Property tax by ZIP code in South Dakota
Enter a South Dakota ZIP and see the median property tax paid, median home value, and effective tax rate from the 2020–2024 American Community Survey — plus how it compares to the South Dakota state median.
Look up a South Dakota ZIP code
Enter a 5-digit South Dakota ZIP code above to see its property tax data.
ZIP doesn't have ACS data — typically because it's a PO-box-only ZIP, a single-business ZIP, or a small area where the Census suppresses small-sample estimates. Try a nearby ZIP.
ZIP isn't a South Dakota ZIP code. This page covers South Dakota only. Other states are launching state by state — check back, or use our state-by-state median page in the meantime.
South Dakota has no state income tax, so the property tax does a lot of heavy lifting — the Department of Revenue describes it as the primary source of funding for schools, counties, and municipalities. That reliance puts the state's effective property-tax rate in the moderate-to-high range, around 1.06% of value statewide. Homes are valued at market (full and true) value and then equalized to 85% for tax purposes.
Enter a 5-digit South Dakota ZIP to see its median property tax, median home value, and effective rate from the US Census American Community Survey 2020–2024 vintage, plus how it compares to the South Dakota state and US national medians. The explainer below covers how the county director of equalization assesses property, the 85% equalization level, the owner-occupied classification, and the relief programs for seniors, people with disabilities, and disabled veterans.
How South Dakota property tax works
South Dakota has no state income tax, which is why the property tax matters so much: the Department of Revenue calls it the primary source of funding for schools, counties, and municipalities. Each county's director of equalization values all real property at market — "full and true" — value, and those values are then equalized to 85% for tax purposes. Under SDCL chapter 10-6, each county must show annually, using local sales, that assessed values fall within 85% to 100% of fair market value — the mechanism that keeps a county's books aligned with the market.
Owner-occupied homes get a break: a primary residence that qualifies for the owner-occupied classification pays a reduced school general-fund levy compared with other property. The classification has to be on file with the county, so it follows the home's use rather than being applied to every parcel automatically.
South Dakota also runs targeted relief programs administered through the DOR. The Assessment Freeze for the Elderly and Disabled (SDCL chapter 10-6A) freezes a qualifying home's assessed value; applicants must be 65 or older or disabled, have owned and lived in the home for the required period, and meet income limits — for 2026, income under $56,595 (single-member household) or under $66,885 (multi-member household), with the home value limited to $514,500 and applications due April 1, 2026. A separate Property Tax Refund for seniors and people with disabilities is available to applicants with 2025 income at or below $17,215 (single) or $23,265 (household), with applications accepted May 1 through July 1. And a Disabled Veteran exemption can exempt up to $200,000 of a permanently and totally service-disabled veteran's assessed value (or that of an un-remarried surviving spouse). On the policy side, SB 216 of 2025, signed March 13, 2025, caps the annual increase in countywide owner-occupied single-family assessed value at 3% for taxes payable 2027 through 2031 and expands freeze eligibility — that change is enacted, not proposed.
Why your actual bill differs
The numbers above describe a typical homeowner in this ZIP — not your specific bill. A few things move bills away from the median:
- Overlapping levies. Your bill stacks county, municipal, school-district, and special-district levies, so two similar homes in different districts can owe different amounts.
- Owner-occupied classification. A qualifying primary residence pays a reduced school general-fund levy, so an owner-occupied home can owe less than an otherwise identical non-owner-occupied property.
- Relief programs. The Assessment Freeze for the Elderly and Disabled, the senior and disabled Property Tax Refund, and the Disabled Veteran exemption each pull a qualifying owner's bill below the median.
South Dakota has no single statewide bill lookup — counties run their own. Minnehaha County's property tax page is a working example; for other counties, search your county treasurer's office online.
Methodology
Data on this page comes from the US Census American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 vintage (released January 29, 2026), at the ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA) level. After filtering ZCTAs the Census suppresses for privacy or small-sample reasons, this page covers 286 South Dakota ZIPs.
Topcoding in South Dakota. The Census caps median property tax at $10,000, reporting anything higher as $10,001. South Dakota's typical home values keep essentially every ZIP below the cap, so the figures here are true medians.
See the full methodology page for source details (Census table IDs, the comparison-median rule, calculator formulas), how we handle topcoding across every state, and the refresh cadence.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the median tax in my ZIP different from what I pay?
Median is the middle of the distribution, not your bill. South Dakota values homes at market value and equalizes them to 85%, but your bill stacks several overlapping county, municipal, school, and special-district levies. The owner-occupied classification and the elderly, disabled, and veteran relief programs move qualifying owners further from the median.
Why might my ZIP show $10,001 as the median tax?
That's the Census topcode for privacy, but it's essentially absent in South Dakota — typical home values keep medians under the $10,000 cap, so the figures here are true medians.
Where do I find my actual South Dakota property tax bill?
Through your county treasurer. South Dakota has no statewide portal; counties run their own. Minnehaha County's property tax page is a working example.
When does South Dakota data update on this page?
Annually, when the Census Bureau releases a new ACS 5-year vintage. The 2020–2024 vintage released January 29, 2026. The next vintage (2021–2025) typically follows the next year, though the Census has not yet posted its release date.
Why don't you cover other states yet?
State-by-state rollout. Each state needs its own context section (assessment method, exemptions, local taxing structure) to be genuinely useful. High-search-volume states are going live first.