South Dakota’s Native veteran homeownership rate has edged higher in recent years, but still trails other South Dakotans by a wide margin — a gap that Native housing advocates say represents both a market opportunity and a policy failure that can be fixed with the right investment, capital tools and lender alignment.
A report from the South Dakota Native Homeownership Coalition shows that 43% of Native veterans in the state own their homes, up from 39% in 2019, but still well below South Dakota’s overall 69% rate. The study, conducted by Big Water Consulting, surveyed 418 Native veterans across all nine reservations in the state between October 2023 and January 2025. Big Water presented the initial findings in June and the final statewide and tribal-specific reports were released in July 2025.
Nearly half of Native veterans surveyed said they want to buy a home. About 30% of…
