How many subsidized housing units are available in South Dakota?
Refreshed annually
In 2025, about 14,100 subsidized housing units were available in South Dakota. Approximately 21 percent of these were unoccupied and available to rent. Federally subsidized rental housing began with 1937’s US Housing Act, which created the United States Housing Authority and provided financial assistance to state and local governments for housing low-income people. Since then, the government has provided housing assistance to low-income renters through programs overseen by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
In 2025
14.1K
subsidized housing units existed in South Dakota
In 2025
2.95K
subsidized housing units were unoccupied and available to rent
In 2025
21%
of all subsidized housing units were available to rent
The number of available subsidized housing units varies throughout South Dakota. Administered by local public housing authorities (PHAs), availability is shaped by local policy and factors like geography (e.g., urban vs. rural vs. suburban), need, and more.
In 2025, Walworth County had the most subsidized housing units per 10K people.
Subsidized housing units per 10,000 people (2025)
What types of subsidized housing are available in South Dakota?
Subsidized housing can take different forms — from high-rise buildings to garden-style apartments to single-family dwellings, duplexes, and more — but all are accessed via eight different housing assistance programs under HUD. These are classified as either public housing; tenant-based programs; or privately-owned, project-based housing.
Get weekly insights
Subscribe for data-driven insights. No spin, just the facts.
Tenant-based programs — known today as the Housing Choice Voucher program — are the most common form of housing assistance. Housing vouchers allow recipients to choose their own housing in the private market, provided it meets program requirements. Nationally, tenant-based programs account for approximately 55% of the subsidized housing stock. In South Dakota, tenant-based programs account for 51% of the subsidized housing stock.
Privately-owned, project-based programs provide subsidized housing in larger, multifamily housing developments through agreements between landlords and HUD, and account for 38% of all subsidized housing in South Dakota.
Tenant assistance was the most common type of housing program in 2025.
Share of subsidized housing units in South Dakota, by program (2025)
The remainder of subsidized units — 11% of the total — are public housing, where units are built and managed by local housing agencies.
Subsidized housing units per 10,000 people (2025)
| 1. | Walworth County, SD | 439 |
| 2. | Jones County, SD | 350 |
| 3. | Fall River County, SD | 339 |
| 4. | Clay County, SD | 267 |
| 5. | Grant County, SD | 265 |
| 6. | Davison County, SD | 259 |
| 7. | Perkins County, SD | 256 |
| 8. | Brown County, SD | 249 |
| 9. | Pennington County, SD | 248 |
| 10. | Gregory County, SD | 233 |
How Can the Government Help with Affordable Housing?
Keep exploring
Methodology
USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.
Page sources
USAFacts endeavors to share the most up-to-date information available. We sourced the data on this page directly from government agencies; however, the intervals at which agencies publish updated data vary.
