STATE FATALITY DATA - 2023

South Dakota: higher-rate fatality band

South Dakota is in the higher per-capita third: 140 traffic deaths in 2023 at 15.2 per 100,000 (#14 of 51).

140
Deaths (2023)
15.2
Per 100k residents
Above average
1.4
Per 100M VMT
+3
2022–2023 deaths

Higher alcohol-impaired share

South Dakota ranks #4 of 51 by alcohol-impaired share (33.4%) - top-third alcohol involvement.

South Dakota in the higher-rate third

According to NHTSA FARS, South Dakota sits in the higher-rate third at 15.2 per 100k (#14 of 51), 24% above the U.S. 12.2 benchmark, with unrestrained the largest contributing factor.

#14 of 51
higher-rate third
15.2/100k
2023 fatality rate
#42/51
by total FARS fatalities
Unrestrained
leading contributing factor

140 2023 Fatalities, By Roadway Setting

  • Rural 114 (81.4%)
  • Urban 26 (18.6%)

FARS state milepost

Milepost SD · South Dakota #14 of 51 · 15.2/100k

South Dakota · 15.2/100k · 140 in 2023 · #14 of 51

  • VS-US 15.2/100k
  • PHOTO #14 of 51
  • YOY 1.4/100M
  • FARS 1,177 book
  • NHTSA near Florida
  • MILE 28.0% spd
  • BAND 7.9% ped
  • POST +24.5% vs US

Stamps derive from this state's NHTSA FARS row (per-100k rate, corpus rank, VMT rate, fatality book, nearest-rate peer, alcohol/speeding/pedestrian shares, vs-national gap), not a trip-risk forecast. PlainRoadSafety is informational only. See our disclaimer. Verify with NHTSA FARS → · Read with methodology → · Understanding road fatality data → · States ranked →

F
Road Safety Index
35/100
South Dakota

Benchmarked against all 51 states (50 states + DC) on fatality rate, exposure-adjusted rate, pedestrian and impaired-driving fatality share, and safety trend from NHTSA FARS, US Census Bureau, and FHWA sources, not enforcement, infrastructure spend, or road-condition ratings.

Fatality Rate F
15.2/100k
Fatalities per 100,000 residents (NHTSA FARS + Census PEP population)
Exposure-Adjusted Rate F
1.35/100M VMT
Fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (NHTSA FARS + FHWA Highway Statistics)
Pedestrian Safety A
7.9%
Share of fatalities that were pedestrians (NHTSA FARS)
Impaired-Driving Control F
33.4%
Share of fatalities that were alcohol-impaired (NHTSA FARS)
Safety Trend F
+4.5%
Change in fatalities over the reporting period; negative is declining (NHTSA FARS)

Rollover-heavy crash pattern in South Dakota

Rollover/overturn leads South Dakota's non-vehicle first-harm events in 2023 FARS (26.4%), with Not Signed the most common roadway class. Counts come from the NHTSA FARS accident microdata for 2023 (first harmful event, weather, light, route, and rural/urban setting), not from the seeded state rollup alone.

First harmful event

  • Motor Vehicle In-Transport 42.1% · 59
  • Rollover/Overturn 26.4% · 37
  • Pedestrian 9.3% · 13
  • Ditch 5.7% · 8
  • Other Object (not fixed) 2.9% · 4

Light condition

  • Daylight 57.9% · 81
  • Dark - Not Lighted 28.6% · 40
  • Dusk 5.7% · 8
  • Dark - Lighted 5.0% · 7
  • Dawn 2.9% · 4

Roadway class

  • Not Signed 40.0% · 56
  • State Highway 22.1% · 31
  • Interstate 17.9% · 25
  • U.S. Highway 15.0% · 21
  • Bureau of Indian Affairs 5.0% · 7

Weather at crash

  • Clear 75.7% · 106
  • Cloudy 12.1% · 17
  • Rain 5.7% · 8
  • Blowing Snow 2.9% · 4
  • Fog, Smog, Smoke 2.1% · 3

South Dakota rate neighbourhood

Deaths per 100,000 residents vs nearest-rate peer states (NHTSA FARS).

per 100k

What this shows South Dakota sits among the five nearest fatality-rate peers on the per-100k scale.

Source NHTSA FARS As of 2023

Leading Causes of Fatalities

Contributing factors in South Dakota road deaths (2015-2023). Categories overlap.

% of fatalities

What this shows Unrestrained is the top contributing cause in South Dakota, involved in 55.1% of all road deaths. Note: categories overlap as a single crash may involve multiple factors.

Source NHTSA FARS As of 2023

South Dakota vs all states by fatality rate

Where this state's deaths-per-100k sits among every state and D.C. on PlainRoadSafety

15 Around the middle a lower per-capita rate than 25% of 51 states

States and D.C., banded by fatality rate per 100,000 residents

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source NHTSA FARS over Census population · 2026-09-03

South Dakota plotted against a representative sample of 27 of 51 states and D.C. by deaths per 100,000 residents (x) and deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (y). Dashed lines mark the national median across all 51, computed from the full corpus. 2×2 strategic matrix plotting 27 entities by Deaths per 100,000 residents (X) and Deaths per 100M vehicle miles (Y), with a crosshair dividing the plot into four quadrants. High both waysRiskier per mile drivenRiskier per residentSafer, both measures 051015202530 00.511.52 Deaths per 100,000 residents Deaths per 100M vehicle miles South Dakota: per capita vs. per mile driven
South Dakota plotted against a representative sample of 27 of 51 states and D.C. by deaths per 100,000 residents (x) and deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (y). Dashed lines mark the national median across all 51, computed from the full corpus.

South Dakota can rank differently on each axis: population density pushes the per-capita rate one way, and rural-highway commute length pushes the per-mile rate another. Hover or tap any point (including South Dakota's own, highlighted) for its exact figures.

Fatality Trend Analysis (2015–2023)

In the higher-rate third, South Dakota moved from 134 deaths in 2015 to 140 in 2023 (+4.5%).

Year Fatalities Rate Alcohol Speeding Pedestrian
2015 134 14.6 46 31 6
2016 116 12.6 51 37 6
2017 129 14.0 43 29 10
2018 130 14.1 48 51 10
2019 102 11.1 29 24 7
2020 141 15.3 53 41 14
2021 148 16.1 56 35 14
2022 137 14.9 35 47 11
2023 140 15.2 32 34 15

Minnehaha, Pennington, and Shannon concentrate South Dakota deaths

The top three counties (Minnehaha, Pennington, and Shannon) hold 29.0% of South Dakota's county fatality book (1,043 deaths across 66 counties).

#CountyTotal FatalitiesTrend
1MINNEHAHA (99)123↑ increasing
2PENNINGTON (103)113↑ increasing
3SHANNON (113)66↔ stable
4LAWRENCE (81)61↑ increasing
5LINCOLN (83)44↑ increasing
6MEADE (93)30↑ increasing
7YANKTON (135)27↓ decreasing
8CODINGTON (29)24↔ stable
9CUSTER (33)24↔ stable
10JACKSON (71)24↑ increasing
11ROBERTS (109)24↓ decreasing
12BROWN (13)22↔ stable
13BROOKINGS (11)20↓ decreasing
14FALL RIVER (47)19↔ stable
15HUTCHINSON (67)19↔ stable
16CHARLES MIX (23)18↔ stable
17TURNER (125)18↔ stable
18GRANT (51)16↔ stable
19LYMAN (85)16↔ stable
20BEADLE (5)14↔ stable

Showing top 20 of 66 counties by total fatalities.

States With Similar Fatality Rates

Among higher-rate peers, Florida (15.0/100k) and West Virginia (14.7/100k) sit closest to South Dakota's 15.2 per 100k.

6 of 50 other states are shown here, ranked by closeness to South Dakota's fatality rate.

Florida

15.0 per 100K

3,396 fatalities (2023)

West Virginia

14.7 per 100K

260 fatalities (2023)

Georgia

14.6 per 100K

1,615 fatalities (2023)

North Carolina

14.4 per 100K

1,561 fatalities (2023)

Missouri

16.0 per 100K

991 fatalities (2023)

Texas

14.1 per 100K

4,291 fatalities (2023)

Minnehaha-cluster counties and South Dakota road data

Contextual links from this profile to rankings, tools, research, and peer geographies on PlainRoadSafety.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from official public datasets for South Dakota (#14 of 51; volume #42/51). See our methodology. Retrieved and formatted by PlainRoadSafety · vintage 2026-09-03

Verify with NHTSA FARS → · Verify with Census →