These Are The 10 Most Diverse Cities In South Dakota For 2018

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 17 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
4. Pierre (Photos)
5. Sioux Falls (Photos)
6. Vermillion (Photos)
7. Yankton (Photos)
8. Aberdeen (Photos)
9. Brookings (Photos)
10. Belle Fourche (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.

And if you already knew these places were diverse, check out the best places to live in South Dakota or the worst places to live in South Dakota.

How We Determined The Most Diverse Cities In South Dakota For 2018

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 2012-2016 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 17 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 5803 (Huron) to 9533 (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: 13,149
HHI: 5,803
% White: 74.4%
% African American: 0.26%
% Asian: 11.19%

2. Rapid City

Population: 72,441
HHI: 6,056
% White: 76.79%
% African American: 1.21%
% Asian: 1.38%

3. Box Elder

Population: 9,126
HHI: 6,288
% White: 78.6%
% African American: 5.74%
% Asian: 1.56%

4. Pierre

Population: 13,959
HHI: 6,795
% White: 81.6%
% African American: 0.5%
% Asian: 0.5%

5. Sioux Falls

Population: 167,884
HHI: 6,877
% White: 82.53%
% African American: 4.84%
% Asian: 2.35%

6. Vermillion

Population: 10,778
HHI: 7,343
% White: 85.43%
% African American: 1.98%
% Asian: 2.62%

7. Yankton

Population: 14,585
HHI: 7,589
% White: 86.88%
% African American: 2.91%
% Asian: 0.8%

8. Aberdeen

Population: 27,783
HHI: 7,688
% White: 87.48%
% African American: 1.55%
% Asian: 3.06%

9. Brookings

Population: 23,292
HHI: 8,170
% White: 90.26%
% African American: 1.78%
% Asian: 3.85%

10. Belle Fourche

Population: 5,696
HHI: 8,188
% White: 90.31%
% African American: 0.97%
% Asian: 0.0%

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. Harrisburg
3. Watertown

For more South Dakota reading , check out:

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

Detailed List Of The Most Diverse Cities In South Dakota

City	Rank	HHI	Population
Huron	1	5,803	13,149
Rapid City	2	6,056	72,441
Box Elder	3	6,288	9,126
Pierre	4	6,795	13,959
Sioux Falls	5	6,877	167,884
Vermillion	6	7,343	10,778
Yankton	7	7,589	14,585
Aberdeen	8	7,688	27,783
Brookings	9	8,170	23,292
Belle Fourche	10	8,188	5,696
Mitchell	11	8,224	15,610
Madison	12	8,244	7,101
Spearfish	13	8,416	11,176
Sturgis	14	8,449	6,711
Watertown	15	8,639	22,026
Harrisburg	16	8,890	5,129
Brandon	17	9,533	9,674