South Dakota

B2B cold email software in South Dakota

Verified federal data on the South Dakota business market, plus outreach guides for its largest cities and service industries. Acqro researches every company on your list and writes each email from what it finds.

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How many businesses are in South Dakota?

Direct answer

South Dakota had 29,106 business establishments in 2023, ranking 46th among the 50 states and DC, with 7,366 of them employing 10 to 249 people. Source: U.S. Census Bureau County Business Patterns. Acqro is AI cold email software that researches each of those companies before writing to them.

Verified data

The South Dakota B2B market in numbers

Business establishments
29,106+0.9% vs 2022Census CBP 2023
Firms with 10–249 employees
7,366Census CBP 2023
Paid employees
383,805Census CBP 2023
Average annual pay
$53,870Census CBP 2023
Professional services firms
2,214Census CBP 2023, NAICS 54
Share of US establishments
0.3%Census CBP 2023

74.1% of establishments in South Dakota have fewer than 10 employees, above the 73.0% share for the United States. The 7,366 establishments with 10 to 249 employees are where most B2B lists should start: large enough to have a budget and a defined buyer, small enough that an owner or department head still makes the call and reads their own email.

By employment, the largest sectors are health care and social assistance (19.5% of jobs) and retail trade (14.3% of jobs). Relative to the national mix, manufacturing (12.3% locally against 8.8% nationally) and finance and insurance (6.3% locally against 5.0% nationally) stand out, which makes them natural first segments for outbound.

The number of establishments changed by +0.9% between 2022 and 2023, in line with the +0.8% change for the United States. New and growing businesses are the accounts most likely to be choosing vendors for the first time, so pair that list with research on hiring, new locations and leadership changes before writing a single email.

Largest industries in South Dakota

Sectors ranked by paid employment, compared with the national mix.

Top sectors by paid employment, South Dakota. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023. Average pay is annual payroll divided by March employment. — = not published.
SectorEstablishmentsEmployeesAvg. annual payShare of jobsUS share
Health care and social assistance2,82974,743$63,82219.5%15.8%
Retail trade3,83854,784$34,38914.3%11.5%
Manufacturing1,03447,333$61,03912.3%8.8%
Accommodation and food services2,69642,968$22,83011.2%10.4%
Construction3,80225,640$68,7636.7%5.5%
Finance and insurance2,04424,370$79,1256.3%5.0%
Wholesale trade1,59220,550$74,1835.4%4.5%
Other services2,98615,640$36,5384.1%4.0%
Professional, scientific and technical services2,21414,227$68,4003.7%7.4%
Administrative, support and waste management services1,35012,832$43,4853.3%9.6%

Where South Dakota businesses are concentrated

Counties ranked by number of business establishments.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023. — = not published.
CountyEstablishmentsShare of stateEmployees
Minnehaha County6,26221.5%125,353
Pennington County4,13714.2%52,402
Lincoln County2,1847.5%29,283
Lawrence County1,2484.3%11,109
Brown County1,2454.3%17,306
Codington County1,2104.2%15,001
Brookings County9583.3%15,151
Meade County8052.8%6,662
Davison County7272.5%11,057
Yankton County7072.4%11,776
City guides

Cold email guides for South Dakota cities

Each guide covers the county that contains the city.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023.
CityCountyEstablishments in county
AberdeenBrown County1,245
BrookingsBrookings County958
Rapid CityPennington County4,137
Sioux FallsMinnehaha County6,262
Industry guides

B2B service industries in South Dakota

Establishment counts in South Dakota for the service industries Acqro customers work in. Each links to an outreach guide.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023. Counts use the closest official NAICS industry for each type of firm.
IndustryCensus industry (NAICS)Establishments
Commercial Insurance BrokersInsurance Agencies and Brokerages745
Commercial Real Estate BrokersOffices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers456
Law FirmsOffices of Lawyers365
Commercial Cleaning CompaniesJanitorial Services270
Management ConsultantsAdministrative Management and General Management Consulting Services220
CPA and Accounting FirmsOffices of Certified Public Accountants142
Software Development AgenciesCustom Computer Programming Services108
Healthtech VendorsComputer Systems Design Services106
SEO AgenciesMarketing Consulting Services98
Financial Advisory FirmsInvestment Advice69
Commercial Waste ServicesSolid Waste Collection67
Staffing AgenciesTemporary Help Services59
Marketing AgenciesAdvertising Agencies40
Logistics ProvidersFreight Transportation Arrangement40
Architecture FirmsArchitectural Services39
Cybersecurity FirmsOther Computer Related Services30
SaaS CompaniesSoftware Publishers28
Office Design FirmsInterior Design Services28
Corporate CaterersCaterers20
Merchant Services ProvidersFinancial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities17
Corporate Training ProvidersProfessional and Management Development Training15
Executive Search FirmsExecutive Search Services15
Payroll ProvidersPayroll Services13
Managed Service ProvidersComputer Facilities Management Services12
HR ConsultanciesHuman Resources Consulting Services12
Video Production CompaniesMotion Picture and Video Production12
Event Management CompaniesConvention and Trade Show Organizers10
PR AgenciesPublic Relations Agencies8
Translation ServicesTranslation and Interpretation Services8
Business Telecom and VoIP ProvidersTelecommunications Resellers6
Questions

Cold email in South Dakota, answered

How many businesses are in South Dakota?

South Dakota had 29,106 business establishments in 2023, employing 383,805 people. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023.

What are the largest industries in South Dakota?

By paid employment in 2023: health care and social assistance (19.5% of jobs), retail trade (14.3% of jobs) and manufacturing (12.3% of jobs). Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023.

Is cold email legal in the United States?

Yes. The federal CAN-SPAM Act permits commercial email to business contacts without prior consent, provided the message identifies the sender accurately, uses a truthful subject line, includes a valid physical postal address and a working opt-out, and honours opt-out requests promptly. CAN-SPAM applies in every state and preempts most state commercial email laws, except provisions aimed at falsity or deception. This is general information, not legal advice.

Sources and methodology

Every figure on this page comes from a federal statistical release and is shown with its source and reference year. Figures the agencies withhold or publish with high noise are left out rather than estimated. Page updated September 17, 2026.

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