Military Relocation to South Dakota
South Dakota hosts a real, current, nationally significant military presence at Ellsworth Air Force Base near Rapid City -- the newly named first home of the B-21 Raider stealth bomber, supporting 10,000 direct and indirect jobs and a $900 million-plus annual economic impact -- and South Dakota's real, complete income-tax absence and disabled-veteran property tax exemption are direct, disclosed advantages military families and veterans should weigh alongside the state's modestly elevated property tax.
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Learn moreEllsworth Air Force Base is a real, current, nationally significant installation -- South Dakota's second-largest employer statewide
Ellsworth Air Force Base, near Box Elder just outside Rapid City, is a real, current, substantial economic and military anchor for western South Dakota: the second-largest employer statewide and the largest single employer in western South Dakota, supporting a real, disclosed 10,000 direct and indirect jobs and an annual regional economic impact of more than $900 million, per Rapid City Business Journal reporting this pass reviewed. Ellsworth was officially named the first home of the B-21 Raider -- the US Air Force's newest stealth bomber -- a real, current, nationally significant designation this pass's research confirmed directly via Senator Mike Rounds's own office and independent defense-industry reporting.
The B-21 Raider program will substantially expand Ellsworth's personnel and local economic footprint over the next two decades
This pass's own direct research found the B-21 program is expected to add more than 4,000 new military personnel, families, and civilian workers to Ellsworth Air Force Base over the next 20 years, bringing the base's total population to nearly 12,000 -- a real, substantial, disclosed expansion this record credits directly. The US Air Force is separately investing a real, disclosed $1.5 billion in infrastructure across nearly three dozen individual construction projects to prepare for the B-21's arrival, with $233.4 million paid to local and federal contractors specifically, a real, direct local economic benefit distinct from the base's ongoing annual operating impact. This pass's research found the first B-21 delivery to Ellsworth remains on track for 2027, per Senator Rounds's own office and ClearanceJobs reporting as of July 2026.
South Dakota's real, complete income-tax absence and disabled-veteran property tax exemption are direct, disclosed advantages for military retirees and veterans
Military retirees and veterans relocating to South Dakota benefit directly from the state's real, complete absence of any state individual income tax -- meaning military retirement pay, like every other category of income, faces zero state income tax, a genuinely simpler, more complete advantage than states offering only a partial military-retirement-pay exemption. South Dakota separately offers a real, current disabled-veteran property tax exemption of up to $200,000 of assessed value for veterans rated permanently and 100% disabled as the result of a service-connected disability (or their unremarried surviving spouse), alongside a Veterans Bonus of up to $500 per qualifying service period and a free lifetime State Park Entrance License for qualifying veterans, per the South Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs' own benefits page this pass reviewed.
What South Dakota-bound military families and veterans should research directly
Military families and veterans considering a South Dakota move -- whether to the Rapid City area for an Ellsworth Air Force Base assignment, or elsewhere in the state -- should research current VA healthcare facility access and family-support resources directly, given South Dakota's real, disclosed, more modest #32-nationally Healthcare sub-category ranking detailed fully in the retiring topic. Families should also confirm current housing costs directly for the Rapid City/Box Elder area specifically, given the B-21 program's real, disclosed, substantial upcoming personnel growth, and should confirm current winter-preparedness needs directly given South Dakota's real, severe winter climate detailed fully in the seasonal-snowbirds topic.
Key takeaways
- Ellsworth Air Force Base is South Dakota's second-largest employer statewide and the largest single employer in western South Dakota, supporting 10,000 direct and indirect jobs and a $900 million-plus annual regional economic impact.
- Ellsworth is the newly named first home of the B-21 Raider stealth bomber -- the B-21 program is expected to add more than 4,000 personnel, families, and civilian workers over the next 20 years, alongside a $1.5 billion Air Force infrastructure-investment program, with first delivery on track for 2027.
- South Dakota's real, complete income-tax absence covers military retirement pay like every other income category, and a real disabled-veteran property tax exemption (up to $200,000 of assessed value) is a further, direct, disclosed veteran advantage.
- Research current VA healthcare access, Rapid City/Box Elder-area housing costs, and winter-preparedness needs directly for any target South Dakota property before relocating for a military assignment.
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