South Dakotans were among the nation's leaders in income growth last year while making more money than they did in 2010.
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis shows South Dakotan's personal incomes grew by 6.2 percent last year. It is the fifth greatest increase among all states. Personal incomes nationally rose by 5.1 percent.
Lt . Governor Matt Michels said the state fared better than others because of its stable economic base. He added that the state has one of the best tax climates in the nation, and businesses are taking notice of it.
"We're promoting job training, getting people back to work and trying to further stimulate the South Dakota economy," Michels said. "The farm and ranch sector has been a steady hand, our thriving tourism community also helped raise person income, and manufacturing is on the upswing."
Over the past five years, the average annual growth of South Dakota's personal income was 5.2 percent and ranked second in the nation – behind only North Dakota. During the same period, national average growth in personal income was just 2.9 percent.
