E.g., 04/24/2024
E.g., 04/24/2024
State Language Data - SD
 

South Dakota

Language & Education
2022
2000
1990
English Proficiency

Note: The term limited English proficient (LEP) refers to any person age 5 and older who reported speaking English "not at all," "not well," or "well" on their survey questionnaire. Persons who speak only English or who report speaking English "very well" are considered proficient in English.

Note: The term "foreign born" refers to people residing in the United States at the time of the population survey who were not U.S. citizens at birth. The foreign-born population includes naturalized U.S. citizens, lawful permanent immigrants (or green-card holders), refugees and asylees, certain legal nonimmigrants (including those on student, work, or some other temporary visas), and persons residing in the country without authorization.

Foreign Born
English Proficiency (age 5 and older) (%) 31,532
Speak only English 22.1%
Speak English "very well" 34.1%
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 43.8%
Limited English Proficient (LEP) Population: Change over Time  
% change: 2000-2022 164.7%
% change: 1990-2000 221.7%
English Proficiency of the Foreign Born by U.S. Citizenship Status (age 5 and older)*

Note: The term limited English proficient (LEP) refers to any person age 5 and older who reported speaking English "not at all," "not well," or "well" on their survey questionnaire. Persons who speak only English or who report speaking English "very well" are considered proficient in English. Data for Alaska, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming are from the Census Bureau's pooled 2018-2022 American Community Survey (ACS). Data for the United States overall and for the remaining states are from the 2022 ACS.

 
Naturalized citizens 14,488
Speak only English 36.5%
Speak English "very well" 38.7%
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 24.8%
Noncitizens 19,185
Speak only English 15.9%
Speak English "very well" 41.8%
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 42.3%

Note: The term "U.S. born" refers to people residing in the United States who were U.S. citizens in one of three categories: people born in one of the 50 states or the District of Columbia; people born in U.S. Insular Areas such as Puerto Rico or Guam; or people who were born abroad to at least one U.S. citizen parent.

U.S. Born
English Proficiency (age 5 and older) (%) 821,046
Speak only English 95.3%
Speak English ""very well"" 4.1%
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 0.5%
Limited English Proficient (LEP) Population: Change over Time  
% change: 2000-2011 -59.7%
% change: 1990-2000 10.3%
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Foreign Born
English Proficiency (age 5 and older) (%) 13,065
Speak only English 29.1%
"Speak English ""very well"" 31.0%
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 40.0%
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
U.S. Born
English Proficiency (age 5 and older) (%) 690,755
Speak only English 94.7%
"Speak English ""very well"" 3.6%
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 1.6%
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Foreign Born
English Proficiency (age 5 and older) (%) 7,273
Speak only English 45.6%
"Speak English ""very well"" 32.0%
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 22.3%
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
U.S. Born
English Proficiency (age 5 and older) (%) 632,802
Speak only English 94.1%
"Speak English ""very well"" 4.3%
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 1.6%
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 
Population (age 5 and older)
 
 
Language Spoken at Home (by age and English proficiency)

Note: The term limited English proficient (LEP) refers to any person age 5 and older who reported speaking English "not at all," "not well," or "well" on their survey questionnaire. Persons who speak only English or who report speaking English "very well" are considered proficient in English.

Number
Ages 5-17 161,735
Speak only English 149,487
Speak language other than English 12,248
Speak English "very well"
10,146
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP)
2,102
Speak Spanish 4,367
Speak English "very well"
3,769
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP)
598
Ages 18-64 524,934
Speak only English 481,542
Speak language other than English 43,392
Speak English "very well"
28,905
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP)
14,487
Speak Spanish 15,029
Speak English "very well"
7,664
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP)
7,365
65 and Older 165,909
Speak only English 158,689
Speak language other than English 7,220
Speak English "very well"
5,490
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP)
1,730
Speak Spanish 1,387
Speak English "very well"
900
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP)
487
%
65 and Older 100%
Speak only English 92.4%
Speak language other than English 7.6%
Speak English "very well" 6.3%
Speak English less than "very well" (LEP) 1.3%
Speak Spanish 2.7%
Speak English "very well" 2.3%
Speak English less than "very well" (LEP) 0.4%
Ages 18-64 100%
Speak only English 91.7%
Speak language other than English 8.3%
Speak English "very well" 5.5%
Speak English less than "very well" (LEP) 2.8%
Speak Spanish 2.9%
Speak English "very well" 1.5%
Speak English less than "very well" (LEP) 1.4%
Ages 5-17 100%
Speak only English 95.6%
Speak language other than English 4.4%
Speak English "very well" 3.3%
Speak English less than "very well" (LEP) 1.0%
Speak Spanish 0.8%
Speak English "very well" 0.5%
Speak English less than "very well" (LEP) 0.3%
 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 
Population (age 5 and older)
 
 
Language Spoken at Home (detailed, by English proficiency)

Note: 1) The term limited English proficient (LEP) refers to any person age 5 and older who reported speaking English "not at all," "not well," or "well" on their survey questionnaire. Persons who speak only English or who report speaking English "very well" are considered proficient in English. 2) Data for Alaska, Arkansas, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming are from the U.S. Census Bureau's pooled 2018-2022 American Community Survey (ACS). Data for the United States overall and for the remaining states are from the 2022 ACS.

Number
Total Household Population, Age 5 and Older 832,257
Speak only English 777,995
Speak language other than English 54,262
Spanish 17,994
Speak English "very well" 11,163
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 6,831
French (Including Cajun) 904
Speak English "very well" 825
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 79
Haitian 42
Speak English "very well" 42
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) N
Italian 70
Speak English "very well" 70
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) N
Portuguese 304
Speak English "very well" 260
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 44
German 5,841
Speak English "very well" 4,975
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 866
Yiddish, Pennsylvania Dutch or Other West Germanic Languages 604
Speak English "very well" 560
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 44
Russian 1,231
Speak English "very well" 896
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 335
Polish 90
Speak English "very well" 64
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 26
Other Slavic Languages 1,145
Speak English "very well" 795
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 350
Armenian 4
Speak English "very well" N
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 4
Persian (including Farsi, Dari) 162
Speak English "very well" 109
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 53
Gujarati 121
Speak English "very well" 91
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 30
Hindi 472
Speak English "very well" 360
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 112
Urdu 196
Speak English "very well" 183
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 13
Punjabi 20
Speak English "very well" 14
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 6
Bengali 134
Speak English "very well" 51
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 83
Nepali, Marathi, or Other Indic Languages 2,058
Speak English "very well" 1,298
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 760
Other Indo-European Languages 447
Speak English "very well" 314
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 133
Telugu 157
Speak English "very well" 116
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 41
Tamil 40
Speak English "very well" 40
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) N
Malayalam, Kannada, or Other Dravidian Languages 123
Speak English "very well" 60
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 63
Chinese (including Mandarin, Cantonese) 787
Speak English "very well" 438
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 349
Japanese 270
Speak English "very well" 129
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 141
Korean 469
Speak English "very well" 320
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 149
Hmong 266
Speak English "very well" 30
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 236
Vietnamese 566
Speak English "very well" 192
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 374
Khmer 168
Speak English "very well" 54
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 114
Thai, Lao, or Other Tai-Kadai Languages 502
Speak English "very well" 311
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 191
Other Languages of Asia 1,184
Speak English "very well" 238
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 946
Tagalog (including Filipino) 1,250
Speak English "very well" 773
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 477
Ilocano, Samoan, Hawaiian, or Other Austronesian Languages 438
Speak English "very well" 179
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 259
Arabic 994
Speak English "very well" 731
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 263
Hebrew 25
Speak English "very well" 25
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) N
Amharic, Somali, or Other Afro-Asiatic Languages 2,916
Speak English "very well" 1,780
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 1,136
Yoruba, Twi, Igbo, or Other Languages of Western Africa 360
Speak English "very well" 294
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 66
Swahili or Other Languages of Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa 2,577
Speak English "very well" 1,841
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 736
Native Languages of North America 8,838
Speak English "very well" 8,099
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 739
Other and Unspecified Languages 493
Speak English "very well" 221
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 272
%
Field 306 100%
Field 307 93.5%
Field 308 6.5%
Field 310 100%
Field 310 62.0%
Field 310 38.0%
Field 313 100%
Field 314 91.3%
Field 315 8.7%
Field 316 100%
Field 316 100.0%
Field 316 N
Field 319 100%
Field 319 100.0%
Field 319 N
Field 322 100%
Field 322 85.5%
Field 322 14.5%
Field 325 100%
Field 325 85.2%
Field 325 14.8%
Field 328 100%
Field 328 92.7%
Field 328 7.3%
Field 331 100%
Field 331 72.8%
Field 331 27.2%
Field 334 100%
Field 334 71.1%
Field 334 28.9%
Field 337 100%
Field 337 69.4%
Field 337 30.6%
Field 340 100%
Field 340 N
Field 340 100.0%
Field 343 100%
Field 343 67.3%
Field 343 32.7%
Field 346 100%
Field 346 75.2%
Field 346 24.8%
Field 349 100%
Field 349 76.3%
Field 349 23.7%
Field 352 100%
Field 352 93.4%
Field 352 6.6%
Field 355 100%
Field 355 70.0%
Field 355 30.0%
Field 358 100%
Field 358 38.1%
Field 358 61.9%
Field 361 100%
Field 361 63.1%
Field 361 36.9%
Field 364 100%
Field 364 70.2%
Field 364 29.8%
Field 367 100%
Field 367 73.9%
Field 367 26.1%
Field 370 100%
Field 370 100.0%
Field 370 N
Field 373 100%
Field 373 48.8%
Field 373 51.2%
Field 376 100%
Field 376 55.7%
Field 376 44.3%
Field 379 100%
Field 379 47.8%
Field 379 52.2%
Field 382 100%
Field 382 68.2%
Field 382 31.8%
Field 385 100%
Field 385 11.3%
Field 385 88.7%
Field 388 100%
Field 388 33.9%
Field 388 66.1%
Field 391 100%
Field 391 32.1%
Field 391 67.9%
Field 394 100%
Field 394 62.0%
Field 394 38.0%
Field 397 100%
Field 397 20.1%
Field 397 79.9%
Field 400 100%
Field 400 61.8%
Field 400 38.2%
Field 403 100%
Field 403 40.9%
Field 403 59.1%
Field 406 100%
Field 406 73.5%
Field 406 26.5%
Field 409 100%
Field 409 100.0%
Field 409 N
Field 412 100%
Field 412 61.0%
Field 412 39.0%
Field 415 100%
Field 415 81.7%
Field 415 18.3%
Field 418 100%
Field 418 71.4%
Field 418 28.6%
Field 421 100%
Field 421 91.6%
Field 421 8.4%
Field 424 100%
Field 424 44.8%
Field 424 55.2%
 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Educational Attainment Foreign Born
Population (age 25 and older) 26,025
Less than high school diploma 20.2%
High school diploma or GED 22.7%
Some college or associate's degree 20.7%
Bachelor's degree 25.1%
Graduate or professional degree 11.3%
% Foreign Born among Adults with  
Less than high school diploma 12.7%
Bachelor's degree or higher 5.0%
Educational Attainment: Change over Time  
Adults with no high school diploma  
% change: 2000-2022 43.9%
% change: 1990-2000 33.5%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher  
% change: 2000-2022 286.7%
% change: 1990-2000 115.2%
Educational Attainment by U.S. Citizenship Status (foreign-born adults, age 25 and older)

Note: 1) Data for Alaska, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming are from the U.S. Census Bureau's pooled 2018-2022 American Community Survey (ACS). Data for the United States overall and for the remaining states are from the 2022 ACS. 2) The letter N Indicates that a number could not be provided by the Census Bureau because the number of sample cases was too small for this state.

 
Naturalized citizens (%) 12,019
Less than high school diploma 20.3%
High school diploma or GED 27.3%
Some college or associate's degree 22.2%
Bachelor's degree 19.4%
Graduate or professional degree 10.9%
Noncitizens (%) 14,206
Less than high school diploma 29.7%
High school diploma or GED 26%
Some college or associate's degree 13.2%
Bachelor's degree 19.8%
Graduate or professional degree 11.3%
U.S. Born
Population (age 25 and older) 579,710
Less than high school diploma 6.2%
High school diploma or GED 29.5%
Some college or associate's degree 32.9%
Bachelor's degree 21.6%
Graduate or professional degree 9.8%
% Foreign Born among Adults with  
Nothing  
Nothing  
Educational Attainment: Change over Time  
Adults with no high school diploma  
% change: 2000-2011 -48.5%
% change: 1990-2000 -27.6%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher  
% change: 2000-2011 80.5%
% change: 1990-2000 41.2%
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Foreign Born
Population (age 25 and older) 10,394
Less than high school diploma 35.1%
High school diploma or GED 22.9%
Some college or associate's degree 18.4%
Bachelor's degree 10.9%
Graduate or professional degree 12.7%
% Foreign Born among Adults with  
Less than high school diploma 5.0%
Bachelor's degree or higher 2.4%
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
U.S. Born
Population (age 25 and older) 465,549
Less than high school diploma 15.1%
High school diploma or GED 33.2%
Some college or associate's degree 30.2%
Bachelor's degree 15.8%
Graduate or professional degree 5.9%
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Foreign Born
Population (age 25 and older) 6,221
Less than high school diploma 44.0%
High school diploma or GED 18.4%
Some college or associate's degree 19.3%
Bachelor's degree 9.6%
Graduate or professional degree 8.7%
% Foreign Born among Adults with  
Less than high school diploma 2.7%
Bachelor's degree or higher 1.6%
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
U.S. Born
Population (age 25 and older) 421,391
Less than high school diploma 23.0%
High school diploma or GED 34.1%
Some college or associate's degree 26.0%
Bachelor's degree 12.3%
Graduate or professional degree 4.6%
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Sources: Migration Policy Institute tabulations of the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) and Decennial Census. Unless stated otherwise, 2022 data are from the one-year ACS file. For information about ACS definitions, click here. For ACS methodology, sampling error, and nonsampling error, click here. Estimates from 1990 and 2000 Decennial Census data as well as ACS microdata are from Steven Ruggles, Sarah Flood, Matthew Sobek, Daniel Backman, Annie Chen, Grace Cooper, Stephanie Richards, Renae Rogers, and Megan Schouweiler. IPUMS USA: Version 14.0 [dataset]. Minneapolis, MN: IPUMS, 2023. https://doi.org/10.18128/D010.V14.0​.

Definitions

  • The term "foreign born" refers to people residing in the United States at the time of the population survey who were not U.S. citizens at birth. The foreign-born population includes naturalized U.S. citizens, lawful permanent immigrants (or green-card holders), refugees and asylees, certain legal nonimmigrants (including those on student, work, or some other temporary visas), and persons residing in the country without authorization.
  • The term "U.S. born" refers to people residing in the United States who were U.S. citizens in one of three categories: people born in one of the 50 states or the District of Columbia; people born in U.S. Insular Areas such as Puerto Rico or Guam; or people who were born abroad to at least one U.S. citizen parent.
  • The term limited English proficient (LEP) refers to any person age 5 and older who reported speaking English “not at all,” “not well,” or “well” on their survey questionnaire. Persons who speak only English or who report speaking English “very well” are considered proficient in English.

Data-related notes

  • The letter N indicates that an estimate could not be provided by the Census Bureau because the number of sample cases was too small for this state.
  • For “English proficiency of the foreign born by U.S. citizenship status” and “Educational Attainment by U.S. Citizenship Status”: Data for Alaska, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming are from the Census Bureau's pooled 2018-2022 American Community Survey (ACS). Data for the United States overall and for the remaining states are from the 2022 ACS. 
  • For “Language Spoken at Home (detailed, by English proficiency)”: Data for Alaska, Arkansas, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming are from the U.S. Census Bureau's pooled 2018-2022 American Community Survey (ACS). Data for the United States overall and for the remaining states are from the 2022 ACS.