Where a driver lives and parks their vehicle is a major factor that affects the cost of car insurance. We compared car insurance rates for two sample drivers from 13 auto insurance companies across 32 cities, and found that costs can vary by as much as 39% between the costliest and the most affordable auto insurer in South Dakota. That's why it's critical to compare auto insurance quotes if you'd like to save money on your premiums. Enter your zip in our quoting tool above for a list of insurers in your region, or continue reading about South Dakota auto insurance.
- Cheapest Auto Insurance Companies in South Dakota
- Best Car Insurance Rates: by City
- Average Cost of Car Insurance: by City
- Best Auto Insurance Companies in South Dakota
Cheapest Auto Insurance in South Dakota
Based on our analysis of quotes across 32 cities and towns, we were able to identify which carriers were the cheapest car insurance companies in South Dakota. Our two example motorists found their lowest auto insurance rates with Western National Insurance, State Farm, GEICO, Farmers Mutual of Nebraska, Mid-Century (a Farmers Insurance affiliate), and Buckeye Insurance. On average, our sample SD drivers' quotes were around $726 for a year’s worth of coverage – a 21% savings from the state average.
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Most Expensive Auto Insurance Companies in South Dakota
Our benchmark South Dakota motorists found that with the costliest insurer, their premiums could be as high as $1,080 a year. The five most expensive South Dakota auto insurance providers all had rates above $950: Farmers, Auto-Owners, Unitrin, American Family, and Allstate. Your premiums, however, will be highly tailored and depend upon your personal situation, and each company can define their preferred driver risks differently.
List of Auto Insurance Companies in South Dakota
Here is a list of all the South Dakota car insurance providers that we collected rates from for the study. Note that in order to buy insurance with Farm Bureau Mutual, you must be a Farm Bureau member; the annual membership dues are $50 in South Dakota. The companies are listed in the order of average annual premium for our two single male drivers, from the lowest to the highest:
| Rank | Auto Insurance Company | Average Annual Rates |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Western National Insurance | $660 |
| 2 | State Farm | 678 |
| 3 | GEICO | 738 |
| 4 | Farmers Mutual of Nebraska | 762 |
| 5 | Farmers/Mid-Century | 792 |
| 6 | Buckeye | 840 |
| South Dakota Average | 921 | |
| 7 | Farm Bureau Mutual (dues required)* | 858 |
| 8 | North Star | 894 |
| 9 | Farmers | 960 |
| 10 | Auto-Owners | 984 |
| 11 | Unitrin | 1,038 |
| 12 | American Family | 1,056 |
| 13 | Allstate | 1,080 |
Cheapest Car Insurance in South Dakota: by City
Auto insurance costs vary quite a bit by insurer within each city. We were able to determine the three cheapest insurers for each of South Dakota’s 10 largest cities, using our example driver profiles, and have listed them in the table below. Following the table is our breakdown of auto insurance costs in the five largest South Dakota cities.
| Location | Cheapest Insurer #1 | Cheapest Insurer #2 | Cheapest Insurer #3 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sioux Falls | GEICO | $678 | State Farm | $684 | Western National Insurance | $720 |
| Rapid City | State Farm | 714 | GEICO | 762 | Western National Insurance | 840 |
| Aberdeen | State Farm | 672 | GEICO | 738 | Farmers/Mid-Century | 750 |
| Brookings | Western National Insurance | 660 | State Farm | 678 | Farmers/Mid-Century | 720 |
| Watertown | State Farm | 654 | Farmers/Mid-Century | 720 | GEICO | 738 |
| Mitchell | State Farm | 702 | GEICO | 738 | Farmers Mutual of Nebraska | 762 |
| Yankton | Western National Insurance | 660 | State Farm | 678 | Farmers/Mid-Century | 738 |
| Pierre | Farmers Mutual of Nebraska | 762 | Farmers/Mid-Century | 768 | State Farm | 804 |
| Huron | State Farm | 678 | Farmers/Mid-Century | 720 | GEICO | 738 |
| Vermillion | Western National Insurance | 660 | State Farm | 678 | Farmers | 720 |
Sioux Falls, SD
The largest city in South Dakota, Sioux Falls is home to more than 248,000 people, and is filled with more than 70 parks and greenways. We found Sioux Falls to be among the better places for cheap auto insurance in South Dakota. The average annual coverage cost about $870 for our two sample motorists. For a chance to save more, be sure to get quotes and compare across at least three insurers. The two drivers we studied were able to save $100 or more by going with one of their five lowest cost auto insurance options in South Dakota: GEICO, State Farm, Western National Insurance, Famers/Mid-Century, and Farmers Mutual of Nebraska. These carriers offered quotes that were roughly 17% lower than the city’s mean for our drivers, with GEICO and State Farm quoting cheap rates below $700 a year.
Rapid City, SD
Named after the Rapid Creek, upon which the Gateway to the Black Hills was established, Rapid City is the second largest city in South Dakota. Our study found it to be near the costlier end of the auto insurance cost spectrum. Rates averaged $992 for our South Dakota benchmark motorists. However, we also found chances to save. For cheap Rapid City auto insurance, we recommend motorists include State Farm, GEICO, Western National Insurance, Buckeye, and Mid-Century – a Farmers insurance affiliate – when shopping for coverage. Our motorists found these companies generally offering quotes 15% to 28% cheaper than the city’s mean. With the cheapest insurer, State Farm, our Rapid City sample driver could save as much as $278 a year.
Aberdeen, SD
The third largest city in South Dakota, the city of Aberdeen is the county seat of Brown County and home to more than 26,000 people. Our benchmark motorists found Aberdeen auto insurance rates just around the state’s average, costing $887 a year. Nevertheless, our study showed with the most affordable auto insurance rates in Aberdeem, annual rates could be as low as $672. The five lowest-cost car insurers in Aberdeen were State Farm, GEICO, Farmers/Mid-Century, Farmers Mutual, and Farm Bureau Mutual*. We'd recommend you consider these insurers when you shop for a quote, as our two example drivers generally found them to be 16% cheaper than most other insurers in the city.
*To buy auto insurance from Farm Bureau, you must be a Farm Bureau member and pay a $50 annual membership fee.
Brookings, SD
Brookings ranks second on our "Best Cities" list with car insurance rates of $851 (8% more affordable versus the state mean). With a population of over 22,000, it is the fourth largest city in South Dakota. Interstate 29 and U.S. Route 14 cut through the Brookings, providing easy access to the museums, annual Summer Arts Festival, and South Dakota State University that residents can enjoy. The city and county were both named after Wilmot Wood Brookings, who was one of the first European settlers in South Dakota. South Dakota State University and 3M are two of Brookings's largest employers. For the least expensive car insurance coverage in Brookings, motorists should consider looking into Western National Insurance, State Farm, Mid-Century (a Farmers insurance affiliate), GEICO, and Farm Bureau Mutual*. Our benchmark drivers living in Brookings found these insurers had the most affordable coverage for rates as low as $660 (Western National Insurance) a year.
*To buy auto insurance from Farm Bureau, you must be a Farm Bureau member and pay a $50 annual membership fee.
Watertown, SD
Watertown is the fifth largest city in South Dakota. Its 22,000 residents are connected by Highway 81, Highway 212, and Interstate 29. It is well known for its Bramble Park Zoo and Redlin Art Center that houses many original works by Terry Redlin, a popular wildlife artist. It is also considered one of the most affluent cities in South Dakota. The average cost of auto insurance was around $860 a year for our two guys living in Watertown, which ranked it among the five cheapest SD cities, based on our sample quotes. Low costs aside, with the right insurers, motorists here could look to save even more, namely with: State Farm, Farmers/Mid-Century, GEICO, Farmers Mutual, and Farm Bureau Mutual*. They nabbed the title of the cheapest auto insurers in Watertown, and generally offered our benchmark drivers quotes that were 15% lower than the city’s average costs, and as low as $654 (State Farm) a year!
*To buy auto insurance from Farm Bureau, you must be a Farm Bureau member and pay a $50 annual membership fee.
Cost of Car Insurance in South Dakota
Our study also covered a number of other cities and towns in the Mount Rushmore State. The five best cities for our consumers in terms of car insurance had an average annual rate of $853, a 7% reduction compared to the state mean. These cities range in size from 2,000 residents to nearly 10x the size at 22,000 residents. They were all located on the eastern side of South Dakota and include both college cities and small towns. On the other hand, our most expensive spots in the Mount Rushmore State have an annual average rate of $1,068, a 16% difference from the state average. These cities are all located in the western half of South Dakota with a rich history rooted in its Wild West beginnings. They tended to be smaller cities with populations ranging from less than 800 to 10,000.
Here's where all of the 32 locations stack up, from cheapest to the most expensive.
Best Auto Insurance Companies in South Dakota
Finding the best car insurance company can go beyond the cost of coverage to aspects like claims processing and customer satisfaction. The closest measure of customer satisfaction we researched was to look at customer complaints logged with the state. To find the South Dakota insurers who rank best by consumer satisfaction, we analyzed which ones received the least complaints. We calculated each of 13 SD companies’ number of complaint per million written premiums. The lower the complaint ratio is, the less consumers have been unsatisfied with the company.
| Rank | Car Insurance Company | Written Premium | Complaint Count | Complaint Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nationwide | $7,158,600 | 2 | 0.28 |
| 2 | State Farm | 43,659,344 | 17 | 0.39 |
| 3 | Progressive | 34,275,206 | 14 | 0.41 |
| 4 | USAA | 6,900,198 | 3 | 0.43 |
| 5 | GEICO | 6,783,594 | 3 | 0.44 |
| 6 | Farmers | 19,702,542 | 12 | 0.61 |
| 7 | North Star Mutual Insurance Company | 4,707,901 | 3 | 0.64 |
| 8 | Allied | 5,972,410 | 4 | 0.67 |
| 9 | American Family | 20,715,033 | 15 | 0.72 |
| 10 | Dairyland | 4,931,754 | 4 | 0.81 |
| 11 | Safeco | 4,990,015 | 5 | 1.00 |
| 12 | Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance | 9,788,138 | 13 | 1.33 |
| 13 | De Smet Farm Mutual | 8,094,705 | 14 | 1.73 |
Methodology
We looked at rates in South Dakota for our two profiled drivers: a single 30 year old male and a single 65 year old male. They both drive and own a 2010 Toyota Camry, which they use predominantly for commute to work, racking up 12,000 miles a year on the road. Each company has a good credit score and driving history with no traffic violations or accidents in the last five years.
The quotes are based on a basic liability protection policy for the 2010 Toyota Camry across 13 insurers, including both national (such as GEICO and State Farm) and regional (such as Western National Insurance and Farmers Mutual of Nebraska) companies. The South Dakota Financial Responsibility Law requires a minimum auto insurance liability of $25,000 per person, $50,000 for bodily injury per accident, and $25,000 for property damage per accident. Read more about the auto insurance requirements in South Dakota here.
From Aberdeen to Yankton, here are the 32 cities included in our study on an alphabetical basis. Rank refers to where each location placed in a list ordered from the cheapest to the most expensive. Note that there were two ties in South Dakota.
| Rank | Cities | Average Annual Rates | Change vs. State Average |
| 14 | Aberdeen | $887 | -4% |
| 21 | Belle Fourche | 950 | 3% |
| 25 | Box Elder | 999 | 8% |
| 9 | Brandon | 871 | -5% |
| 2 | Brookings | 851 | -8% |
| 10 | Dell Rapids | 872 | -5% |
| 15 | Freeman | 888 | -4% |
| 17 | Groton | 896 | -3% |
| 6 | Harrisburg | 862 | -6% |
| 26 | Hot Springs | 1,025 | 11% |
| 13 | Huron | 882 | -4% |
| 5 | Lennox | 860 | -7% |
| 7 | Madison | 864 | -6% |
| 20 | Miller | 917 | -1% |
| 11 | Mitchell | 879 | -5% |
| 23 | Mobridge | 966 | 5% |
| 16 | Parkston | 890 | -3% |
| 30 | Philip | 1,134 | 23% |
| 22 | Pierre | 960 | 4% |
| 29 | Pine Ridge | 1,111 | 21% |
| 24 | Rapid City | 992 | 8% |
| 19 | Redfield | 916 | -1% |
| 8 | Sioux Falls | 870 | -6% |
| 16 | Sisseton | 890 | -3% |
| 28 | Spearfish | 1,036 | 12% |
| 27 | Sturgis | 1,032 | 12% |
| 4 | Tea | 857 | -7% |
| 12 | Tripp | 881 | -4% |
| 1 | Vermillion | 838 | -9% |
| 5 | Watertown | 860 | -7% |
| 18 | Webster | 896 | -3% |
| 3 | Yankton | 854 | -7% |
Sources:
South Dakota Dept of Labor and Regulation / Division of Insurance
South Dakota Auto Insurance Mandatory Coverage