These Are The 10 Most Diverse Cities In South Dakota

Race relations in America seem to be hitting a tipping point.

While we still haven’t dealt with racism as a society, the election of Donald Trump to the presidency has only flamed the tensions that have been mounting for years.

Part of the reason for that tension? The country as a whole continues to self segregate across race, income, and party lines. But it’s not all bad on the race relations front.

There are parts of South Dakota where there’s a high level of diversity — where people of all walks of life come together. We decided to shine a light on those places today.

Using a standard measure of diversity, we ranked all 16 cities in South Dakota from most to least diverse. Here’s a look at the top ten:

1. Huron (Photos)
2. Rapid City (Photos)
3. Box Elder (Photos)
4. Pierre (Photos)
5. Sioux Falls (Photos)
6. Vermillion (Photos)
7. Yankton (Photos)
8. Aberdeen (Photos)
9. Sturgis (Photos)
10. Brookings (Photos)

Huron took the number one over all spot for diversity in South Dakota.

Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town ranked. To see where South Dakota ranked as a state, we have a ranking of the most diverse states in Ameria.

You can also check out the whitest places in South Dakota for a look at the opposite side of the coin.

How We Determined The Most Diverse Cities In South Dakota

We still believe in the accuracy of data — especially from the census. So that’s where we went to get the breakdown of race across South Dakota.

That lead us to the Census’s most recently available data, the 2011-2015 American Community Survey data from the US Census.

Specifically, we looked at table B03002: HISPANIC OR LATINO ORIGIN BY RACE. Here are the category names as defined by the Census:

• White alone*
• Black or African American alone*
• American Indian and Alaska Native alone*
• Asian alone*
• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone*
• Some other race alone*
• Two or more races*
• Hispanic or Latino

We limited our analysis to non-CDPs with a population greater than 5,000 people. That left us with 16 cities.

We then calculated the HHI for each city by finding the racial breakdown of a city in percent terms, squaring them, and then adding the squares together. This left us with scores ranging from 5950 (Huron) to 9557 (Brandon).

Finally, we ranked each city based on the HHI with a lower score being more diverse than a high score. Huron took the distinction of being the most diverse, while Brandon was the least diverse city.

Read on for more information on how the cities in South Dakota ranked for diversity or, for a more general take on diversity in america, head over to our ranking of the most diverse cities in America.

1. Huron

Population: 13,159
HHI: 5,950
% White: 75.51%
% African American: 0.21%
% Asian: 10.46%

2. Rapid City

Population: 71,692
HHI: 6,115
% White: 77.21%
% African American: 1.27%
% Asian: 1.23%

3. Box Elder

Population: 8,959
HHI: 6,365
% White: 79.17%
% African American: 6.05%
% Asian: 1.7%

4. Pierre

Population: 13,938
HHI: 6,745
% White: 81.35%
% African American: 0.73%
% Asian: 0.66%

5. Sioux Falls

Population: 164,341
HHI: 6,987
% White: 83.21%
% African American: 4.6%
% Asian: 2.12%

6. Vermillion

Population: 10,746
HHI: 7,439
% White: 86.01%
% African American: 1.92%
% Asian: 2.61%

7. Yankton

Population: 14,531
HHI: 7,573
% White: 86.79%
% African American: 3.06%
% Asian: 0.71%

8. Aberdeen

Population: 27,418
HHI: 7,835
% White: 88.33%
% African American: 1.42%
% Asian: 2.47%

9. Sturgis

Population: 6,657
HHI: 8,135
% White: 89.95%
% African American: 0.02%
% Asian: 0.59%

10. Brookings

Population: 22,974
HHI: 8,156
% White: 90.17%
% African American: 1.55%
% Asian: 4.0%

There You Have It – Diversity Across South Dakota

If you’re looking for a scientific breakdown of diversity across South Dakota, this is an accurate list.

If you’re curious enough, here are the least diverse places in South Dakota:

1. Brandon
2. Watertown
3. Spearfish

For more South Dakota reading , check out:

• These Are The 10 Most Boring Places In South Dakota
• These Are The 10 Most Redneck Cities In South Dakota
• These Are The 10 Worst Places To Live In South Dakota

Detailed List Of The Most Diverse Cities In South Dakota

City	Rank	HHI	Population
Huron	1	5,950	13,159
Rapid City	2	6,115	71,692
Box Elder	3	6,365	8,959
Pierre	4	6,745	13,938
Sioux Falls	5	6,987	164,341
Vermillion	6	7,439	10,746
Yankton	7	7,573	14,531
Aberdeen	8	7,835	27,418
Sturgis	9	8,135	6,657
Brookings	10	8,156	22,974
Belle Fourche	11	8,243	5,702
Mitchell	12	8,346	15,543
Madison	13	8,383	6,972
Spearfish	14	8,423	10,980
Watertown	15	8,652	21,919
Brandon	16	9,557	9,497