Safest Cities in South Dakota 2026
South Dakota has 2 cities in our database with a statewide violent crime rate of 276.5 per 100,000 residents. The safest city is Rapid City with a Safety Context Score of 67/100. All rates are per capita — never raw counts.
| # | City | Population | Violent/100K | Property/100K | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rapid City | 78K | 238.1 | 1,371 | B (67) |
| 2 | Sioux Falls | 193K | 292 | 1,967 | C (58) |
All rates per 100,000 residents. Source: FBI UCR 2023.
Crime statistics for South Dakota cities are derived from FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) data. All figures represent per-capita rates per 100,000 residents, not raw counts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Based on FBI crime data and our Safety Context Score, Rapid City is the safest city in South Dakota with a score of 67/100 (Grade B), a violent crime rate of 238.1 per 100,000, and a property crime rate of 1,371 per 100,000.
Cities are ranked using our Safety Context Score (0-100), which weighs violent crime rate vs. national average (40%), property crime rate vs. national average (30%), and 5-year trend direction (30%). All rates are per 100,000 residents — never raw counts.
Crime in South Dakota has increased 0.0% over the past 5 years based on FBI data.
Safety Context Score: violent crime vs. national average (40%), property crime vs. national average (30%), 5-year trend (30%). All rates per 100,000 residents.