The map above shows South Dakota and Virginia side by side at exactly the same scale, using equal-area projections, so their true relative sizes are preserved.
South Dakota vs Virginia Geography
Land area
- South Dakota has a land area of 75,808 square miles (196,342 km²), while Virginia has 39,481 square miles (102,256 km²).
- South Dakota's land area is 1.9 times (92%) larger than Virginia's.
Total area
- South Dakota: 77,116 square miles (199,729 km²) vs Virginia: 42,775 square miles (110,786 km²), including inland and coastal water.
- South Dakota's total area is 1.8 times (80%) larger than Virginia's.
Length
- South Dakota is 443 miles (712 km) long from north to south; Virginia is 223 miles (359 km).
- South Dakota's north-south length is 2.0 times (99%) longer than Virginia's.
Width
- South Dakota spans 371 miles (597 km) east to west; Virginia spans 466 miles (750 km).
- Virginia's east-west width is 1.3 times (26%) wider than South Dakota's.
Highest point
- South Dakota's highest point is Black Elk Peak at 7,198 feet (2,194 m); Virginia's is Mount Rogers at 5,729 feet (1,746 m).
- Black Elk Peak is 1,469 feet higher than Mount Rogers.
Lowest point
- South Dakota's lowest point is Big Stone Lake at 966 feet; Virginia's is Atlantic Ocean at 0 feet.
- Virginia's lowest point is 966 feet lower.
South Dakota vs Virginia Population and History
Population
- South Dakota has a population of 924,669 (2024), while Virginia has 8,811,195 (2024).
- Virginia's population is 9.5 times (853%) larger than South Dakota's.
Population density
- South Dakota: 12.2 people per square mile vs Virginia: 223.2.
- Virginia's population density is 18.3 times higher than South Dakota's.
Biggest city
- South Dakota's biggest city is Sioux Falls with 209,289 people; Virginia's is Virginia Beach with 454,808.
- Virginia Beach's population is 2.2 times (117%) larger than Sioux Falls'.
Largest metro area
- South Dakota's largest metropolitan area is Sioux Falls, SD-MN metro area (308,266 people) vs Virginia's Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area (6,436,489).
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area's population is 20.9 times larger than Sioux Falls, SD-MN metro area's.
History
- South Dakota: Admitted to the Union on November 2, 1889, as the 40th state.
- Virginia: Admitted to the Union on June 25, 1788, as the 10th state.
- In its current form, Virginia is the older of the two by 101 years.
South Dakota vs Virginia Economy
GDP
- South Dakota's GDP is $76.8 billion (2024) vs Virginia's $761.7 billion.
- Virginia's economic output is 9.9 times (892%) larger than South Dakota's.
GDP per capita
- South Dakota: $83,052 per person vs Virginia: $86,451.
- South Dakota and Virginia have about the same GDP per capita.
Average income
- South Dakota: $75,699 vs Virginia: $77,351 average income per person (per capita personal income).
- South Dakota and Virginia have about the same average income.
South Dakota vs Virginia Counties
Number of counties
- South Dakota has 66 counties, while Virginia has 133.
- Virginia's county count is 2.0 times (102%) higher than South Dakota's.
Biggest county by area
- South Dakota's largest county is Meade County at 3,471 square miles; Virginia's is Pittsylvania County at 969 square miles.
- Meade County's land area is 3.6 times (258%) larger than Pittsylvania County's.
Smallest county by area
- South Dakota: Clay County (412 sq mi) vs Virginia: Falls Church city (2 sq mi).
- Clay County's land area is 206.0 times larger than Falls Church city's.
Most populous county
- South Dakota: Minnehaha County (208,639 people) vs Virginia: Fairfax County (1,160,925 people).
- Fairfax County's population is 5.6 times (456%) larger than Minnehaha County's.
Least populous county
- South Dakota: Jones County (874 people) vs Virginia: Highland County (2,348 people).
- Highland County's population is 2.7 times (169%) larger than Jones County's.
Richest county
- South Dakota: Union County ($146,712 per capita income) vs Virginia: Arlington County ($131,624).
- Union County's income is 1.1 times (11%) richer than Arlington County's.
Poorest county
- South Dakota: Ziebach County ($32,778 per capita income) vs Virginia: Sussex County ($41,032).
- Sussex County's income is 1.3 times (25%) richer than Ziebach County's.
South Dakota vs Virginia Taxes
State income tax
- South Dakota has no state income tax, while Virginia has a top income tax rate of 5.75%.
- Virginia's top rate is 5.75 percentage points higher.
Property tax
- South Dakota: 1.02% effective rate vs Virginia: 0.71% of home value per year.
- South Dakota's rate is 0.31 percentage points higher.
Sales tax
- South Dakota: 6.11% combined state and average local rate vs Virginia: 5.77%.
- South Dakota's combined rate is 0.34 percentage points higher.
Official Websites
South Dakota official website · Virginia official website
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More Size Comparisons
All South Dakota size comparisons · All Virginia size comparisons
Area, elevation and boundary figures come from official national statistics and US Census Bureau and Natural Earth boundary data; US state population, economic, county and tax figures come from the US Census Bureau, the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Tax Foundation. Figures are rounded and for general reference.