South Dakota vs. New Mexico Cost of Living Summary

South Dakota is 10.4% cheaper than New Mexico.

Restaurants
pay 3.7% less in South Dakota
Groceries
pay 1.8% more in South Dakota
Transportation
pay 0.2% more in South Dakota
Housing
pay 11.5% less in South Dakota
Childcare
pay 50.3% less in South Dakota
Entertainment and Sports
pay 10.1% less in South Dakota
Clothing
pay 0.5% more in South Dakota

The cost of groceries, clothing, and transportation in South Dakota are more expensive than in New Mexico. Expenses including childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, and restaurants are lower in South Dakota.

South Dakota vs. New Mexico Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Dakota instead of New Mexico, you would:

pay 3.7% less for restaurants

 
New Mexico
South Dakota
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $17.70
 
$12.33
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.10
 
$10.19
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.48
 
$3.03
 

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pay 1.8% more for groceries

 
New Mexico
South Dakota
Bread
1 loaf
$3.08
 
$3.01
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.32
 
$5.97
 
Milk (1 gallon) $3.81
 
$3.68
 

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pay 0.2% more for transportation

 
New Mexico
South Dakota
Gasoline (1 gallon) $2.94
 
$3.00
 
Monthly public transit pass $32.00
 
$30.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $29,636.00
 
$35,568.55
 

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pay 11.5% less for housing

 
New Mexico
South Dakota
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$68.61
 
$49.40
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,407.44
 
$1,053.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,172.03
 
$974.82
 

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pay 50.3% less for childcare

 
New Mexico
South Dakota
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,218.00
 
$715.00
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $19,225.20
 
$7,800.00
 

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pay 10.1% less for entertainment and sports

 
New Mexico
South Dakota
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.40
 
$4.42
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.78
 
$4.69
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$9.57
 
$9.38
 

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pay 0.5% more for clothing

 
New Mexico
South Dakota
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$48.30
 
$47.89
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$47.80
 
$42.78
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$92.18
 
$89.39
 

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: March 2026
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