State Profile

South Dakota

Population (2023): 919,318 thousand

South Dakota’s public health outcomes and emergency preparedness betters some states but falls behind others. According to TFAH’s 2024 Ready or Not: Protecting the Public’s Health from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism report, the state placed in the low performance tier for public health emergency preparedness. Deaths within the state due to drug misuse, alcohol, or suicide outpace the country as a whole. Based on 2022 data, the percentage of adults with obesity and hypertension rank lower than the U.S. median. In addition, the rates of diabetes rank higher than the U.S. median.