Citable statement
In ACS 2024, 1,983 people living in South Dakota reported living in California one year earlier (± 862, 90% margin of error).
- Source ·
- U.S. Census Bureau, State-to-State Migration Flows: 2024 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates (Table T13). Official release Jan 21, 2026. Margins of error are 90% MOE.
- Status ·
- Latest available as of Sep 7, 2026. No 2025 state-to-state table is published.
- Limitation ·
- A previous-residence count of people, not household-goods shipments, trucks, or permanent relocations. The distance on this page is state-centroid straight-line, not driving miles. No price, fuel, or toll figure exists in this dataset.
- Cite as ·
- IMMERVEIL, “California to South Dakota migration, ACS 2024”, https://immerveil.fyi/routes/california-to-south-dakota — derived from U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2024 1-year Table T13.
What the figure measures
Tabulation of current state of residence crossed by state of residence 1 year ago. This is a 1-year mobility / previous-residence statistic, not a count of household-goods shipments.
Universe: population 1 year and over. Dataset: State-to-State Migration Flows: 2024 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates (Table T13). Official release: Jan 21, 2026. Last checked: Sep 7, 2026. Status: LATEST AVAILABLE. Margins of error in these tables are Census Bureau 90% margins of error.
Corridor table
| Series | Estimate | 90% MOE |
|---|---|---|
| California → South Dakota | 1,983 | ± 862 |
| South Dakota → California | 697 | ± 388 |
| California out-of-state movers | 661,205 | ± 21,844 |
| South Dakota in-from-other-state movers | 23,419 | ± 3,342 |
| U.S. different-state movers | 7,157,607 | ± 75,154 |
Corridor in context · derived from the table
What makes this pair different
- Rank among California outbound
- 40th of 50
- Rank among South Dakota inbound
- 4th of 38
- Rank among all state pairs
- 789th of 2,096
- Relative margin of error
- 43.5%
- Net direction at 90%
- Established
- Geography
- No shared border
0.3% of outbound
8.5% of inbound
Eligible pairs in ACS 2024 T13
90% interval 1,121–2,845
Difference ± 945
Long-haul (750–1,500 centroid miles)
South Dakota is the 40th largest of 50 outbound destinations recorded for California — 0.3% of the 661,205 people who left California for another state.
California is the 4th largest of 38 inbound origins recorded for South Dakota — 8.5% of the 23,419 people who arrived in South Dakota from another state.
Nationally, this is the 789th largest of 2,096 state-to-state flows that carry an estimate, a margin of error, and a reverse estimate in the 2024 table.
The 90% margin of error is 43.5% of the estimate: the Census interval runs from 1,121 to 2,845. Treat any single-year comparison inside that band as noise.
California → South Dakota exceeds South Dakota → California by 1,286 (2.85× the other direction). That difference is larger than its own 90% margin of error (± 945), so the net direction is distinguishable from zero at 90% confidence.
California and South Dakota do not share a land border. 1,121 state-centroid straight-line miles; IMMERVEIL planning band: Long-haul (750–1,500 centroid miles). Not driving miles.
Derivations: ranks are competition ranks among cells that carry an estimate (ties share a rank); shares divide the pair estimate by the state’s ACS total; the difference test uses √(MOE₁² + MOE₂²) per Census Bureau statistical-testing guidance; the distance band is an IMMERVEIL planning label on centroid miles, not a tariff zone. Corridor context module v1.0.
Distance note
1,121 miles is the state-centroid straight-line distance between TIGER-derived geographic centroids of California and South Dakota. It is not driving mileage, not a highway recommendation, and not a shipping zone. Driving or route miles require a city-to-city pair and a licensed routing provider — this page does not invent that figure. State centroids are computed with d3.geoCentroid on TIGER-derived polygons. Distances shown on state-to-state pages are state-centroid straight-line distances. They are not driving miles, not a highway recommendation, and not a shipping zone. Driving distance requires a city pair and a routing provider.
Planning checklist
- Confirm whether the shipment is interstate (subject to federal household-goods rules) or intrastate.
- Look up the mover’s USDOT before paying a deposit. Open Mover Check.
- Read the estimate type. Open Quote Check.
- Storage between pickup and delivery is common on long corridors — treat unit size as a range. Storage calculator.
Check a mover for this corridor
This pair is rendered for utility but is noindex until the ACS estimate, reverse flow, centroid distance, and relative margin of error pass the publication gate. Below index threshold (estimate ≥ 5000 and 90% MOE ≤ 50% of estimate). Page still renders.
Questions this page answers
- How many people moved from California to South Dakota according to the Census?
- The latest official figure is the ACS 2024 1-year estimate of people living in South Dakota whose residence one year earlier was California: 1,983 ± 862 (90% margin of error). It is a previous-residence statistic, not a count of household-goods shipments, trucks, or permanent relocations.
- Do more people move from California to South Dakota, or the other way?
- California to South Dakota is larger: 1,983 versus 697 in ACS 2024, a difference of 1,286. That difference exceeds its own 90% margin of error (± 945), so the direction is statistically distinguishable from zero.
- How important is South Dakota as a destination for people leaving California?
- In ACS 2024, South Dakota ranks 40th of 50 recorded destinations for people whose residence one year earlier was California, taking 0.3% of that state's out-of-state movers. Ranks are competition ranks among cells with an estimate; ties share a rank.
- Is the California–South Dakota mileage on this page a driving distance?
- No. 1,121 miles is the state-centroid straight-line (great-circle) distance between TIGER-derived geographic centroids. It is not driving miles, not a highway recommendation, and not a shipping zone.
- Is 2024 still the latest official state-to-state migration table?
- Yes. The Census Bureau released 2024 State-to-State Migration Flows on 2026-01-21. No 2025 ACS state-to-state table is published. Calendar year is not the dataset year.
- How should I check a mover for a California to South Dakota shipment?
- Use the USDOT printed on the written estimate. Look the number up in Mover Check (live FMCSA MCMIS census) and confirm the record on FMCSA SAFER before paying a deposit. IMMERVEIL does not rank, score, or endorse carriers.
- How much does it cost to move from California to South Dakota?
- IMMERVEIL does not invent a mover price, fuel, or toll bracket. ACS Table T13 and the FMCSA census do not contain those figures. Quote Check performs arithmetic on the amount printed on your estimate — including the 110% collect-on-delivery figure for a qualifying interstate non-binding estimate.