South Dakota•In office since 2019•Party: R

Kristi Noem

Serving as Governor of South Dakota since 2019. Evaluation based on verified public data.

Overall GradeB+

71.7 / 100

Ranked #15 of 50 nationally

Economy

77.8 / 100A-

Unemployment RateA+

2.0%

National avg 3.9%

Rank 2 of 5099 pct

Trend since took officefrom 3.0%

Median Household IncomeB-

$69,457

National avg $74,580

Rank 34 of 5033 pct

Trend since took officefrom $56,274

Job GrowthA-

5.0%

National avg 5.5%

Rank 21 of 5060 pct

Trend since took officefrom 2.0%

Real GDP GrowthA-

7.0%

National avg 8.0%

Rank 20 of 5061 pct

Trend since took officefrom 3.0%

Real Wage GrowthA-

3.0%

National avg 3.0%

Rank 19 of 5064 pct

Trend since took officefrom 1.0%

Fiscal Health

76.3 / 100A-

State Debt per CapitaA+

$1,200

National avg $3,580

Rank 4 of 5094 pct

Trend since took officefrom $1,400

Rainy Day FundC+

13.0%

National avg 14.0%

Rank 35 of 5031 pct

Trend since took officefrom 11.0%

State & Local Tax BurdenA-

8.4%

National avg 11.2%

Rank 4 of 5094 pct

Trend since took officefrom 8.5%

Credit RatingA+

100

National avg 90

Rank 12 of 5079 pct

Trend since took officefrom 100

Quality of Life

39.0 / 100D+

Poverty RateC+

11.7%

National avg 11.5%

Rank 24 of 5053 pct

Trend since took officefrom 12.0%

High School Graduation RateD

84.0%

National avg 87.0%

Rank 39 of 5023 pct

Trend since took officefrom 84.5%

Life ExpectancyB-

77.7 yrs

National avg 77.5 yrs

Rank 17 of 5067 pct

Trend since took officefrom 78.1 yrs

Violent Crime RateF

470 / 100k

National avg 380 / 100k

Rank 40 of 5020 pct

Trend since took officefrom 419 / 100k

Bridges in Poor ConditionF

15.5%

National avg 6.6%

Rank 48 of 504 pct

Trend since took officefrom 16.0%

How this grade is built

Each metric gets two scores: how the state ranks among all 50 states (60%) and how much it changed under this governor (40%). These combine into a 0–100 score per metric, averaged within three pillars — Economy, Fiscal Health, Quality of Life — then curved across the cohort so grades spread A–F.

Full methodology →