South Dakotas rural areas have seen a net loss of population over the past three decades, though many of those people who left for cities like Sioux Falls and Rapid City also return to the small towns where they grew up, according to demographic trends.
South Dakota still has more than half its population living in rural areas. However, the U.S. Census Bureau has noticed a migration cycle of South Dakotans over the years.
Ben Winchester, a rural sociologist at the University of Minnesota Extension Department of Community Development, said the narrative that has been painted over the years is that most rural areas are dying.
That doesnt tell the full story, Winchester said.
Rural population trends are more of a cycle, according to his research as well as work done on a South Dakota newcomer survey by Kara Harders, the community vitality field specialist for SDSU Extension in Brookings.
The motivations behind someone returning are very different than them starting all over, said Harders. They go to college, go live life, and then get married, have kids and come back to take a slower pace of life.
Winchester said it is important to understand that when the population goes down, people are moving in and out. The movers out of rural communities are not only from the 18- to 25-year-old population but also older people who need medical services at regional centers, he said.
The average household size has gotten smaller in rural areas, decreasing population at those places. Kids from rural areas moving out after high school graduation also influences the population decreasing.
That is what the Weber family has been going through since 2014, when the oldest sibling, Brianna Easton, moved from Aberdeen to Brookings to attend South Dakota State University.
She got a job right after graduation in Sturgis but moved to Rapid City seven years ago. Easton used to commute to Sturgis every day, until she got a job in her new city.
After graduating from Northern State University in Aberdeen, her younger brother, Matthew Weber, also moved and found a job in Sioux Falls.
I was like, I kind of want to live somewhere different than Aberdeen, he said. Because at that point, Ive only lived in Aberdeen.
For different reasons, such as more job opportunities or trying new environments, both siblings now call Rapid City and Sioux Falls home.
Another major factor in South Dakotas net loss of population in rural areas is the large number of older residents, said Weiwei Zhang, an associate professor at SDSU expert in demographics.
When compared to South Dakotas metro areas, its non-metro region features a larger share of population 65 years old and older, she said.
That group increased from 16.2% of the states population in 2013 to 19% in 2023. At the same time, the number of people 25 and younger in those areas fell from 35.3% in 2013 to 34.5% in 2023.
Zhang said the key reasons why people are leaving rural areas can vary by case but are usually related to opportunities for jobs, education, access to services and resources.
For Benita Weber, she always figured that her daughter, Brianna, would move at some point, but she was not sure about Matthew until he started college, and she realized that maybe Aberdeen was not for him.
I dont know if there are a lot of job opportunities for him here, which there werent when he graduated, said Benita Weber. As a mom, you just want them to go where they are going to be happy and have an opportunity to get a job out of college.
Winchester and Harders agree that the main reason why people move in or go back to the rural community is the quality of life that those areas can offer.
People are not choosing to move into this one small town because they have a job there, said Winchester. They are choosing to look at a region, and they pick out schools and parks, and then they start to look for a job.
Thats what Benita Weber appreciates about Aberdeen. She enjoys the opportunity to get closer to other people living in a small town, to feel safer, and the opportunity to be easier to get around.
It seems like you get to know the people here, and you get to become friends with them, she said. I feel like in bigger cities, it is hard to get to know people.
Harders said most of the movers feel welcomed in their new communities and believe they will still be living there in five years.
She also said that another main reason why people choose to move back to a small town is that they want to be closer to their family.
If we were to move somewhere, I think maybe Spearfish, which is where my husbands parents live, said Easton.
But otherwise we like Rapid City, so were happy here.
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