South Dakota real estate, SD - America Real Estate Directory

South Dakota Real Estate

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South Dakota is located in the north-central United States. South Dakota is generally regarded as partly but not wholly in the Midwest. The east, with its flat or rolling lands and fertile soils, resembles portions of other states in the Midwest. However, the western section lies on the Great Plains. The state is mainly an agricultural region. Farmland covers much of the fertile areas east of the Missouri River, which divides the state, and vast stretches of rangeland extend westward from its banks. The well-known Mount Rushmore National Memorial in the Black Hills is located in South Dakota.

Manufacturing and commercial activities are based in large part on the output of agricultural produce. Durable-goods manufacturing and private services have evolved as the drivers of the economy. Tourism is also a booming industry in the state, generating over a billion dollars' worth of economic activity each year. South Dakota is the second-largest producer of flaxseed and sunflower seed in the nation. It is the third-largest producer of hay and rye. South Dakota has a continental climate with four very distinct seasons ranging from typically very cold winters and hot summers. A 2007 real estate survey has estimated the population of South Dakota at 796,214.

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Deadwood

Linda Lichens

E-mail: linda@dakotagold.com

Lead

Linda Lichens

E-mail: linda@dakotagold.com

Rapid City

Dee Stangarone

E-mail: dbs2245@iw.net

Sioux Falls

Cindy Oyen

Sioux Falls Real Estate

Farmland occupied 17.8 million hectares (44 million acres), or 91 percent, of the state’s land area in 2000. Crops were grown on 44 percent of the farmland, and range land covers most of the rest. Agricultural activities in South Dakota are not limited to land classified as farmland. Seasonal grazing land in western South Dakota is leased by ranchers from the federal government. Of the total farm income in the state, 48 percent came from the sale of crops in 1999. Livestock products, especially beef cattle, account for the rest. Of the 32,500 farms in the state in 2000, 78 percent had annual sales of more than $10,000, a high ratio relative to most other states.

The principal sources of crop income are soybeans, corn, wheat, hay, sunflower seeds, oats, and sorghum. Hay, wheat, corn, and soybeans occupied similar amounts of acreage in the late 1990s. Soybeans and corn lead all other crops in income generated. Corn is widely grown in the moister eastern and central sections of the state. Nearly all the corn is hybrid corn that has been specially bred to withstand occasional drought conditions. It is used mainly for livestock feed. Soybeans increased dramatically in economic importance during the 1990s, especially in eastern sections of the state. Wheat tends to be the first choice of farmers in areas that are too dry for corn or soybeans. It is the chief crop in the north-central areas of the state. It is also sometimes grown in drier areas farther west. Much of the wheat is spring wheat, planted in the spring and harvested in late summer. Hay (including alfalfa and wild hay) is grown throughout much of the state. Most hay is used as livestock feed on the farms where it is grown. Other crops grown in rotation with wheat, soybeans, and corn include oats, flax (for flaxseed), barley, sorghum, and rye.

The sale of livestock accounted for 52 percent of all farm income in 1999. Cattle and calves are the state’s leading agricultural product, typically generating one-third of all farm income in a given year. Some cattle are raised in the west and many more in the eastern and central sections. Hog raising and dairying and poultry farming are also important agricultural activities in the east. Northwestern South Dakota is one of the nation’s leading sheep-raising areas.

Too dry and rough for extensive crop farming, western South Dakota is primarily a region of large sheep and cattle ranches. Farther east, ranching is often combined with wheat farming, the wheat crop proving more profitable than ranching in most wet years and the cattle providing an alternate source of income in periods of severe drought. Wheat farming predominates in still more humid areas in north-central South Dakota. In central South Dakota irrigated corn has become of some importance. Still farther east, the climate is humid enough to permit a more varied and profitable type of agriculture and corn is a major crop. Together with soybeans, oats, and other crops, it is fed to livestock, which are sold for cash.

The principal minerals produced in South Dakota, in terms of value, are gold, cement, crushed stone, sand and gravel, and lime. Although it is a low-ranking state in value of total mineral production, South Dakota has long been a leader in gold production. Much of the gold produced in the United States each year comes from the famous Homestake Mine, in the Black Hills. In recent years several open-pit gold mines have begun profitable operations. Sand and gravel are produced in almost every county. Granite, quartzite, and limestone are quarried in many of the state’s counties.

The production of foodstuffs long ranked as the principal industrial activity in South Dakota. But by the mid-1990s the manufacture of machinery generated the biggest share of personal income for state residents. Industrial machinery provided two-fifths of South Dakota’s value earned from manufacturing as a whole. Leading machinery industries include manufacturers of computers, office equipment, and machinery used in construction.

The processing of food products remains an important activity. Much of the annual output of foodstuffs is made up of meat and meat products, which are produced in plants in Sioux Falls, Watertown, Huron, Mitchell, and Rapid City. Other food-processing activities in the state include flour milling, baking of breadstuffs, production of dairy products, and poultry dressing and processing. Other industries employing significant numbers of people were companies producing electronics, printers and publishers, lumber mills, firms making storm doors and other metal components for buildings, medical instruments, truck-trailer manufactures, scoreboards, and the jewelry industry.

Hydroelectric power plants generate 63 percent of the state’s electricity. The largest hydropower dams in terms of capacity are those at Gavins Point, Fort Randall, Oahe, and Big Bend on the Missouri River. The remainder of the state’s electricity is generated in thermal plants, mostly fueled by coal. Power is also brought in from utility plants in neighboring states.

In 1999 South Dakota had 134,239 km (83,412 mi) of highways, of which 1,091 km (678 mi) were part of the federal interstate highway system. Principal routes were Interstate 90, which travels east-west through the heart of the state, and Interstate 29, oriented north-south along the state’s eastern border. South Dakota has 142 airports, most of which are private. None of the state’s commercial airports are considered busy by national standards. Sioux Falls has the busiest airport.

Farm products make up 82 percent of the rail tonnage originating in South Dakota. Trains are also heavily used to haul nonmetallic minerals in the state. The state is served by 3,203 km (1,990 mi) of railroad track. Beginning in 1980 the state government bought abandoned private rail lines. This action enabled these lines to continue to provide rail access. Today, Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Union Pacific, and the Dakota Minnesota & Eastern are the principal railroads in the state.

Sioux Falls, located on the Big Sioux River in southeastern South Dakota, is the largest city in the state, with a population (2000) of 123,975. It is primarily a commercial, medical, trade, manufacturing, and transportation center. Rapid City is the second largest city, with 59,607 inhabitants. It is the leading commercial center in western South Dakota, including the Black Hills area. Aberdeen, with 24,658 inhabitants, is the principal commercial center serving the James River area in northeastern South Dakota. Watertown, with 20,237 inhabitants, is a marketing and food-processing center in the eastern half of the state. Brookings, which has a population of 18,504, is noted as the seat of South Dakota State University. Mitchell, with a population of 14,558, and Huron, with a population of 11,893, serve as commercial centers in eastern South Dakota. Pierre, the state capital, has 13,876 inhabitants.

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Real Estate: South Dakota Relocation