South Dakota Internet Coverage & Availability in 2023

South Dakota Internet Facts in 2023

  • South Dakota currently ranks among states in BroadbandNow’s annual rankings of internet coverage, speed and availability.

  • This means that roughly in ten South Dakota residents are not able to purchase an internet plan of at least 25Mbps download and 3Mbps upload.

  • This means that nearly five in ten residents are not able to purchase broadband at a price of $60/month or less (excluding promotions and government programs).

  • This means that in ten residents are unable to purchase a fiber internet plan.

  • The U.S. has more than 2,966 internet service providers, with most covering very small areas. It is worth searching by zip code to see who is available in your town.

At BroadbandNow, we advocate for a definition of broadband internet to be at least 100Mbps, as opposed to the FCC definition of 25Mbps, which would be considered slow for many internet-intensive activities.

In South Dakota, 88.1% of people have access to 100Mbps broadband, ranking 35th among all states.

Internet Availability by County

100 Mbps Coverage By County, Highest and Lowest

Highest
Sanborn 100%
Brule 100%
Ziebach 100%
Hughes 100%
Buffalo 100%
McPherson 100%
Campbell 100%
Potter 100%
Aurora 100%
Harding 100%
Lowest
Oglala Lakota 0%
Todd 9.01%
Douglas 41.07%
Jackson 49.09%
McCook 50.14%
Charles Mix 50.41%
Shannon 56.62%
Mellette 58.11%
Jones 62.72%
Kingsbury 63.87%

In South Dakota, 71.3% of people have access to 1G broadband, ranking 27th among all states.

Internet Coverage by Demographic in South Dakota

Individuals or households with no internet access by characteristic (includes broadband and non-broadband packages)

Percentage of households with and without any type of internet access

  • With: 85%
  • Without: 15%

Type of internet connection

  • Dialup only: <1%
  • Broadband of any type: 85%
  • Cellular data only: 11%
  • Satellite: 6%

Individuals or households with no internet access by characteristic

  • <18: 5%
  • 18-64: 6%
  • 65+ adults: 8%

  • <$20,000: 40%
  • $20,000-$74,999: 16%
  • $75,000+: 5%

  • Black: 5%
  • Native American/Alaska Native: 22%
  • Asian: (Unavailable)
  • Mixed race: 3%
  • Hispanic or Latino: 8%
  • White: 5%

  • Employed: 5%
  • Unemployed: 13%

  • Less than high school: 10%
  • Some college or associate degree: 8%
  • Bachelor’s degree: 4%

Internet Speed in Top South Dakota Cities

City Avg. Download Speed No. of Providers
Sioux Falls 112.5 MBPS 20 Providers
Rapid City 56.5 MBPS 17 Providers
Aberdeen 287.2 MBPS 11 Providers
Watertown 44.9 MBPS 15 Providers
Brookings 134.2 MBPS 12 Providers

Fastest Major Providers in South Dakota

Provider Avg. Download Speed
Mediacom Cable 154.8 MBPS
Interstate Telecommunications Cooperative 83.0 MBPS
CenturyLink 41.4 MBPS
Golden West Telecommunications 21.9 MBPS
Rise Broadband 13.3 MBPS

Metro & Rural County Coverage

County Name % Broadband Coverage
Oglala Lakota 0.0%
Shannon 96.9%
Clay 86.6%
Day 94.0%
Meade 94.9%
Custer 90.6%
Lake 92.3%
Perkins 100.0%
Sanborn 100.0%
Fall River 100.0%
Bon Homme 92.7%
Brown 90.4%
Hand 79.5%
McCook 97.7%
Tripp 100.0%
Turner 73.4%
Bennett 97.2%
Hutchinson 99.8%
Brule 100.0%
Charles Mix 82.8%
Faulk 98.9%
Grant 84.5%
Ziebach 100.0%
Hughes 100.0%
Spink 90.6%
Yankton 94.3%
Corson 89.6%
Dewey 95.5%
Mellette 100.0%
Stanley 94.7%
Jones 99.5%
Beadle 86.6%
Brookings 98.3%
Buffalo 100.0%
McPherson 100.0%
Union 89.5%
Campbell 100.0%
Edmunds 97.2%
Gregory 100.0%
Lawrence 95.0%
Marshall 99.7%
Potter 100.0%
Codington 96.3%
Davison 99.3%
Kingsbury 75.0%
Roberts 94.8%
Aurora 100.0%
Deuel 99.9%
Harding 100.0%
Hyde 100.0%
Jackson 100.0%
Lincoln 93.2%
Miner 100.0%
Butte 94.4%
Douglas 100.0%
Haakon 100.0%
Moody 81.4%
Todd 97.0%
Hamlin 98.9%
Hanson 86.3%
Jerauld 100.0%
Clark 98.2%
Lyman 99.9%
Minnehaha 99.5%
Pennington 96.5%
Sully 100.0%
Walworth 100.0%

Internet Providers By City in South Dakota

Aberdeen 97.6% 11 providers
Alcester 97.1% 11 providers
Alexandria 100.0% 8 providers
Allen 100.0% 5 providers
Arlington 79.8% 14 providers
Armour 100.0% 10 providers
Aurora 100.0% 11 providers
Avon 99.6% 7 providers
Baltic 100.0% 12 providers
Belle Fourche 91.8% 10 providers
Beresford 64.2% 13 providers
Big Stone City 57.9% 12 providers
Black Hawk 98.8% 13 providers
Bonesteel 100.0% 6 providers
Box Elder 93.1% 12 providers
Brandon 99.6% 12 providers
Bridgewater 100.0% 9 providers
Britton 100.0% 9 providers
Brookings 100.0% 12 providers
Buffalo 100.0% 8 providers
Burke 100.0% 9 providers
Canistota 100.0% 12 providers
Canton 89.2% 14 providers
Castlewood 98.9% 11 providers
Centerville 78.7% 11 providers
Chamberlain 100.0% 10 providers
Chancellor 46.8% 13 providers
Clark 100.0% 9 providers
Clear Lake 100.0% 10 providers
Colton 100.0% 12 providers
Corsica 100.0% 9 providers
Crooks 100.0% 11 providers
Custer 98.0% 9 providers
De Smet 81.4% 15 providers
Deadwood 93.4% 11 providers
Dell Rapids 99.7% 13 providers
Dupree 100.0% 8 providers
Eagle Butte 100.0% 8 providers
Edgemont 98.1% 9 providers
Elk Point 82.7% 13 providers
Ellsworth Afb 100.0% 8 providers
Emery 100.0% 7 providers
Estelline 100.0% 12 providers
Ethan 100.0% 8 providers
Eureka 100.0% 7 providers
Faith 100.0% 10 providers
Faulkton 100.0% 7 providers
Flandreau 81.4% 15 providers
Fort Pierre 94.5% 11 providers
Freeman 95.9% 9 providers
Garretson 98.6% 11 providers
Gettysburg 100.0% 10 providers
Gregory 100.0% 8 providers
Groton 70.5% 8 providers
Harrisburg 96.6% 13 providers
Harrold 100.0% 8 providers
Hartford 100.0% 15 providers
Hermosa 62.6% 8 providers
Herreid 100.0% 8 providers
Highmore 100.0% 9 providers
Hill City 71.6% 8 providers
Hitchcock 99.1% 12 providers
Hot Springs 100.0% 8 providers
Hoven 100.0% 9 providers
Howard 100.0% 9 providers
Hudson 98.3% 11 providers
Hurley 68.9% 11 providers
Huron 92.5% 13 providers
Ipswich 94.2% 9 providers
Irene 57.9% 9 providers
Iroquois 5.3% 13 providers
Jefferson 71.2% 15 providers
Kimball 100.0% 10 providers
Kyle 100.0% 7 providers
Lake Andes 61.6% 10 providers
Lake Norden 98.1% 13 providers
Langford 98.6% 8 providers
Lead 96.7% 13 providers
Lemmon 100.0% 9 providers
Lennox 70.8% 12 providers
Leola 100.0% 7 providers
Lower Brule 100.0% 9 providers
Madison 89.9% 17 providers
Martin 100.0% 7 providers
Mc Laughlin 100.0% 9 providers
Milbank 87.8% 11 providers
Miller 76.6% 11 providers
Mission 96.8% 7 providers
Mitchell 97.7% 10 providers
Mobridge 100.0% 12 providers
Montrose 99.0% 11 providers
Mount Vernon 99.5% 8 providers
New Underwood 98.1% 9 providers
Newell 100.0% 10 providers
North Sioux City 98.9% 16 providers
Onida 100.0% 10 providers
Parker 59.4% 11 providers
Parkston 100.0% 8 providers
Parmelee 100.0% 7 providers
Peever 100.0% 10 providers
Philip 100.0% 8 providers
Piedmont 88.5% 13 providers
Pierre 100.0% 13 providers
Pine Ridge 99.9% 7 providers
Platte 100.0% 7 providers
Porcupine 99.8% 6 providers
Presho 100.0% 9 providers
Pukwana 100.0% 8 providers
Rapid City 97.6% 17 providers
Redfield 100.0% 10 providers
Rosebud 100.0% 6 providers
Rosholt 99.8% 9 providers
Salem 100.0% 9 providers
Scotland 99.3% 10 providers
Sioux Falls 99.4% 20 providers
Sisseton 99.9% 11 providers
Spearfish 97.4% 12 providers
Springfield 99.3% 8 providers
Sturgis 95.5% 13 providers
Summit 96.4% 11 providers
Tea 98.9% 12 providers
Timber Lake 71.4% 9 providers
Tyndall 78.1% 7 providers
Veblen 99.9% 8 providers
Vermillion 92.8% 14 providers
Viborg 88.3% 10 providers
Volga 96.4% 17 providers
Volin 40.4% 9 providers
Wagner 82.9% 10 providers
Wakonda 54.4% 9 providers
Wall 100.0% 7 providers
Wanblee 100.0% 7 providers
Watertown 96.9% 15 providers
Wentworth 99.7% 13 providers
Wessington Springs 100.0% 11 providers
White 100.0% 9 providers
White Lake 100.0% 9 providers
White River 100.0% 8 providers
Wilmot 83.7% 9 providers
Winner 99.7% 7 providers
Woonsocket 100.0% 9 providers
Worthing 66.1% 11 providers
Wounded Knee 100.0% 6 providers
Yankton 97.1% 11 providers