The state’s economy is largely dominated by agriculture. The fertile soils of the East (black lands) are home to crops (cereals, forage plants), vast expanses of pastures in the West are the domain of cattle and sheep farming. Southeast Dakota is the first national producer of oats and rye.
Mineral wealth is varied. Mining became important in the 1870s with the discovery of Homestake’s golden vein in the Black Hills. The state is the first national gold producer today. The subsoil also hides oil, uranium, copper and money. The northwest of the state contains vast reserves of lignite.
Industries
Industries derive essentially from the treatment and processing of primarily agricultural and mineral materials; thus, the main industrial sectors are the agri-food (meat, dairy products, mills), the wood industry (framework), metallurgy, the mechanical industry and electronics. Sioux Falls is the state’s main industrial center. Tourism is an important activity. South Dakota has several national parks (Wind Cave, Badlands); the most visited tourist sites are the Black Hills, the historic mining town of Deadwood and Mount Rushmore (Rapid City) celebrates. Museums are dedicated to Indian culture and crafts (Siouxland Heritage Museums, Sioux Falls; Dacotah Prado Museum, Aberdeen).
Search for private schools in South Dakota? Here is a directory of K-12 schools in the state of South Dakota listed county by county. Please follow the link below to see all private K12 schools in your county of South Dakota.
- ABBREVIATIONFINDER: What does South Dakota short for? Click to see its most commonly used abbreviations and see all other acronyms of South Dakota.
- COUNTRYAAH: List of all USPS Zip Codes for the state of South Dakota. Includes all cities, counties and county equivalents in South Dakota.
Major Cities in South Dakota
Pierre
Pierre, city and capital of the state of South Dakota in the United States. It has about 14,000 residents. The city was founded as Aricara in 1822, and was the center of traffic in upper Missouri and the gold rush in the 1880’s. Today, the city is part of an agricultural area with a lot of grain and cattle. Pierre also has some tourism.
Private Schools in South Dakota by County
- South Dakota Beadle County Private Schools
- South Dakota Bon Homme County Private Schools
- South Dakota Brookings County Private Schools
- South Dakota Brown County Private Schools
- South Dakota Brule County Private Schools
- South Dakota Butte County Private Schools
- South Dakota Charles Mix County Private Schools
- South Dakota Clay County Private Schools
- South Dakota Codington County Private Schools
- South Dakota Davison County Private Schools
- South Dakota Edmunds County Private Schools
- South Dakota Fall River County Private Schools
- South Dakota Grant County Private Schools
- South Dakota Hamlin County Private Schools
- South Dakota Hand County Private Schools
- South Dakota Harding County Private Schools
- South Dakota Hughes County Private Schools
- South Dakota Hutchinson County Private Schools
- South Dakota Kingsbury County Private Schools
- South Dakota Lake County Private Schools
- South Dakota Lincoln County Private Schools
- South Dakota Mccook County Private Schools
- South Dakota Minnehaha County Private Schools
- South Dakota Pennington County Private Schools
- South Dakota Shannon County Private Schools
- South Dakota Todd County Private Schools
- South Dakota Walworth County Private Schools
- South Dakota Yankton County Private Schools
