The 10 Best Cities For Hippies In South Dakota For 2024


The hippiest cities in South Dakota are Sturgis and Spearfish for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

You might think that the whole hippie movement has faded away, but the truth is, there are plenty of hippies out there in South Dakota.

While they aren’t necessarily in your face all the time with war protests, and the next Woodstock isn’t being planned any time soon, we thought it would be fun to look at which cities in the Mount Rushmore State where the most hippies would live.

And, after crunching the data, you know what? It was spot on.

How do you decide where the most hippies live? By the number of yoga studios, organic markets, and most importantly, where the liberals live in droves.

Using those criteria, it’s not hard to scrape the internet, run some scientific data on where hippies might live in South Dakota, and then put out a list.

So, put on your tie-dye shirt and sandals as you go through this list with us.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


The 10 Cities In South Dakota With The Largest Hispanic Population For 2024

  1. Sturgis
  2. Spearfish
  3. Watertown
  4. Yankton
  5. Brookings
  6. Mitchell
  7. Aberdeen
  8. Pierre
  9. Sioux Falls
  10. Brandon

Best Places For Hippies In South Dakota Map

What’s the hippiest city in South Dakota? The hippiest city in South Dakota is Sturgis.

Read on below to see where your town ranked, Young Flower Child.

Sturgis, SD

Source: Wikipedia User Cumulus Clouds | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 6,652
% Liberal: 27.1%
More on Sturgis: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Spearfish, SD

Source: Wikipedia User JERRYE AND ROY KLOTZ MD | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 10,836
% Liberal: 35.0%
More on Spearfish: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Watertown, SD

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 21,795
% Liberal: 39.8%
More on Watertown: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Yankton, SD

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 14,513
% Liberal: 42.4%
More on Yankton: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Brookings, SD

Source: Wikipedia User Jon Platek | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 22,645
% Liberal: 47.0%
More on Brookings: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Mitchell, SD

Source: Wikipedia User TCN7JM | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 15,490
% Liberal: 38.2%
More on Mitchell: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Aberdeen, SD

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 26,979
% Liberal: 45.1%
More on Aberdeen: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Pierre, SD

Source: Wikipedia User Alanscottwalker | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 13,885
% Liberal: 34.2%
More on Pierre: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Sioux Falls, SD

Source: Wikipedia User Jonathunder |
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 160,964
% Liberal: 45.3%
More on Sioux Falls: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Brandon, SD

Source: Wikipedia User TCN7JM | CC BY-SA 4.0
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 9,350
% Liberal: 45.3%
More on Brandon: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Methodology: How we determined the most beatnik city in South Dakota

In order to rank the best cities for hippies in South Dakota, we used Saturday Night Science to determine what criteria defines a hippie.

We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible. Using the Google Places API, the Census’s 2018-2022 American Community Survey, and Voter Registration data, this is the criteria we used:

  • Number of yoga studios per capita
  • Number of organic markets per capita
  • Number of pet adoption centers per capita
  • Number of vegan restaurants per capita
  • Number of thrift stores per capita
  • Each city’s liberal voting population

For the sake of getting reliable numbers on places, we counted any place within a ~4.5 mile radius of a city’s center. The average city in the United States is about 18 square miles.

All of these results are listed in a per capita basis, meaning number of stores per person in a city. Additionally, we limited the analysis to non-CDPs that have over 5,000 people.

We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 15 in each category, where 1 was the most hippie.

Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a hippie index.

And finally, we crowned the city with the highest hippie index the “Best City for Hippies In South Dakota.” We’re looking at you, Sturgis.

Read on below to learn more about what it’s like to live in hippie central. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the places in the state from hippiest to most square.

Summary: The Hippies Of South Dakota

If you’re measuring the locations in South Dakota where there are lots of liberals, and there are many options for vegan food, yoga and thrift stores, this is an accurate list.

The most hippie cities in South Dakota are Sturgis, Spearfish, Watertown, Yankton, Brookings, Mitchell, Aberdeen, Pierre, Sioux Falls, and Brandon.

If you’re curious, here are the most square places in South Dakota:

  1. Belle Fourche
  2. Box Elder
  3. Huron

For more South Dakota reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Most Hippie Cities In South Dakota

Rank City Population % Liberal
1 Sturgis 6,652 27.1%
2 Spearfish 10,836 35.0%
3 Watertown 21,795 39.8%
4 Yankton 14,513 42.4%
5 Brookings 22,645 47.0%
6 Mitchell 15,490 38.2%
7 Aberdeen 26,979 45.1%
8 Pierre 13,885 34.2%
9 Sioux Falls 160,964 45.3%
10 Brandon 9,350 45.3%
11 Madison 6,830 43.3%
12 Vermillion 10,697 56.5%
13 Huron 12,982 39.7%
14 Box Elder 8,683 34.0%
15 Belle Fourche 5,677 23.8%
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.