Has South Dakota always had 1 U.S. House seat?

South Dakota won’t be redrawing congressional boundaries anytime soon, since the state already has the minimum of one seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, but that wasn’t always the case.

It started with two seats at statehood in 1889. That increased to three seats in 1912: the First District included Sioux Falls and Yankton; the second, Aberdeen, Brookings and Huron; and the Third District was west of the Missouri River.

Three districts became two in 1932 (West River and East River) and then one at-large congressional district in 1982. 

House seats are determined by a state’s population. Every 10 years after the U.S. Census is conducted, seats are reapportioned. All 50 states receive at least one, and the remaining 385 (435 total) are divided based on population distribution.

South Dakota will have a new U.S. House member in 2027, as incumbent Dusty Johnson is running for governor.