South Dakota Small Business Sales Statistics

Updated October 13, 2026

South Dakota had 96,770 small businesses in 2022, which is 98.9% of all businesses in the state, and they employed 216,705 people, or 58.0% of the state's employees. BizBuySell's published tables do not include a metro area centered in South Dakota, so this page has no sale-price figures.

96,770Small businesses, 2022
216,705Small business employees, 2022
58.0%Share of state employees, 2022
3,840Establishments opened, Mar 2023 to Mar 2024

South Dakota small business context

South Dakota had 96,770 small businesses in 2022, which is 98.9% of all businesses in the state.

MeasureFigureData year
Small businesses96,770 (98.9% of all businesses)2022
Small businesses without employees74,0282022
Employers with 1 to 19 employees20,0782022
Employers with 20 to 499 employees2,6642022
Small business employees216,705 (58.0% of state employees)2022
Establishments opened, all businesses3,840March 2023 to March 2024
Establishments closed, all businesses3,196March 2023 to March 2024
Openings by small businesses3,646March 2023 to March 2024
Closings by small businesses3,026March 2023 to March 2024
Net job change, all businesses+7,448March 2023 to March 2024
Net job change, small businesses+6,662 (89.4% of the net change)March 2023 to March 2024
Female-owned businesses32,019 (42.6%)2022
Veteran-owned businesses7,289 (9.5%)2022

Source: SBA Office of Advocacy, South Dakota 2025 Small Business Profile. Business counts and owner demographics are Census data. Opening, closing, and job figures are Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Small businesses are firms with fewer than 500 employees.

About this data and its limits

  • BizBuySell's published geography tables list 66 metro areas plus New Jersey and none is centered in South Dakota, so this page has no sale-price or days-on-market figures. All figures here come from the SBA Office of Advocacy.
  • The tables use different periods: SBA business counts are 2022, and SBA job and openings figures run March 2023 to March 2024. Each period is labeled where it appears.
  • Counts of openings and closings include temporary closures and reopenings, according to the SBA Office of Advocacy.

To see what drives these numbers for your own business, read our valuation guides or browse industries.

Frequently asked questions

How many small businesses are there in South Dakota?

The SBA Office of Advocacy counted 96,770 small businesses in South Dakota in 2022, which is 98.9% of all businesses in the state. Of these, 22,742 had employees.

How many people work for small businesses in South Dakota?

Small businesses in South Dakota employed 216,705 people in 2022, which is 58.0% of the state's employees, according to the SBA Office of Advocacy.

How many businesses opened and closed in South Dakota?

Between March 2023 and March 2024, 3,840 establishments opened and 3,196 closed in South Dakota. Small businesses accounted for 3,646 of the openings and 3,026 of the closings.

Sources

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This page is informational. It is not an appraisal, an offer, or a prediction of what any business will sell for. Figures come from the sources listed and may change when those sources are updated.

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