# Where to Buy a Business in South Dakota

Buyable means an establishment with five to ninety-nine employees in the 36 trades this site covers, counted from SBA 7(a) FOIA loan-level dataset (as of June 30, 2026) and the Census establishment file.

Source: https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/south-dakota
Last checked: 2026-09-23

## The Opportunity

- Buyable businesses: 3,651 of 7,246 establishments in the covered trades
- Buyable per 100,000 residents: 394.8
- Share of the national buyable market: 0.3%
- Rank among the guided states: 46
- SBA change-of-ownership loans: 131 since FY2020, 18 of them in FY2025
- Median loan: $500,000
- Population: 924,669

## The Deepest Counties in South Dakota

Nobody searches a state; they search a metro they can drive across. These hold the most buyable targets in the covered trades, each with its share of the state's.

- Minnehaha: 833 buyable (22.8% of the state's)
- Pennington: 523 buyable (14.3% of the state's)
- Lincoln: 221 buyable (6.1% of the state's)
- Codington: 116 buyable (3.2% of the state's)
- Brown: 109 buyable (3% of the state's)
- Brookings: 105 buyable (2.9% of the state's)
- Lawrence: 79 buyable (2.2% of the state's)
- Davison: 68 buyable (1.9% of the state's)
- Yankton: 56 buyable (1.5% of the state's)
- Hughes: 48 buyable (1.3% of the state's)

## What Trades Run Deepest in South Dakota

- Limited-Service Restaurants (NAICS 722513): 497 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-restaurant
- Full-Service Restaurants (NAICS 722511): 468 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-restaurant
- Gasoline Stations with Convenience Stores (NAICS 447110): 412 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-convenience-store
- Offices of Dentists (NAICS 621210): 227 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-dental-practice
- Insurance Agencies and Brokerages (NAICS 524210): 188 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-an-insurance-agency
- Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars (NAICS 722515): 169 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-restaurant

## Next Door to South Dakota

Nobody buys a state. These are the states South Dakota touches, with the buyable businesses each holds in the same 36 trades.

- Iowa: 11,982 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/iowa)
- Minnesota: 20,943 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/minnesota)
- Montana: 4,973 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/montana)
- North Dakota: 3,278 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/north-dakota)
- Nebraska: 8,187 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/nebraska)
- Wyoming: 2,640 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/wyoming)

## Method and Source

- Establishment counts: 2023, https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp.html
- Population: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest.html
- Lending: SBA 7(a) FOIA loan-level dataset (as of June 30, 2026), FY2020 through FY2025

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