both calendars.

Request a methodology briefing The visitor ledger
16.5%
Share of South Dakota's state sales tax collections generated by tourism in 2025 1
14.97M
Visitors to and within South Dakota in 2025, Department of Tourism 1
59,145
Jobs statewide that tourism supported in 2025 1
$1,211
Average weekly wage across all covered employment in South Dakota, first quarter of 2026, a preliminary BLS figure 3
South Dakota in Brief

A visitor season that funds the sales tax, a harvest forecast for October 2026 and a payroll with few people out of work.

Feasibility Study Company prepares feasibility studies for South Dakota projects. The clients are owners and developers, and the readers are the SBA lenders, USDA Rural Development and banks that finance them. What follows on this page is the record such a study draws on, starting with the two sources of income that set South Dakota's year.

The first is visitors. The Department of Tourism counted 14.97 million visitors to and within the state in 2025, spending $5.16 billion, supporting 59,145 jobs and generating $406.1 million in state and local taxes; tourism accounted for 16.5% of total state sales tax collections 1. A state that collects that share of its sales tax is a state where hotels, campgrounds, restaurants and fuel stops are underwritten against a calendar, and the summer of 2026 gave the calendar a mixed reading: SDDOT put the ten-day Sturgis vehicle count under its five-year average 5.

The second is the crop. USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service forecast on October 9, 2026 a South Dakota corn crop of 881,840 thousand bushels and a soybean crop of 226,800 thousand bushels 2. Grain elevators, input dealers, equipment shops, ethanol and processing plants and the main streets of the farm counties take their volume from those numbers, and a lender reads a project in those trades against the forecast for the crop year it opens in.

Between the two seasons sits a payroll with very little slack. In September 2026 the Labor Market Information Center counted 484,700 people in the civilian labor force and 475,100 employed, both seasonally adjusted and preliminary 6, and BLS's release of October 20, 2026 reports South Dakota's September jobless rate as the lowest of any state 14. A hotel that needs a full housekeeping staff or a plant that needs a second shift is tested first on whether it can hire, and second on what it will pay to do so.

The page then turns to costs, the rules the 2025 and 2026 sessions wrote, the hazards that brought federal declarations, statewide supply and a dated list of events. Six markets follow, Sioux Falls and the Black Hills first, then Aberdeen, Brookings, Watertown, and Mitchell with Pierre. The lending programs and the asset classes close the page.

Visitors and Gaming

Where the 2025 visitor money went, what the 2026 rally counted and what Deadwood paid the state.

The Department of Tourism's release of January 21, 2026 is the statewide anchor for any lodging or hospitality study. It reports 14.97 million visitors for 2025, $5.16 billion of visitor spending, 59,145 jobs supported by tourism and $406.1 million in state and local taxes from the industry, and puts tourism at 16.5% of total state sales tax collections 1. The release gives its own year-over-year changes, and they are small; a hotel pro forma that assumes a growth rate cites the release for it rather than building one.

Visitor spending lands on a narrow payroll. FRED, relaying BLS, shows 55.7 thousand leisure and hospitality jobs in South Dakota in September 2026, seasonally adjusted 15. The state's 2025 QCEW report gives the sector's average annual pay as $24,183 8. That pay figure is an annual average across seasonal and part-time positions, and a study for a year-round hotel states its own hourly wage and staffing schedule rather than dividing it out of the annual number.

The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally

The rally in Meade County is counted by two agencies. SDDOT's release of August 17, 2026 counts 448,166 vehicles entering Sturgis at its count sites over the ten days, and states that the count ran below the 2021 to 2025 five-year average 5. Its first three days, Friday to Sunday, brought 168,482 vehicles, which Dakota News Now, relaying SDDOT, reported as down from the same period of 2025 16.

The Department of Revenue counts money. Its release of September 1, 2026 estimates $1,404,408 of tax collections from the 2026 rally, which it reports as a decrease from 2025 4. The Rapid City section prints the department's figure for the southern Black Hills, where collections rose. For an RV park, campground, bar or seasonal retail project in the northern hills, the rally is a share of the year that a lender stress-tests on its own line: the pro forma shows the year with a weak rally, not only an average one.

Deadwood gaming

Gaming in Deadwood, in Lawrence County, is taxed on adjusted gross revenue under SDCL 42-7B-28, and the Commission on Gaming's report for fiscal 2025 shows $2,315,908.04 of excess Deadwood proceeds deposited in the State general fund under the chapter's excess-proceeds section 17. A hotel, restaurant or entertainment project in Deadwood reads that report for the gaming trend behind its demand. The gaming handle by property and a fiscal 2026 report were not available, so a study takes the year's figures from the commission when they are posted.

What the visitor record does not give

No dated public page gave South Dakota's hotel occupancy, room rate or RevPAR for either year, and the Department of Tourism's county spending tables could not be read. A lodging study in South Dakota therefore buys a competitive set report for its own trade area and states that it did. Lodging tax rates and collections by month were not found either; the rally release names a state tourism tax among the collections without setting out its rate here, and the rate in force on the opening date is taken from the Department of Revenue.

Crops and Land

The October 2026 crop forecast and two readings of what an acre of South Dakota cropland is worth.

The crop numbers that matter most to a South Dakota farm-service project are in NASS's Crop Production release of October 9, 2026. It forecasts, as of October 1, corn for grain at 881,840 thousand bushels and soybeans at 226,800 thousand bushels for South Dakota 2. Its crop comments put the state's sunflower yield at 1,959 pounds per acre, below the previous year's record, and single out South Dakota's soybean pod count as showing the greatest decrease among the states surveyed 2.

Three kinds of project carry that forecast into their revenue line. A grain storage or handling facility sizes throughput on bushels, a fertilizer, seed or chemical dealer on planted acres and farm income, and a processing plant on a contracted supply. The October figure is a forecast, and NASS revises it; a study dated after January cites the annual summary that replaces it.

Cropland values

Land is the collateral behind most farm lending and the cost line in most rural site budgets, and two surveys price it differently. The USDA NASS Land Values 2026 Summary, as DTN Progressive Farmer reported it on July 31, 2026, gives South Dakota cropland a value of $4,770 per acre 18. The SDSU Extension Farm Real Estate Survey, as Pro Farmer reported it on June 17, 2026, gives non-irrigated cropland of average productivity $6,268 per acre 19. The two use different methods and land definitions. A study that prices a rural parcel names the survey it relies on, or uses a sale of comparable land in the county, and does not average the two.

A NASS cash rent figure for 2026, the cattle inventory and the state's ethanol capacity were not found on a dated page that could be opened. A livestock or ethanol project sources those from NASS's and EIA's own releases at the date of the study.

Payrolls and Output

Jobs by sector, pay by sector, output for 2025 and the ten-year projections a staffing plan is set against.

The population base is small and counted two ways. FRED relays the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 estimate of 935.094 thousand South Dakota residents on July 1, 2025 20. The Labor Market Information Center's December 2025 bulletin names Minnesota as the largest origin of residents moving in from other states, in the Census Bureau's 2022 survey 21. County estimates for 2025 could not be retrieved from the Census Bureau, so the market sections use the bulletin's 2024 city figures.

Payroll jobs

The Labor Market Information Center counted 470,500 nonfarm wage and salary jobs in September 2026, seasonally adjusted and preliminary, beside the 484,700 labor force and 475,100 employed residents in the opening section 6. Its April 2026 bulletin gives the 2025 annual average, not seasonally adjusted, as 469,400 nonfarm workers 22.

BLS's monthly release of October 20, 2026 gives the sector split for September 2026, seasonally adjusted and preliminary: 81.6 thousand jobs in education and health services, 80.6 thousand in government and 35.9 thousand in professional and business services 14. Health care and public employment carry a large part of the state's payroll, which matters for a clinic, a senior housing community or an office building whose tenants are agencies.

Pay

The state's 2025 QCEW report gives statewide average annual pay of $60,577 for covered workers 8. Construction paid an average of $71,093 and leisure and hospitality $24,183, and manufacturing employed an average of 44,302 covered workers 8; for September 2026 FRED, relaying BLS, shows 43.8 thousand manufacturing jobs, seasonally adjusted 23. BLS's first-quarter 2026 county release puts the statewide average weekly wage at $1,211, a preliminary figure 3. A construction budget uses the construction figure, not the all-industry one, and a plant's labor line uses its own trade's wage.

Output

FRED relays BEA's 2025 figures for South Dakota: GDP of 82,001.9 million dollars and real GDP of 59,865.2 million chained 2017 dollars 2425. Quarterly growth rates for 2026 were reported in the press but are not printed here; a study that relies on them takes them from BEA's release.

Projections

The Labor Market Information Center's July 2026 bulletin projects 562,027 jobs in total across all industries in 2034, a count that includes self-employed, unpaid family and farm workers and is not a wage and salary figure 26. Its October 2026 bulletin projects 63,399 total openings a year across all occupations from 2024 to 2034, adding growth, people leaving the labor force and workers changing occupations 7. Openings measure turnover as well as growth: a restaurant or a plant hires into that churn, and a staffing plan says which occupations it competes for.

Households and income

The register's five-year survey figures describe the state's households. They are survey estimates for 2020 to 2024 and are not set against the monthly payroll counts above.

South Dakota households, registerValueSurvey yearsSource
Median household income, inflation-adjusted dollars (B19013)$75,0812020 to 2024, five-year27
Per capita income, inflation-adjusted dollars (B19301)$40,5502020 to 2024, five-year27
Aggregate household income (B19313)$36,795.9 million2020 to 2024, five-year27
Households (B11001)365,544 households2020 to 2024, five-year27
Owner-occupied housing units (B25003)250,621 housing units2020 to 2024, five-year27
Renter-occupied housing units (B25003)114,923 housing units2020 to 2024, five-year27
Median gross rent, dollars (B25064)$9462020 to 2024, five-year27
Population 65 and over (B01001)163,311 people2020 to 2024, five-year27
Civilian labor force (B23025)475,223 people2020 to 2024, five-year27
Costs and Insurance

Labor and land carry dated prices; building costs and insurance premiums have to be quoted for the site.

Three cost lines in a South Dakota budget can be tied to a dated public figure. Construction labor is the first: the statewide average annual pay in construction was $71,093 in 2025 8. The second is the operating wage, read by sector from the same report and from BLS's first-quarter 2026 weekly wage 83. The third is land, priced on the NASS and SDSU surveys in the crops section or, better, on a county sale.

Taxes are the fourth line, and they changed. HB 1137 lowered the state sales tax rate from July 1, 2023, and its sunset clause repeals the reduction on June 30, 2027 unless the Legislature acts 28; no 2026 action on the sunset was confirmed on an opened page. A pro forma whose first full year falls after mid-2027 states which rate it assumes on taxable sales. On property tax, the Governor signed SB 245, creating the Homeowner Property Tax Reduction Fund, with a group of other property tax bills on March 12, 2026 29, and SB 96 lets a county adopt an optional sales tax to offset property tax on owner-occupied homes, as soon as the 2027 pay year if adopted in time 30. Both measures are aimed at homeowners; a commercial owner's tax line is read from the county's levy, and a retailer in a county that adopts the option collects the added tax at the register.

Three other costs have no public South Dakota figure behind them. A construction cost index for Sioux Falls, Rapid City or any other city in the state was not found; neither were property insurance rate filings with the Division of Insurance or a measure of how available commercial cover is. Prevailing wage requirements and a minimum wage citation on a dated page were not found either. A study therefore prices hard costs from a contractor's bid for the site, and insurance from a dated quote, and says so.

Rules by Asset Class

What the 2025 and 2026 sessions changed for data centers, housing, building codes and pipelines.

Data centers

In March 2026 the Governor signed a law setting rules for new data centers above a peak electrical demand threshold, after a push for incentives failed, as KOTA reported from South Dakota Searchlight on March 25, 2026 31. The law sets conditions rather than incentives. A data center or large-load project here is read under it, and power is documented by the utility's written commitment to serve the site. In Sioux Falls the city council approved a rezoning and preliminary subdivision plan for the Gemini data center site in early January 2026 32; in Rapid City a data center at the Black Hills Industrial Center was moving forward in July 2026, with construction not expected before late 2026 33.

Housing and lodging

SB 3 limits which residential improvements counties, municipalities and townships may require permits for; SB 129 updates the state's references to the 2024 standard building codes; SB 204 revises the criteria for loans from the housing infrastructure fund; and HB 1260 authorizes municipal property tax rebate programs. Dakota News Now listed all four among the bills signed by March 28, 2026 34. For a subdivision or apartment project, the building code edition and the city's rebate program, if it adopts one, belong in the entitlement memo.

South Dakota Housing's income limits for the Governor's House program, effective June 15, 2026, rest on a State Median Income of $103,400 35. Its Give Me Five downpayment assistance program launches on November 2, 2026 as a forgivable second loan for buyers who have not owned a home recently 36. A developer of entry-level homes reads both, since they define who can buy.

A statewide short-term rental statute did not appear among the 2026 bills signed, and rental rules come from each city's ordinance. A rule on lodging licensing or campground licensing was not found on a dated state page.

Land use and zoning

SB 91 clarifies how a petition reaches a county commission to change a comprehensive plan or zoning ordinance 34. For a project on unincorporated land outside a city, a common case for a travel center, campground or processing plant in South Dakota, that bill sets the route to a rezoning.

Pipelines and banks

The state banned eminent domain for carbon pipelines in March 2025, and in May 2026 Summit described a new pipeline route that does not include South Dakota and affects counties in Iowa 37. An ethanol plant whose plan counted on shipping captured carbon by pipeline revisits that assumption. SB 18 of 2026 repealed bad-debt income modifications for the bank franchise tax 34, which matters to the banks that lend here more than to a borrower.

Health care, liquor and child care

A certificate of need program for health facilities was not confirmed on an opened South Dakota page, and liquor licence rule changes and child care licensing changes for 2025 or 2026 were not found. A senior housing, restaurant or child care study takes the rule from the licensing agency on the filing date.

Hazards

Wind in December 2025, storms and floods in mid-2026, and a drought declaration with an injury loan deadline in 2027.

Two federal major disaster declarations cover 2025 and 2026 weather. DR-4903-SD answers the wind event of December 17 and 18, 2025, with Public Assistance for Custer, Fall River and Pennington counties, as Safeguard Properties relayed FEMA's alert on April 7, 2026 38. DR-4938-SD answers storms, tornadoes, high winds and floods between June 28 and July 3, 2026, with Public Assistance for Beadle, Bennett, Buffalo, Day, Hand, Hughes, Hyde and Stanley counties and tribal lands, relayed on September 1, 2026 39. FEMA's own pages could not be opened, and the declaration dates themselves are not printed in the relays.

SBA has acted three times. In a release of June 5, 2026, after a drought declaration, SBA opened economic injury loans to small businesses and private nonprofits in a list of South Dakota counties that includes Lawrence, Lincoln, Meade, Minnehaha and Pennington, with applications due February 1, 2027 40. Flooding and excessive moisture from July 21 to August 19, 2025 opened injury loans in Brown, Day, Marshall and Roberts counties 41. Storms and flooding of June 2 to 4, 2026 on Oglala Sioux Tribe lands brought a presidential declaration on September 1 and SBA loans there, with injury loans also open in Pennington, Custer, Fall River, Bennett, Jackson, Mellette, Oglala Lakota and Todd counties 42. In July 2026 KOTA reported more than half of the state in drought 33.

For a study the drought and the storms work through two lines. A farm-service business in a drought county carries weaker customer income into its forecast for the next crop year, and a building in a wind and hail county carries the insurer's quote, not a regional average. A FEMA flood zone count, a state hazard mitigation plan figure and wildfire acreage for the Black Hills were not found, so the flood map panel for the parcel and the carrier's own wildfire assessment stand in for them.

Statewide Supply

Permits, listings, a price index and the housing money South Dakota awarded in December 2025.

The statewide housing series come through FRED. The Census Bureau's permit series shows 471 new private housing units authorized in South Dakota in September 2026, not seasonally adjusted 43. Realtor.com counted 3,581 active home listings in the state in September 2026 44, and FHFA's all-transactions house price index read 642.50 for 2026's second quarter, indexed to 1980:Q1 at 100 45. One month of permits is a single reading in a seasonal series, and a study for a subdivision reads the county's annual permits, which the market sections give.

The affordable housing pipeline is set by South Dakota Housing's award rounds. On December 10, 2025 the authority announced $59.4 million awarded to developments, including $4.19 million of Housing Tax Credits 13. A tax credit project's feasibility study is written to the authority's market study rules for its round, and the round's awards tell the reviewer what else is coming into the same city.

Need is measured too. The statewide point-in-time count of January 27, 2026 identified 1,154 people experiencing homelessness, a count South Dakota Housing described as lower than in previous years 46. A supportive housing or shelter project cites that count, and the count for its own continuum of care where one is published.

For the commercial asset classes there is no statewide inventory: no count of hotel rooms, self-storage space, senior housing beds or licensed child care slots was found on a dated page. The Sioux Falls section carries the only broker readings in the state's record; outside Sioux Falls, competing supply is tallied from city permit records and a canvass of nearby competitors.

2025 and 2026

South Dakota's dated record for 2025 and 2026, in the order it arrived.

DateWhat happenedSource
March 2025Eminent domain for carbon pipelines banned in South Dakota37
July 21 to August 19, 2025Flooding and excessive moisture in Brown, Day, Marshall and Roberts counties, later the basis for SBA injury loans41
December 10, 2025South Dakota Housing announces its affordable housing awards round; the Governor awards Future Fund money for two Aberdeen business parks1347
December 17 and 18, 2025Straight-line winds in the Black Hills, later declared DR-4903-SD38
January 2026Sioux Falls council approves the Gemini data center rezoning and preliminary subdivision plan32
January 14, 2026Sioux Falls issues its 2025 year-end building permit report48
January 21, 2026Department of Tourism reports the 2025 visitor year1
January 27, 2026Statewide homeless point-in-time count46
February 5, 2026Federal money approved for the Rapid City and Sioux Falls airport terminal projects49
February 16, 2026Smithfield Foods' plan for a new Sioux Falls plant at Foundation Park reported50
March 12, 2026Governor signs SB 245 and other property tax bills29
March 2026Data center law signed after incentives failed; SB 3, SB 91, SB 129, SB 204 and HB 1260 signed by March 283134
May 13, 2026Summit describes a carbon pipeline route that leaves out South Dakota37
June 5, 2026SBA opens drought injury loans in South Dakota, applications due February 1, 202740
June 10, 2026Board of Economic Development approves a REDI loan for Elevate Rapid City and a Reinvestment Payment Program grant to Smithfield51
June 15, 2026Governor's House income limits updated35
June 28 to July 3, 2026Storms, tornadoes and flooding in central South Dakota, later declared DR-4938-SD39
August 2026Sturgis Motorcycle Rally; SDDOT reports its ten-day count on August 175
September 1, 2026Department of Revenue reports the rally's tax collections; presidential declaration for Oglala Sioux Tribe lands442
September 4, 2026BLS publishes South Dakota's first-quarter 2026 county wage and employment figures3
October 9, 2026NASS Crop Production forecast for the 2026 crop2
October 20, 2026BLS state payroll release for September 202614
November 2, 2026Give Me Five downpayment assistance launches36
Markets

Six South Dakota markets: two metro areas and four county markets, each with its own section.

The counties named on each card are the ones its section reads; Mitchell and Pierre share a section.

Minnehaha and Lincoln

Sioux Falls

A city permit report, a broker's market outlook, a twice-yearly apartment survey and a record February at the airport.

Pennington, Meade and Lawrence

Rapid City and the Black Hills

The gateway to the rally, Mount Rushmore and Deadwood, with Ellsworth Air Force Base beside it.

Brown

Aberdeen

A northeast county seat with new state money for two business parks and a flood season behind it.

Brookings

Brookings

A university county that is home to the largest state-chartered bank in South Dakota.

Codington

Watertown

A city whose own 2025 permit ledger splits commercial and housing work line by line.

Davison and Hughes

Mitchell and Pierre

An I-90 trade town and the state capital, read on county pay and home listings.

Five of the six sit wholly inside South Dakota. Sioux Falls does not: the Labor Market Information Center draws its Sioux Falls metropolitan area to include Rock County, Minnesota 9, and Realtor.com, FHFA and BEA publish their Sioux Falls series on boundaries of their own. This page reads Minnehaha and Lincoln counties for Sioux Falls and labels every metro-wide figure where it appears.

Below the two metro areas the record thins quickly. Each county market has a county pay figure for 2025 and a 2024 population for its city, and most have a home listing price; broker reports, hotel performance and traffic counts were not found for any of them. A study in Aberdeen, Brookings, Watertown, Mitchell or Pierre therefore starts from the county and city records named in its section and adds its own survey.

To open a South Dakota engagement, write with three things: what the project is, the county or market above where the site lies, and the capital it will use, from an SBA-backed loan or a USDA guarantee to a bank's own loan or EB-5 money. In return comes the analytical framework, a description of the deliverable that lender or investor expects, and what happens next.

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Sioux Falls

Sioux Falls: a billion-dollar permit year, apartment vacancy read twice a year and record months at the airport.

Sioux Falls is read here on Minnehaha and Lincoln counties and the city itself. Two population figures are on record and they measure different things. The Labor Market Information Center's December 2025 bulletin tables the Census Bureau's 2024 estimate of 209,300 for the city 21. The city's own figure of 224,676, quoted with its 2025 year-end permit report, is a city estimate, not a Census figure, as South Dakota Public Broadcasting reported it on January 14, 2026 52. A study cites the one it uses with its year and publisher.

Employment and pay

Minnehaha County had 139,770 covered workers in 2025 at average annual pay of $66,906, in the state's QCEW report 1053. BLS's first-quarter 2026 county release puts the county's average weekly wage at $1,369, a preliminary figure 3. The metro-wide figures in the same QCEW report, labelled here as including Rock County, Minnesota, are 177,999 workers, average annual pay of $66,768 and 34,900 workers in health care and social assistance 9. The health care count bears on medical office, senior housing and hotel demand from patients and visiting families.

Permits

The city's 2025 year-end permit report, dated January 14, 2026, values building permits at $1,327,437,573 across 5,615 permits 48. New commercial buildings were valued at $711.6 million, which the city's table says includes apartments, and commercial additions, renovations and remodels at $314.2 million 48. On the housing side the city issued 357 permits for new single-family dwellings, which SDPB described as the lowest in ten years, and permitted 403 town house units 4852. The Census Bureau's permit series, as FRED carries it, counts 2,044 units authorized in Minnehaha County and 232 units in Lincoln County in 2025 5455.

The record also names the big projects behind the commercial number. SiouxFalls.Business reported on February 16, 2026 that Smithfield Foods plans a new processing plant at Foundation Park, with construction planned to begin in 2027 and operations as early as late 2028, subject to permits and board approval, and its century-old site to be redeveloped 50. The Board of Economic Development approved a Reinvestment Payment Program grant application from Smithfield Packaged Meats on June 10, 2026 51. A project that depends on the plant's workers or its suppliers cites both dates and the conditions on them.

Industrial and land

Bender Commercial Real Estate Services' annual outlook, as SiouxFalls.Business reported it on February 19, 2026, counts 680,000 sq ft of net industrial absorption in 2025, a record $168 million of industrial sales volume and 1,120 acres of unimproved land sold, the second-strongest year on record 56. Those are a broker's readings for its own market area. An industrial or flex project uses them for direction, and its rent and vacancy for the subject's size and submarket come from the broker's own report or a survey.

Apartments

The South Dakota Multi-Housing Association surveys Sioux Falls apartments twice a year. Its January 2026 survey, as SiouxFalls.Business reported it on March 16, 2026, found overall vacancy of 6.62%, occupancy of 93.38% and market-rate vacancy of 6.41% among the properties surveyed, and the report's headline expected more construction ahead 11. Its July 2025 survey had market-rate vacancy at 5.43% and an average one-bedroom rent of $1,002, excluding properties in lease-up 12. An apartment study treats them as readings, not a trend line, and surveys the competitors around its site.

Homes

Realtor.com's Sioux Falls area, published on its own metro boundary, had a median listing price of $362,200 and 1,469 active listings in September 2026 5758. FHFA's all-transactions index for the Sioux Falls metro area read 365.85 for 2026's second quarter, indexed to 1995:Q1 59.

Air traffic and output

Sioux Falls Regional Airport's 2025 statistics count 754,686 passengers enplaned, 46,696,248 lbs of freight enplaned and deplaned and 18,506 air carrier operations 60. The airport authority's minutes of March 25, 2026 record 62,556 passengers enplaned in February 2026, a record for the month 61, and federal money for the terminal project was approved in February 2026 49. Business travel through the airport is one measure of demand for a hotel near it. BEA's last GDP figure for the Sioux Falls metro area is for 2023, 30,084.975 million dollars, in a series FRED marks as discontinued 62; it shows the metro's size, not its current output.

Not found for Sioux Falls: hotel occupancy and rate, self-storage and senior housing market figures, cap rates, traffic counts on the arterials and an impact fee schedule. A study here buys the hotel or storage data for its trade area and reads the fee from the city at application.

Rapid City

Rapid City and the Black Hills: rally money that moved south, a record airport year and a base taking on a new bomber.

The Black Hills market here is Pennington, Meade and Lawrence counties, all inside South Dakota. Rapid City had a 2024 population of 79,900 in the Census Bureau's estimates as the center's December 2025 bulletin tables them 21.

Employment and pay

The Rapid City metro area had 74,312 covered workers in 2025 at average annual pay of $59,377 63. Pennington County alone had 62,445 covered workers, at average annual pay of $59,768 1053. Ellsworth Air Force Base, beside Rapid City, is taking on the B-21 bomber, and South Dakota News Watch reported on the expansion and its support in the Legislature in February 2024 64; the base's own releases on the program were closed to the research. A housing or retail study near Box Elder states which base figures it relies on and their date.

Permits and homes

The city's year-end building services report, as the Rapid City Post reported it on January 8, 2026, put 2025 permit valuation at more than $390.9 million on 2,428 permits 65. The Census Bureau's series counts 232 units authorized in Lawrence County in 2025 66. Realtor.com's Rapid City area had a median listing price of $417,450 in September 2026 67, and FHFA's all-transactions index for the metro area was 489.32 for the April to June quarter of 2026 68. BEA's discontinued metro series gives a 2023 GDP of 9,425.612 million dollars 69.

The rally and the southern hills

The rally runs in Meade County. Dakota News Now, relaying SDDOT, reported 58,519 vehicles entering Sturgis on the first Saturday of the 2026 rally, up from the five-year average for that day 16. The Department of Revenue's release of September 1, 2026 reports $473,668 of tax collections from vendors in Rapid City, Custer, Hill City and Keystone, an increase, while the northern hills, Meade and Lawrence counties, collected less 4. A campground or lodging study in the southern hills and one in Sturgis or Deadwood can therefore read the same rally in opposite directions, and each cites the area figure for its own site.

Air traffic

Rapid City Regional Airport boarded 452,195 passengers in 2025, a record, as KOTA reported the airport's release on January 19, 2026 70. The airport's own post of April 11, 2025 counted 76,958 enplanements in the first quarter of 2025 71, an older figure that shows how the year began. Federal money for a Rapid City terminal expansion was approved in February 2026 49.

Projects and gaps

The Board of Economic Development approved a REDI loan to Elevate Rapid City for its business park on June 10, 2026 51, and a data center at the Black Hills Industrial Center was moving forward in July 2026 33. Straight-line winds in December 2025 brought DR-4903-SD for Pennington, Custer and Fall River counties 38. Office, industrial, retail and apartment vacancy from a dated broker report, hotel occupancy for the Black Hills, traffic counts on Interstate 90 and Highway 79, and an impact fee schedule were not found. A hotel study here starts with a purchased competitive set and the Department of Revenue's rally figures.

Aberdeen

Aberdeen and Brown County: pay rising in 2025, business parks with new state money and a flood year behind it.

Aberdeen is read on Brown County. The Labor Market Information Center's bulletin tables the city's 2024 population at 27,900 and ranks it third among the state's cities 21. Brown County's covered workers earned average annual pay of $56,565 in 2025, up from 2024 in the same table 53. Realtor.com's Aberdeen area had a median listing price of $339,225 in September 2026 72.

In December 2025 the Governor awarded Future Fund money for two Aberdeen business parks, matched by money raised privately in the community, as KORN Radio reported 47. Brown County is also among the four counties where flooding and excessive moisture from July 21 to August 19, 2025 opened SBA's injury loans 41. A farm-service or manufacturing project in the county cites both: the park as the site and the flood season in its first-year sales.

Aberdeen's city building permit totals for 2025, its hotel performance, rents, traffic counts and lender volumes were not found. A Brown County study counts competing supply from city permits and a survey of its own, and reads demand from the county's pay and the crop forecast in the crops section.

Brookings

Brookings and Brookings County: a university town building housing and the home of the state's largest state-chartered bank.

Brookings is read on Brookings County. The city's 2024 population was 24,550 in the Census Bureau's estimate, the fourth largest city in the Labor Market Information Center's table 21. The county's covered workers earned average annual pay of $58,550 in 2025 53. The Census Bureau's permit series, as FRED carries it, counts 357 units authorized in Brookings County in 2025 73, and a student or workforce housing study sets its own project against those units and the ones under way.

The Division of Banking's December 2025 overview names First Bank and Trust of Brookings as the largest state-chartered bank in South Dakota 74. South Dakota State University's fall 2026 enrollment could not be read from an official page, so a student housing study takes the count from the university at the date of the study.

Not found for Brookings: the city's annual permit valuation from a dated report, broker readings, hotel data, rents on a primary page and city impact fees.

Watertown

Watertown and Codington County: a city permit ledger for 2025 and an industrial park getting new sewer.

Watertown is read on Codington County and on the city's own permit compilation. The City of Watertown's 2025 report sums the value of work on its permit records for January to December 2025 at $119,959,861.12 75. New commercial buildings account for $52,312,150.00 of value of work, and new single-family dwelling permits for 79 units 75. The Census Bureau's series counts 142 units authorized in Codington County in 2025 76. The city's ledger and the county series count different things, value of work on city permits and housing units across the county, and a study uses each for what it measures.

Codington County's covered workers earned average annual pay of $54,662 in 2025 53. In December 2025 the state awarded an infrastructure grant for sanitary sewer work at Calvin Industrial Park 47, which a plant or warehouse proposed there cites for its utility schedule.

Listing prices for Watertown were not found as a Realtor.com series, and broker reports, hotel data, rents and traffic counts were not found either. A study here reads the city's monthly permit ledger for the months after December 2025 and surveys its own competitors.

Mitchell and Pierre

Mitchell and Pierre: an Interstate 90 trade center and the capital, read on county pay and home listings.

Mitchell is read on Davison County and Pierre on Hughes County; the two share a section because the record for each is short. Davison County's covered workers earned average annual pay of $57,418 in 2025, and Hughes County's $64,153 53. Pierre is the state capital, and state government is a large employer there, but no Pierre-only government count was found.

Realtor.com's Mitchell area had a median listing price of $251,950 in September 2026 and its Pierre area $324,950 7778. Mitchell's series rests on a small sample of listings, so a study reads several months of it, not one.

The newest permit total found for Mitchell is for 2023: $109,689,512 of building permits, a record for the city, as the Mitchell Republic reported on February 2, 2024 79. That year included a new high school facility and a plant expansion, single projects that a reader does not carry forward as a yearly rate. A 2025 total for either city was not found.

Hughes County is among the counties with Public Assistance under DR-4938-SD for the storms and flooding of late June and early July 2026 39, which a project near Pierre reads for its site's damage history. Hotel data, broker reports and traffic counts for either city were not found, so a hotel on Interstate 90 at Mitchell or near the Capitol in Pierre is studied from a purchased competitive set.

Lenders and Programs

Which programs finance South Dakota projects, and what each asks a feasibility study to show.

A South Dakota feasibility study consultant writes for whichever lender will read the study, and the program sets the questions the study answers. On studies, SBA's regulation reads 13 CFR 120.160(b): SBA may require professional appraisals, a survey, or a feasibility study 80. Lenders apply SOP 50 10 8.1 with Technical Policy Updates, which took effect on 81. A 7(a) loan is tested at 1.15x standard coverage 81. For a seasonal South Dakota business that coverage test is applied to the year as a whole, so the study shows the slow months as well as rally week. How those tests are run is explained under SBA 7(a) and 504.

Outside the Sioux Falls and Rapid City areas, many South Dakota sites are candidates for USDA Rural Development, whose map decides, one parcel at a time, whether a site can carry a B&I guarantee or Community Facilities money. Rural Development's fiscal 2025 totals for South Dakota were not found. A farm-service, processing or main street project names the program only after the parcel is checked; the program's tests are summarized under USDA Rural Development.

The state has programs of its own. The Board of Economic Development approves REDI loans and Reinvestment Payment Program grants at its meetings, as the minutes of June 10, 2026 show for Elevate Rapid City and Smithfield 51, and the Governor's Future Fund and infrastructure grants reached Aberdeen and Watertown in December 2025 47. South Dakota Housing allocates the Housing Tax Credits, HOME money and housing infrastructure financing behind affordable projects 13. A study that counts on one of these names the award and its date, and a pending application is shown as pending.

Banks write most stabilized loans, and the conventional and institutional lending page covers their tests. The Division of Banking's December 2025 overview is the record of the state-chartered banks 74; an FDIC deposit total for the state, the state's SSBCI allocation and a list of CDFI awards were not found. EB-5 capital, with its own job and market tests, is covered on the EB-5 page; no South Dakota regional center figure was in the record.

Whatever the source, Feasibility Study Company's role as a South Dakota feasibility study company is the same: an independent, lender-grade study with every figure traced to a dated source like those above.

Worked Cases

Worked cases in South Dakota.

The site has not yet published a worked case located in South Dakota.

The closest matches are by property type. The library works a USDA-guaranteed RV park and a USDA meat processing plant, the two kinds of project South Dakota's visitor and farm records bear on most, and an SBA hotel. Each rests on its own state's figures, and a South Dakota study would run the same sequence on the records above. Every published case is listed under case studies.

Asset Classes

South Dakota's records bear on these property types.

South Dakota Questions

What lenders and sponsors ask before a South Dakota project closes.

How does a feasibility consultant treat the Sturgis rally in a Black Hills campground or hotel study?

As one share of the year with a stress test of its own. The Department of Revenue estimated $1,404,408 of tax collections from the 2026 rally, a decrease from 2025 4, while vendors in Rapid City, Custer, Hill City and Keystone collected $473,668, an increase 4. SDDOT counted 448,166 vehicles entering Sturgis over the ten days, below its five-year average 5. A pro forma for Sturgis or Deadwood is shown with a weak rally year in it, and one for the southern hills cites the area figure for its own site.

What crop figures does a market study for a South Dakota grain elevator or farm-service project cite in late 2026?

NASS's Crop Production release of October 9, 2026, which forecasts corn for grain at 881,840 thousand bushels and soybeans at 226,800 thousand bushels, with a sunflower yield of 1,959 pounds per acre 2. Land is priced on one of two surveys, never on their average: $4,770 per acre for cropland in the NASS Land Values 2026 Summary as DTN Progressive Farmer reported it 18, or $6,268 per acre for non-irrigated cropland of average productivity in the SDSU survey as Pro Farmer reported it 19.

Can a feasibility study in South Dakota show where a new hotel or plant will find its workers?

It has to, because the payroll is nearly full. The Labor Market Information Center counted a civilian labor force of 484,700 and 475,100 employed residents for September 2026, seasonally adjusted and preliminary 6, and BLS's release of October 20, 2026 reports the state's September jobless rate as the lowest of any state 14. The center projects 63,399 openings a year across all occupations from 2024 to 2034, a count that includes turnover as well as growth 7, and leisure and hospitality paid an average of $24,183 a year in 2025 8. The staffing plan names the occupations it competes for and the wage it offers.

Which Sioux Falls payroll figures include Rock County, Minnesota?

The metropolitan area tables in the state's 2025 QCEW report: 177,999 workers, average annual pay of $66,768 and 34,900 workers in health care and social assistance, each for a metro area that takes in Rock County, Minnesota 9. Minnehaha County's 139,770 covered workers at average annual pay of $66,906 1053 and its $1,369 average weekly wage for the first quarter of 2026 3 are in-state counts, so a study for a Sioux Falls site reads the county figures and labels any metro-wide one it quotes as including Rock County.

Is there a current apartment vacancy survey that a Sioux Falls multifamily study can cite?

Two readings a year from the South Dakota Multi-Housing Association. Its January 2026 survey, as SiouxFalls.Business reported it on March 16, 2026, found overall vacancy of 6.62%, occupancy of 93.38% and market-rate vacancy of 6.41% among surveyed properties 11; its July 2025 survey had market-rate vacancy at 5.43% and an average one-bedroom rent of $1,002, excluding properties in lease-up 12. A study for a new building treats them as readings, canvasses the competitors nearest its site and reads the pipeline from the 2,044 units authorized in Minnehaha County and 232 units in Lincoln County in 2025 5455.

How much did South Dakota Housing award in December 2025, and what does a tax credit feasibility study do with it?

$59.4 million to developments, including $4.19 million of Housing Tax Credits, announced on December 10, 2025 13. A study for a tax credit or HOME-assisted project follows the authority's market study rules for its round, measures the project against the terms of that round and reads the awards for what else is coming into the same city; a supportive housing project adds the statewide point-in-time count of 1,154 people on January 27, 2026 46 as its need figure.

Does Feasibility Study Company prepare the study a USDA Rural Development or SBA lender asks for on a South Dakota project, and what opens the engagement?

Yes: independent, lender-grade feasibility studies for 7(a) and 504 loans from SBA lenders, for USDA Rural Development guarantees and Community Facilities money, for EB-5 capital and for bank loans, each written for the program that will read it. Outside Sioux Falls and Rapid City the USDA map is checked one parcel at a time before the program is named, and a state award, such as the REDI loan and Reinvestment Payment Program grant the Board of Economic Development approved on June 10, 2026 51 or South Dakota Housing's December 10, 2025 round 13, is cited with its date and shown as pending until it is granted. The engagement opens with three facts, the project, the county or market of the site and the capital source, and the reply describes how the analysis is built, which deliverable that program expects and what happens next.

Neighboring Markets

States that border South Dakota.

The sales tax reduction sunsets on June 30, 2027 unless the Legislature acts.

With the project, its county or market and its capital source in hand, the reply lays out the framework the analysis follows, the deliverable that program wants from the study and the steps after it.

Request a methodology briefing
Sources

Data sources and dates.

The Department of Labor and Regulation's Labor Market Information Center and BLS supply the payroll, wage and projection figures; USDA, the Department of Tourism, the Department of Revenue, SDDOT and South Dakota Housing supply the harvest, visitor, tax and housing records; FRED relays Census, BEA, FHFA and Realtor.com series; cities, airports, brokers and the press fill in the rest, and a relayed figure is labelled as secondary.

Market data reviewed by Mark Otava · Updated

  1. South Dakota Department of Tourism, 2025 SHOWS CONTINUED STRENGTH FOR SOUTH DAKOTA'S TOURISM INDUSTRY, January 21, 2026 (calendar 2025).
  2. USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, Crop Production (October 2026), October 9, 2026 (forecasts as of October 1, 2026).
  3. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, County Employment and Wages in South Dakota - First Quarter 2026, September 4, 2026 (first quarter of 2026, preliminary).
  4. South Dakota Department of Revenue, $1.4 million in Tax Collections from 2026 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, September 1, 2026.
  5. South Dakota Department of Transportation, 2026 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Vehicle Count - Through Day Ten, August 17, 2026.
  6. South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, Labor Market Information Center, Labor Market Information Center - Economic Snapshot, September 2026 data, preliminary (monthly release; day not shown).
  7. South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, Labor Market Information Center, The Nitty Gritty of Occupational Demand, e-Labor Bulletin, October 2026 (projections 2024 to 2034).
  8. South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, Labor Market Information Center, Labor Market Information Center - 2025 QCEW Annual Report, 2025 annual report, statewide summary (edition year in title; day not shown).
  9. South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, Labor Market Information Center, Labor Market Information Center - 2025 QCEW Annual Report, 2025 annual report, Sioux Falls MSA table (edition year in title; day not shown).
  10. South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, Labor Market Information Center, Labor Market Information Center - 2025 QCEW Annual Report, 2025 annual report, covered workers by county (edition year in title; day not shown).
  11. SiouxFalls.Business (secondary, reporting the South Dakota Multi-Housing Association survey), Multifamily occupancy trends down some with more construction ahead, March 16, 2026 (January 2026 survey).
  12. SiouxFalls.Business (secondary, reporting the South Dakota Multi-Housing Association survey), Sioux Falls apartment vacancy shows sharp decrease at midyear, August 11, 2025 (July 2025 survey).
  13. South Dakota Housing Development Authority, South Dakota Housing Awards More Than $60 Million for Affordable Housing in South Dakota, December 10, 2025.
  14. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, State Employment and Unemployment (Monthly) News Release - 2026 M09 Results, October 20, 2026 (September 2026, preliminary).
  15. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED), relaying the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, All Employees: Leisure and Hospitality in South Dakota, October 20, 2026 (September 2026, seasonally adjusted).
  16. Dakota News Now (secondary, relaying SDDOT), Sturgis Rally vehicle traffic down nearly 6% in first three days, SDDOT says, August 11, 2026.
  17. South Dakota Commission on Gaming, Commission on Gaming Annual Report Fiscal Year 2025, fiscal 2025 annual report (July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025; day not shown).
  18. DTN Progressive Farmer (secondary, citing the USDA NASS Land Values 2026 Summary), USDA Land Values Report: US Cropland Tops $6,000 an Acre in 2026, July 31, 2026.
  19. Pro Farmer (secondary, citing the SDSU Extension Farm Real Estate Survey), South Dakota Cropland Values Rise 1%, June 17, 2026.
  20. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED), relaying the U.S. Census Bureau, Resident Population in South Dakota, March 3, 2026 (Vintage 2025, population as of July 1, 2025).
  21. South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, Labor Market Information Center, Where demographic data meets the road, e-Labor Bulletin, December 2025 (Census Bureau estimates for 2024, Vintage 2024).
  22. South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, Labor Market Information Center, Nonfarm employment trends in 2025, e-Labor Bulletin, April 2026 (2025 annual average).
  23. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED), relaying the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, All Employees: Manufacturing in South Dakota, October 20, 2026 (September 2026, seasonally adjusted).
  24. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED), relaying the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Gross Domestic Product: All Industry Total in South Dakota, September 30, 2026 (calendar 2025).
  25. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED), relaying the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Real Gross Domestic Product: All Industry Total in South Dakota, September 30, 2026 (calendar 2025, chained 2017 dollars).
  26. South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, Labor Market Information Center, South Dakota Industry Employment Trends to 2034, e-Labor Bulletin, July 2026 (projections 2024 to 2034).
  27. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Detailed Tables (Census Data API), 2020 to 2024 five-year estimates.
  28. South Dakota Department of Revenue, Department of Revenue Updates Tax System for Decrease in State Tax Rate, April 3, 2023 (rate effective July 1, 2023; sunset June 30, 2027).
  29. South Dakota Public Broadcasting (secondary, reporting the Governor's signing), Governor signs property tax bills into law, March 12, 2026.
  30. Dakota News Now (secondary, reporting the Legislature), South Dakota SB 96: Counties can now cut property taxes with optional sales tax, July 16, 2026.
  31. KOTA TV (South Dakota Searchlight), Data center restrictions signed into South Dakota law after push for incentives failed, March 25, 2026.
  32. SiouxFalls.Business, Sioux Falls data center developers detail next steps, January 19, 2026.
  33. KOTA TV, Heat raises resource concerns as Rapid City data center moves forward, July 2, 2026.
  34. Dakota News Now (secondary, reporting the Legislature), Every bill Governor Rhoden has signed into law in 2026, March 28, 2026.
  35. South Dakota Housing Development Authority, SD Housing Expands Governor's House Eligibility Through Updated Income Limits, June 15, 2026 (limits effective June 15, 2026).
  36. South Dakota Housing Development Authority, South Dakota Housing Introduces New Program for Downpayment Assistance, October 13, 2026 (program launch November 2, 2026).
  37. KOTA TV, Summit describes new carbon pipeline route as not including South Dakota, May 14, 2026.
  38. Safeguard Properties (secondary, relaying a FEMA alert), FEMA Major Disaster Declaration - South Dakota Straight-line Winds, April 7, 2026 (incident December 17 to 18, 2025).
  39. Safeguard Properties (secondary, relaying a FEMA alert), FEMA Major Disaster Declaration - South Dakota Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, September 1, 2026 (incident June 28 to July 3, 2026).
  40. U.S. Small Business Administration, SBA Offers Relief to South Dakota Small Businesses and Private Nonprofits Affected by Drought, June 5, 2026 (applications due February 1, 2027).
  41. U.S. Small Business Administration, SBA Offers Relief to South Dakota Small Businesses and Private Nonprofits Affected by Flooding and Excessive Moisture, February 13, 2026 (incident period July 21 to August 19, 2025).
  42. U.S. Small Business Administration, SBA Relief Available to Oglala Sioux Tribe Businesses, Private Nonprofits, and Residents Affected by Adverse Weather, September 23, 2026 (incident June 2 to 4, 2026).
  43. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED), relaying the U.S. Census Bureau, New Private Housing Units Authorized by Building Permits for South Dakota, October 27, 2026 (September 2026, not seasonally adjusted).
  44. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED), relaying Realtor.com, Housing Inventory: Active Listing Count in South Dakota, October 1, 2026 (September 2026).
  45. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED), relaying the Federal Housing Finance Agency, All-Transactions House Price Index for South Dakota, August 25, 2026 (second quarter of 2026).
  46. South Dakota Housing Development Authority, Statewide Homeless Count Lower Than Previous Years, April 22, 2026 (count of January 27, 2026).
  47. KORN Radio (secondary, reporting the Governor's office), Governor awards $1 million for business parks in hometown of political opponent, December 10, 2025.
  48. City of Sioux Falls, Building Permit Statistics - City of Sioux Falls, 2025 Year-End Report, January 14, 2026.
  49. KOTA TV, $50M approved for Rapid City, Sioux Falls airport projects, February 5, 2026.
  50. SiouxFalls.Business, Smithfield Foods to build $1B+ plant at new site as century-old location will redevelop, February 16, 2026.
  51. South Dakota Board of Economic Development, BOARD OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (minutes, 10 June 2026), June 10, 2026 (board meeting).
  52. South Dakota Public Broadcasting (secondary, reporting the City of Sioux Falls), Sioux Falls again sees new building valuations surpass $1B, January 14, 2026 (2025 year-end).
  53. South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, Labor Market Information Center, Annual Pay for Covered Workers by County 2024 and 2025, 2025 annual report (edition year in title; day not shown).
  54. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED), relaying the U.S. Census Bureau, New Private Housing Structures Authorized by Building Permits for Minnehaha County, SD, May 28, 2026 (calendar 2025).
  55. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED), relaying the U.S. Census Bureau, New Private Housing Structures Authorized by Building Permits for Lincoln County, SD, May 28, 2026 (calendar 2025).
  56. SiouxFalls.Business (secondary, reporting Bender Commercial Real Estate Services), Annual Bender Market Outlook finds 'remarkable strength, resilience' in Sioux Falls market, February 19, 2026 (calendar 2025).
  57. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED), relaying Realtor.com, Housing Inventory: Median Listing Price in Sioux Falls, SD (CBSA), October 1, 2026 (September 2026).
  58. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED), relaying Realtor.com, Housing Inventory: Active Listing Count in Sioux Falls, SD (CBSA), October 1, 2026 (September 2026).
  59. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED), relaying the Federal Housing Finance Agency, All-Transactions House Price Index for Sioux Falls, SD (MSA), August 25, 2026 (second quarter of 2026).
  60. Sioux Falls Regional Airport, Sioux Falls Regional Airport Operational Statistics 2025, calendar 2025 (periodic statistics; issue date not printed).
  61. Sioux Falls Regional Airport Authority, Sioux Falls Regional Airport Authority Board Meeting Minutes March 25, 2026, March 25, 2026 (February 2026 traffic).
  62. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED), relaying the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Total Gross Domestic Product for Sioux Falls, SD (MSA) (DISCONTINUED), December 4, 2024 (calendar 2023; series discontinued).
  63. South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, Labor Market Information Center, Labor Market Information Center - 2025 QCEW Annual Report, 2025 annual report, Rapid City MSA table (edition year in title; day not shown).
  64. South Dakota News Watch, B-21 Ellsworth expansion getting mixed support in Pierre, February 29, 2024.
  65. Rapid City Post (secondary, reporting the City of Rapid City's year-end building services report), Rapid City Sees Near Record Growth as 2025 Building Valuations Top $390 Million, January 8, 2026 (calendar 2025).
  66. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED), relaying the U.S. Census Bureau, New Private Housing Structures Authorized by Building Permits for Lawrence County, SD, May 28, 2026 (calendar 2025).
  67. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED), relaying Realtor.com, Housing Inventory: Median Listing Price in Rapid City, SD (CBSA), October 1, 2026 (September 2026).
  68. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED), relaying the Federal Housing Finance Agency, All-Transactions House Price Index for Rapid City, SD (MSA), August 25, 2026 (second quarter of 2026).
  69. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED), relaying the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Total Gross Domestic Product for Rapid City, SD (MSA) (DISCONTINUED), December 4, 2024 (calendar 2023; series discontinued).
  70. KOTA TV (secondary, reporting the airport's release), Rapid City Regional Airport sets passenger record in 2025, January 19, 2026 (calendar 2025).
  71. Rapid City Regional Airport, Record-Breaking Start to 2025 for Rapid City Regional Airport, April 11, 2025 (January to March 2025).
  72. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED), relaying Realtor.com, Housing Inventory: Median Listing Price in Aberdeen, SD (CBSA), October 1, 2026 (September 2026).
  73. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED), relaying the U.S. Census Bureau, New Private Housing Structures Authorized by Building Permits for Brookings County, SD, May 28, 2026 (calendar 2025).
  74. South Dakota Division of Banking, Division of Banking Industry Overview, December 17, 2025 (meeting deck).
  75. City of Watertown, 2025 Monthly Combined, January to December 2025 (compiled report; day not shown).
  76. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED), relaying the U.S. Census Bureau, New Private Housing Structures Authorized by Building Permits for Codington County, SD, May 28, 2026 (calendar 2025).
  77. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED), relaying Realtor.com, Housing Inventory: Median Listing Price in Mitchell, SD (CBSA), October 1, 2026 (September 2026).
  78. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED), relaying Realtor.com, Housing Inventory: Median Listing Price in Pierre, SD (CBSA), October 1, 2026 (September 2026).
  79. Mitchell Republic (secondary, reporting City of Mitchell permit records), Nearly $110 million in permitted projects in Mitchell means 2023 was a big year for building, February 2, 2024 (calendar 2023).
  80. eCFR, 13 CFR 120.160, Loan conditions, current to October 7, 2026.
  81. U.S. Small Business Administration, SOP 50 10 8.1, Lender and Development Company Loan Programs, with Technical Policy Updates, effective October 1, 2026.