Electric Consumer

Editor: Katerine G., Editor & Data Researcher · Research & publishing: Electric Consumer Editorial Team · Data retrieved · Sources named on this page: EIA, Census Bureau · How we got these numbers · Report an error

Who heats with electricity where it is cold in South Dakota?

117,036homes in South Dakota heat mainly with electricity in counties that are cold in a normal year

All 66 South Dakota counties average at least 4,000 heating degree days in a normal year, and 33% of the 358,552 occupied homes heat mainly with electricity. Rank 29 of 35 by count, 9 by share. Minnehaha County holds the most: 23,544 electric-heated homes at 7,702 heating degree days.

Where South Dakota sits among the states

Share of homes that heat with electricity in cold counties, by state, one tile per stateAlaska: no data in this seriesAKMaine: 10.1% of homesMEVermont: 8.1% of homesVTNew Hampshire: 10.7% of homesNHWashington: 57.7% of homesWAIdaho: 35.0% of homesIDMontana: 26.6% of homesMTNorth Dakota: 39.9% of homesNDMinnesota: 18.8% of homesMNIllinois: 18.2% of homesILWisconsin: 17.3% of homesWIMichigan: 11.6% of homesMINew York: 14.4% of homesNYRhode Island: 12.1% of homesRIMassachusetts: 17.9% of homesMAOregon: 53.1% of homesORNevada: 8.7% of homesNVWyoming: 23.3% of homesWYSouth Dakota: 32.6% of homesSDIowa: 24.3% of homesIAIndiana: 30.7% of homesINOhio: 25.6% of homesOHPennsylvania: 24.8% of homesPANew Jersey: 15.6% of homesNJConnecticut: no data in this seriesCTCalifornia: 2.0% of homesCAUtah: 16.4% of homesUTColorado: 25.2% of homesCONebraska: 31.2% of homesNEMissouri: 37.0% of homesMOKentucky: 49.5% of homesKYWest Virginia: 45.5% of homesWVVirginia: 32.2% of homesVAMaryland: 42.6% of homesMDDelaware: 37.0% of homesDEArizona: 0.9% of homesAZNew Mexico: 13.1% of homesNMKansas: 26.5% of homesKSArkansas: 1.9% of homesARTennessee: 9.9% of homesTNNorth Carolina: 5.6% of homesNCSouth Carolina: 0.0% of homesSCDistrict of Columbia: no data in this seriesDCOklahoma: 0.5% of homesOKLouisiana: 0.0% of homesLAMississippi: 0.0% of homesMSAlabama: 0.0% of homesALGeorgia: 0.4% of homesGAHawaii: no data in this seriesHITexas: 0.1% of homesTXFlorida: 0.0% of homesFL

Darker is a larger share. South Dakota is outlined.

South Dakota: cold counties and electric heat

South Dakota cold counties, electric heating
Minnehaha County82,39428.623,5447,702-5%20.1
Pennington County45,69832.014,6297,408-2%12.5
Lincoln County26,64526.37,0127,417-3%6.0
Brown County16,36442.06,8698,503-3%5.9
Brookings County13,49038.45,1758,344-3%4.4
Codington County12,36135.34,3688,733-4%3.7
Meade County11,80131.93,7597,414-2%3.2
Lawrence County11,81230.73,6268,105-1%3.1
Davison County8,71438.33,3367,399-0%2.9
Beadle County7,48538.32,8667,818-2%2.4
Yankton County9,79228.32,7687,088-4%2.4
Hughes County7,31635.82,6217,586-2%2.2
Union County7,12435.02,4937,113-3%2.1
Clay County5,56134.71,9287,107-3%1.6
Fall River County3,44344.01,5166,903-1%1.3
Roberts County3,65740.91,4968,548-3%1.3
Custer County4,03336.71,4797,373-2%1.3
Butte County4,23031.91,3487,577-2%1.2
Turner County3,53536.91,3057,364-4%1.1
Lake County4,63227.91,2948,043-3%1.1

Largest 20 of 66 cold counties, ranked by electric-heated homes. The 46 smaller cold counties are in the CSV. All counties, CSV.

Where the electric-heated homes are

The 3 largest counties, Minnehaha County, Pennington County, Lincoln County, hold 39% of the 117,036 electric-heated homes in South Dakota cold counties. The highest electric-heat share among cold counties with 5,000+ homes is Brown County at 42%. The coldest, Marshall County, averages 8,774 heating degree days; South Dakota as a whole averages 7,706 when weighted by homes.

electric-heated homes, South Dakota cold counties, 12 largest

  • Minnehaha County23,544
  • Pennington County14,629
  • Lincoln County7,012
  • Brown County6,869
  • Brookings County5,175
  • Codington County4,368
  • Meade County3,759
  • Lawrence County3,626
  • Davison County3,336
  • Beadle County2,866
  • Yankton County2,768
  • Hughes County2,621

South Dakota: the 10 coldest counties

Marshall County is coldest at 8,774 heating degree days with 35% electric heat. The 10 coldest hold 16,488 electric-heated homes.

South Dakota 10 coldest counties
CountyHomesElectric, %Normal HDDRecent HDD
Marshall County1,64634.88,7748,698
Day County2,34339.28,7728,587
McPherson County89623.38,7668,653
Codington County12,36135.38,7338,427
Roberts County3,65740.98,5488,266
Deuel County1,80032.78,5228,223
Edmunds County1,58933.08,5138,327
Brown County16,36442.08,5038,290
Hamlin County2,18133.78,5038,205
Campbell County70429.38,4658,349

South Dakota: where electric heat is most common

Among counties with 2,000+ homes, Fall River County is highest at 44% and Beadle County is 10th at 38%.

South Dakota 10 counties with the highest electric heat share
CountyHomesElectric, %Normal HDDRecent HDD
Fall River County3,44344.06,9036,841
Bon Homme County2,42643.86,9626,797
Todd County2,47442.87,0306,850
Brown County16,36442.08,5038,290
Roberts County3,65740.98,5488,266
Charles Mix County3,00639.86,9646,778
Day County2,34339.28,7728,587
Grant County2,98938.58,4428,149
Brookings County13,49038.48,3448,055
Beadle County7,48538.37,8187,655

Winter disconnections and price in South Dakota

South Dakota utilities logged 0.38 disconnections per 100 residential accounts a month in December to February 2024 and 0.55 in June to August.

At the 2025 average residential price of 13.38 cents a kWh, 1,000 kWh costs 134 dollars in South Dakota.

South Dakota in the ranking

North Dakota is 27th with 129,646 homes (39.9% of its homes). Montana is 28th with 120,498 homes (26.6% of its homes). New Mexico is 30th with 108,308 homes (13.1% of its homes). Nevada is 31st with 102,403 homes (8.7% of its homes).

South Dakota beside 6 neighbors

South Dakota neighbors with a winter page
NeighborElectric homesShare, %Avg HDD
Iowa316,69624.3%6,736
Minnesota430,26418.8%8,162
Montana120,49826.6%8,474
Nebraska245,56031.2%6,208
North Dakota129,64639.9%9,106
Wyoming55,52823.3%8,244

Look up your South Dakota county

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Sources

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Questions

How many South Dakota homes heat with electricity in cold counties?

117,036 homes, 32.6% of 358,552 occupied South Dakota homes, in 66 counties averaging 4,000+ heating degree days.

Which South Dakota county has the most electric-heated homes among its cold counties?

Minnehaha County, with 23,544 of its 82,394 homes (29%) at 7,702 normal heating degree days.

Which South Dakota county is the coldest, and how many of its homes heat with electricity?

Marshall County, at 8,774 normal heating degree days: 573 of 1,646 homes (35%).

How far did the last decade run from the South Dakota normal?

South Dakota cold counties averaged 2.3% below their 1991-2020 heating degree days over 2016-2025.

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117,036 homes in South Dakota heat mainly with electricity in counties that are cold in a normal year

Cite this page

Underlying data are U.S. government works (EIA, Census Bureau). Our tables and charts: CC BY 4.0, credit Electric Consumer. The access date fills in when you open this page.

APA

Electric Consumer. (2026). South Dakota winter exposure: 117,036 electric-heated homes in cold counties. Data as of 9 October 2026. Retrieved 9 October 2026, from https://electricconsumer.org/winter/states/south-dakota.html

MLA

Electric Consumer. “South Dakota winter exposure: 117,036 electric-heated homes in cold counties.” Electric Consumer, data as of 9 October 2026, https://electricconsumer.org/winter/states/south-dakota.html. Accessed 9 October 2026.

Chicago

Electric Consumer. “South Dakota winter exposure: 117,036 electric-heated homes in cold counties.” Data as of 9 October 2026. Accessed 9 October 2026. https://electricconsumer.org/winter/states/south-dakota.html.

BibTeX

@misc{usedata_winter_states_south_dakota,
  author = "Electric Consumer",
  title = {South Dakota winter exposure: 117,036 electric-heated homes in cold counties},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://electricconsumer.org/winter/states/south-dakota.html},
  note = {Data as of 9 October 2026. Accessed 9 October 2026}
}
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