| Reservation | Population | Median Age |
|---|---|---|
| Pine Ridge | 18,744 | 27.7 |
| Cheyenne River | 7,640 | 30.1 |
| Standing Rock | 7,648 | 29.3 |
| Rosebud | 10,302 | 26.1 |
| Lower Brule | 1,600 | 23.4 |
| Crow Creek | 1,625 | 27.8 |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 5-Year Estimates; Census TIGER/Line AIANNH boundaries (2024).
The Missouri River runs through the heart of Lakota and Dakota country. The Oahe Dam, completed in 1962, flooded over 200,000 acres of the most fertile bottomland on these reservations -- the timber, the gardens, the sheltered winter camps. The Corps of Engineers called it progress. The people who lived there called it a taking.
Six nations -- Pine Ridge, Cheyenne River, Standing Rock, Rosebud, Lower Brule, and Crow Creek -- stretch along the river corridor. Together they are home to 47,559 people. The youngest populations in the state on the poorest land in the state, after the best land was drowned.
What follows is what the data shows. Not what anyone wishes it showed.
The charts below compare each reservation to the national average. The dashed center line is the United States. Every bar that extends from it measures how far these communities have been pushed from the benchmarks their own government sets. The redder the bar, the deeper the crisis. Read them not as statistics but as distance -- the distance between promise and reality.
| Reservation | Value | US Average | Deviation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pine Ridge | 6.9% | 0.4% | +1625.0% |
| Cheyenne River | 1.2% | 0.4% | +200.0% |
| Standing Rock | 1.4% | 0.4% | +250.0% |
| Rosebud | 2.4% | 0.4% | +500.0% |
| Lower Brule | 6.1% | 0.4% | +1425.0% |
| Crow Creek | 1.5% | 0.4% | +275.0% |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 5-Year Estimates.
6.9% at Pine Ridge lack complete plumbing -- 17.2x the national rate
Running water is not a luxury. In 2023, families on reservations haul water in jugs. The Indian Health Service estimates the cost to close the water and sanitation gap at $4.66 billion.
Water is sacred in Lakota culture. Communities that have maintained relationship with the Missouri River for millennia have the knowledge to build sustainable water systems -- if the funding arrives.
| Reservation | Value | US Average | Deviation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pine Ridge | 42.3% | 9.0% | +370.0% |
| Cheyenne River | 25.3% | 9.0% | +181.1% |
| Standing Rock | 22.9% | 9.0% | +154.4% |
| Rosebud | 25.3% | 9.0% | +181.1% |
| Lower Brule | 45.1% | 9.0% | +401.1% |
| Crow Creek | 49.5% | 9.0% | +450.0% |
49.5% at Crow Creek have no health insurance -- 5.5x the national rate of 9.0%
Miles from a hospital, no insurance, and IHS facilities that are chronically underfunded. The federal trust responsibility for health care is not being met.
Community Health Representatives -- local people trained to bridge the gap -- already connect families to care. Expanding their role is cheaper and more effective than building hospitals.
| Reservation | Value | US Average | Deviation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pine Ridge | 52.9% | 14.4% | +267.4% |
| Cheyenne River | 39.2% | 14.4% | +172.2% |
| Standing Rock | 43.1% | 14.4% | +199.3% |
| Rosebud | 60.5% | 14.4% | +320.1% |
| Lower Brule | 49.7% | 14.4% | +245.1% |
| Crow Creek | 27.3% | 14.4% | +89.6% |
60.5% of young adults at Rosebud live in poverty -- nearly 4x the national rate of 14.4%
Young adults carry the weight of generational poverty into their prime working years. Federal formulas that set reservation funding levels ignore these rates.
The youngest workforce in the region lives here. Every dollar invested in employment infrastructure returns to communities that circulate money locally, not to shareholders.
| Reservation | Value | US Average | Deviation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pine Ridge | 52.9% | 16.3% | +224.5% |
| Cheyenne River | 41.9% | 16.3% | +157.1% |
| Standing Rock | 57.5% | 16.3% | +252.8% |
| Rosebud | 59.5% | 16.3% | +265.0% |
| Lower Brule | 51.5% | 16.3% | +216.0% |
| Crow Creek | 37.9% | 16.3% | +132.5% |
59.5% of children at Rosebud live in poverty (US: 16.3%)
Children do not choose poverty. These rates are the result of a federal trust obligation that has been underfunded for a century.
These children grow up in extended families, surrounded by language and ceremony. Community-controlled schools are already showing what culturally grounded education can do.
| Reservation | Value | US Average | Deviation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pine Ridge | 12.2% | 5.2% | +134.6% |
| Cheyenne River | 17.8% | 5.2% | +242.3% |
| Standing Rock | 22.5% | 5.2% | +332.7% |
| Rosebud | 18.7% | 5.2% | +259.6% |
| Lower Brule | 8.9% | 5.2% | +71.2% |
| Crow Creek | 10.6% | 5.2% | +103.8% |
Unemployment at Standing Rock: 22.5% -- 4.3x the national rate
These numbers undercount reality. They exclude discouraged workers, seasonal labor, and anyone the survey could not reach on roads that do not appear on Google Maps.
Traditional economies and land-based work do not appear in BLS data. Ranching, hunting, wild harvesting, and ceremony sustain families in ways no unemployment rate can measure.
| Reservation | Value | US Average | Deviation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pine Ridge | 39.3% | 11.8% | +233.1% |
| Cheyenne River | 23.0% | 11.8% | +94.9% |
| Standing Rock | 31.4% | 11.8% | +166.1% |
| Rosebud | 40.0% | 11.8% | +239.0% |
| Lower Brule | 30.7% | 11.8% | +160.2% |
| Crow Creek | 25.5% | 11.8% | +116.1% |
40.0% of households at Rosebud receive SNAP benefits (US: 11.8%)
High SNAP participation reflects need, not dependence. When the nearest store with fresh produce can be 90 miles away, food assistance is the difference between eating and not.
Traditional food sovereignty movements are growing. Bison herds, community gardens, and traditional food ways are rebuilding food systems that do not depend on a supply chain designed to bypass these places.
| Reservation | Value | US Average | Deviation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pine Ridge | 18.2% | 8.3% | +119.3% |
| Cheyenne River | 9.4% | 8.3% | +13.3% |
| Standing Rock | 11.7% | 8.3% | +41.0% |
| Rosebud | 15.4% | 8.3% | +85.5% |
| Lower Brule | 21.1% | 8.3% | +154.2% |
| Crow Creek | 18.0% | 8.3% | +116.9% |
21.1% of households at Lower Brule have no vehicle (US: 8.3%)
In places with no public transit, no rideshare, and where -- as on Pine Ridge -- the nearest grocery store is 45 miles away, a vehicle is not a convenience. It is survival infrastructure.
Shared rides and informal community networks already move people across distances that would defeat any transit planner's model. Formalizing these networks is the path forward.
| Reservation | Value | US Average | Deviation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pine Ridge | 5.9% | 31.1% | -81.0% |
| Cheyenne River | 11.2% | 31.1% | -64.0% |
| Standing Rock | 13.4% | 31.1% | -56.9% |
| Rosebud | 26.9% | 31.1% | -13.5% |
| Lower Brule | 3.0% | 31.1% | -90.4% |
| Crow Creek | 4.4% | 31.1% | -85.9% |
Only 3.0% at Lower Brule hold a bachelor's degree (US: 31.1%)
When the nearest research university is three hours away and broadband barely works, a bachelor's degree is not an individual failure. It is a systems failure.
Tribal colleges are accredited, growing, and locally controlled. Distance learning, when broadband allows it, could close this gap within a generation.
| Reservation | Value | US Average | Deviation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pine Ridge | $13,420 | $43,289 | -69.0% |
| Cheyenne River | $23,378 | $43,289 | -46.0% |
| Standing Rock | $19,930 | $43,289 | -54.0% |
| Rosebud | $14,633 | $43,289 | -66.2% |
| Lower Brule | $13,320 | $43,289 | -69.2% |
| Crow Creek | $17,218 | $43,289 | -60.2% |
For every $1 of the national average, a Lower Brule resident earns 31 cents
The income gap is not closing. It is the arithmetic of extraction: land taken, resources exported, profits accumulated elsewhere.
Every dollar earned on a reservation circulates through a community that depends on it. Tribal enterprises, from gas stations to bison operations, keep those dollars local.
| Reservation | Value | US Average | Deviation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pine Ridge | $36,424 | $78,538 | -53.6% |
| Cheyenne River | $54,495 | $78,538 | -30.6% |
| Standing Rock | $41,843 | $78,538 | -46.7% |
| Rosebud | $38,650 | $78,538 | -50.8% |
| Lower Brule | $39,000 | $78,538 | -50.3% |
| Crow Creek | $46,750 | $78,538 | -40.5% |
Median household income at Pine Ridge: $36,424 -- $42,114 less than the US median
Household income this low means choosing between heat and food, between medicine and gas. Federal poverty thresholds do not account for the cost of distance.
Multi-generational households stretch every dollar. Tribal housing authorities and community land trusts are building models of affordable, sovereign housing.
| Reservation | Value | US Average | Deviation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pine Ridge | 58.7% | 36.5% | +60.8% |
| Cheyenne River | 35.2% | 36.5% | -3.6% |
| Standing Rock | 45.7% | 36.5% | +25.2% |
| Rosebud | 53.8% | 36.5% | +47.4% |
| Lower Brule | 56.5% | 36.5% | +54.8% |
| Crow Creek | 48.3% | 36.5% | +32.3% |
58.7% of working-age adults at Pine Ridge are not in the labor force (US: 36.5%)
When half the working-age population is not in the labor force, the problem is not motivation. It is distance, infrastructure, and an economy that was never built to include these places.
Caregiving, elder support, and cultural transmission are full-time work that the labor force metric cannot see. Many who are 'not in the labor force' are holding communities together.
| Reservation | Value | US Average | Deviation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pine Ridge | 59.2% | 89.7% | -34.0% |
| Cheyenne River | 77.6% | 89.7% | -13.5% |
| Standing Rock | 78.9% | 89.7% | -12.0% |
| Rosebud | 68.4% | 89.7% | -23.7% |
| Lower Brule | 62.9% | 89.7% | -29.9% |
| Crow Creek | 57.7% | 89.7% | -35.7% |
Only 57.7% at Crow Creek have broadband access (US: 89.7%)
Without broadband, there is no telehealth, no remote work, no distance education. Federal broadband maps consistently overcount coverage on reservations.
Communities that built their own phone systems and rural electric cooperatives a century ago have the institutional knowledge to build broadband cooperatives. Some already are.
| Reservation | Value | US Average | Deviation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pine Ridge | 80.7% | 89.4% | -9.7% |
| Cheyenne River | 87.5% | 89.4% | -2.1% |
| Standing Rock | 86.9% | 89.4% | -2.8% |
| Rosebud | 81.7% | 89.4% | -8.6% |
| Lower Brule | 80.1% | 89.4% | -10.4% |
| Crow Creek | 84.6% | 89.4% | -5.4% |
80.1% at Lower Brule have a high school diploma (US: 89.4%)
Lower graduation rates reflect schools that are underfunded, understaffed, and hours from the nearest college campus. The Bureau of Indian Education's own facilities are in documented disrepair.
Tribal colleges -- Oglala Lakota College, Sinte Gleska, Sitting Bull -- are among the most cost-effective higher education institutions in the country. They graduate students who stay.
These are snapshots -- a single year frozen in place. They tell you where we are, not where we are headed. The next question is whether the distance is growing or shrinking. That answer requires time.
Those were snapshots -- a single year frozen in place. They tell you where these communities stand, not whether the ground beneath them is shifting. The next question is harder: which way does the wind blow?
Chapter 2 froze the frame. These sparklines let it move. Each line tracks a single metric across seven years for six reservations. The dashed line is the United States. Watch the gap: is it closing, widening, or holding steady?
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2017–2023 5-Year Estimates (annual vintages).
| Reservation | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pine Ridge | 53.9% | 51.1% | 47.5% | 43.3% | 48.0% | 49.6% | 52.9% |
| Cheyenne River | 37.0% | 37.4% | 37.8% | 40.5% | 39.5% | 35.0% | 39.2% |
| Standing Rock | 45.5% | 41.0% | 41.2% | 36.5% | 39.3% | 39.9% | 43.1% |
| Rosebud | 56.5% | 61.2% | 63.1% | 63.8% | 67.8% | 63.9% | 60.5% |
| Lower Brule | 46.3% | 41.9% | 41.3% | 52.3% | 46.7% | 48.8% | 49.7% |
| Crow Creek | 42.9% | 40.3% | 39.6% | 34.8% | 40.0% | 37.6% | 27.3% |
| Reservation | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pine Ridge | N/A | $11,202 | $11,631 | $12,044 | $11,900 | $13,047 | $13,420 |
| Cheyenne River | N/A | $16,199 | $17,097 | $17,841 | $19,161 | $21,601 | $23,378 |
| Standing Rock | N/A | $16,459 | $16,143 | $17,070 | $16,711 | $17,988 | $19,930 |
| Rosebud | N/A | $10,457 | $10,253 | $9,820 | $9,942 | $12,387 | $14,633 |
| Lower Brule | N/A | $11,129 | $11,258 | $11,697 | $11,425 | $14,215 | $13,320 |
| Crow Creek | N/A | $11,995 | $13,235 | $12,647 | $13,348 | $14,638 | $17,218 |
| Reservation | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pine Ridge | 20.2% | 17.3% | 16.4% | 14.7% | 12.3% | 10.8% | 12.2% |
| Cheyenne River | 26.4% | 22.6% | 22.4% | 24.7% | 23.5% | 20.7% | 17.8% |
| Standing Rock | 24.0% | 21.3% | 21.2% | 20.4% | 21.9% | 22.7% | 22.5% |
| Rosebud | 15.5% | 14.2% | 9.0% | 13.0% | 16.1% | 16.4% | 18.7% |
| Lower Brule | 15.8% | 16.6% | 18.8% | 17.5% | 15.2% | 10.8% | 8.9% |
| Crow Creek | 17.9% | 17.4% | 20.0% | 20.6% | 18.7% | 15.3% | 10.6% |
| Reservation | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pine Ridge | 48.3% | 52.8% | 49.8% | 56.9% | 59.2% | 59.3% | 59.2% |
| Cheyenne River | 50.1% | 53.6% | 57.5% | 63.1% | 66.6% | 71.9% | 77.6% |
| Standing Rock | 53.3% | 53.9% | 59.2% | 66.5% | 71.0% | 74.7% | 78.9% |
| Rosebud | 44.5% | 41.5% | 39.1% | 41.0% | 45.5% | 59.8% | 68.4% |
| Lower Brule | 55.7% | 56.9% | 59.8% | 59.7% | 59.7% | 64.4% | 62.9% |
| Crow Creek | 44.7% | 52.6% | 53.2% | 60.4% | 60.0% | 58.7% | 57.7% |
Rosebud poverty: 60.5% -- rose while the nation fell
Lower Brule per capita income: $13,320 -- rose while the nation rose
Standing Rock unemployment: 22.5% -- fell while the nation fell
Crow Creek broadband: 57.7% -- rose while the nation rose
The trends say the gap is not closing. Now ask: why? The answer is not in spreadsheets. It is on the map. Look at where the services are. Then look at where they are not.
This is where the services are. The empty space between them is where people live.
| Reservation | Nearest Hospital (mi) | Nearest IHS (mi) | Nearest VA (mi) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pine Ridge | 30.8 | 9.4 | 45.1 |
| Cheyenne River | 8.4 | 6.8 | 7.8 |
| Standing Rock | 23.0 | 7.7 | 23.0 |
| Rosebud | 10.1 | 10.1 | 10.9 |
| Lower Brule | 42.4 | 13.0 | 47.5 |
| Crow Creek | 34.7 | 6.6 | 63.3 |
Sources: Homeland Infrastructure Foundation-Level Data (HIFLD); Indian Health Service Facility Data; U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs; Census TIGER/Line AIANNH boundaries.
You have seen the distance. Now count the cost. Every mile between a family and a hospital is a decision: drive or wait. Every mile between a child and a classroom is a day that starts at 5 AM on a bus.
The map showed you the empty space. Now count what it costs. Uninsured rates climb in lockstep with hospital distance. Income falls as SNAP participation rises. And the communities bearing these costs are the youngest in the region.
| Reservation | Uninsured Rate (%) | Hospital Distance (mi) |
|---|---|---|
| Lower Brule | 45.1 | 42 |
| Crow Creek | 49.5 | 35 |
| Pine Ridge | 42.3 | 31 |
| Standing Rock | 22.9 | 23 |
| Rosebud | 25.3 | 10 |
| Cheyenne River | 25.3 | 8 |
Red bars: uninsured rate. Amber line: miles to nearest hospital. The correlation is not coincidence -- it is geography.
Sources: Census ACS 2023 5-Year Estimates (uninsured rate); HIFLD, IHS, VA (facility distances).
| Reservation | Median HH Income | US Median HH Income | SNAP Rate (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pine Ridge | $36,424 | $78,538 | 39% SNAP |
| Rosebud | $38,650 | $78,538 | 40% SNAP |
| Lower Brule | $39,000 | $78,538 | 31% SNAP |
| Standing Rock | $41,843 | $78,538 | 31% SNAP |
| Crow Creek | $46,750 | $78,538 | 26% SNAP |
| Cheyenne River | $54,495 | $78,538 | 23% SNAP |
Each dot pair shows median household income. Red: reservation. Teal: United States. The percentage is SNAP participation -- the share of households relying on food assistance.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 5-Year Estimates.
These are not statistics. These are the distances between where people are and where help begins.
You have seen what distance costs. Now ask: what if these numbers are wrong? What if the reality is worse? The data you just read was built from surveys that strain to count communities they were never designed to see.
The numbers in this report are the first refined product from an unfinished extraction. Every figure here is an estimate (not a guess, but a statistically rigorous survey sample) designed for suburbs, applied to geographies where roads are unpaved, addresses don't exist, and response rates reflect a rational distrust of federal forms. The gaps you are about to see are not evidence that the mine is empty. They are proof that the ore has not been fully extracted. These communities have resources in every sense -- young populations, vast land, deep culture, federal program eligibility, and institutional knowledge that predates the survey by centuries. What they lack are the systems to identify and measure what is already there. Undercounting does not mean less is there -- it means more work is needed to find what is.
The grid below maps every American Community Survey indicator used in this report against every reservation. Each cell shows the confidence level of that estimate, measured by the coefficient of variation (CV), the ratio of sampling error to the estimate itself. Where the cell is dark, the Census Bureau is essentially guessing.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 5-Year Estimates. Reliability tiers derived from coefficient of variation.
| Indicator | Pine Ridge | Cheyenne River | Standing Rock | Rosebud | Lower Brule | Crow Creek |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poverty Rate (18-34) | H | H | H | H | M | M |
| Child Poverty Rate (<18) | H | H | H | H | H | M |
| Per Capita Income | H | H | H | H | H | H |
| Median Household Income | H | H | H | H | H | H |
| Unemployment Rate | M | H | H | H | M | L |
| Not in Labor Force | H | H | H | H | H | H |
| High School Graduate+ | H | H | H | H | H | H |
| Bachelor's Degree+ | L | L | M | L | ? | ? |
| Uninsured Rate | H | H | H | H | H | H |
| Broadband Access | H | H | H | H | H | H |
| No Vehicle Available | H | M | H | H | M | M |
| Lacking Plumbing | M | L | L | L | L | ? |
| SNAP Participation | H | H | H | H | M | M |
Read the dark cells again. Each one is not an empty field -- it is an unmeasured asset. But the issue is not only what is absent. The amber and red cells -- medium and low confidence -- are ore at earlier stages of refinement. A low-confidence estimate is not wrong; it means the sample was too small to be precise. Even what is present is often underreported. The Census cannot count the economic value of a bison herd, the health impact of a community health representative who speaks Lakota, or the educational return of a tribal college that graduates students who stay. Where the grid shows a question mark, the community holds answers the survey was never designed to ask for.
Cheyenne River lacking plumbing: 1.2%, but the 95% CI spans 0.2% to 2.2%. Pine Ridge bachelor's degree+: 5.9%, but the 95% CI spans 1.1% to 10.7%. Crow Creek unemployment rate: 10.6%, but the 95% CI spans 2.0% to 19.2%. The estimate could be near-zero or double. These are not rounding errors -- they are the sound of a survey straining to hear communities it was not designed to reach.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 5-Year Estimates. 95% confidence intervals from published margins of error.
| Place / Indicator | Estimate | CI Lower | CI Upper | US Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheyenne River: Lacking Plumbing | 1.2% | 0.2% | 2.2% | 0.4% |
| Pine Ridge: Bachelor's Degree+ | 5.9% | 1.1% | 10.7% | 31.1% |
| Crow Creek: Unemployment Rate | 10.6% | 2.0% | 19.2% | 5.2% |
Wide confidence intervals do not diminish these communities. They indict the measurement. A population the Census struggles to count is a population larger than reported. Income it cannot fully measure is income that flows through channels -- barter, extended family, traditional economy -- that no federal form was built to capture. Every margin of error that stretches wide is a community with more to discover, not less.
The Census Bureau relies on mailing addresses to distribute surveys. On reservations, many homes use P.O. boxes, rural routes, or no address at all. Group quarters methodology -- how the Census counts people in institutional or communal settings -- undercounts extended-family households that don't fit federal housing categories. Response rates on AIAN geographies are consistently the lowest of any racial group, and the Bureau's own quality metrics flag these estimates accordingly.
The ACS defines 'complete plumbing' as hot and cold piped water, a flush toilet, and a bathtub or shower. Families who haul water from a community well or river -- a daily reality on parts of Pine Ridge and Cheyenne River -- may still have a flush toilet and technically 'pass' the plumbing question. HUD's definition of adequate plumbing was written for urban infrastructure. It cannot see the water crisis in these communities.
The ACS 5-year estimates pool five years of survey responses to produce a single estimate. Even with pooling, AIAN geographies often have sample sizes under 100 households. For Crow Creek (population ~2,000), a single household's response can shift the unemployment estimate by a full percentage point. The confidence intervals you see in this report are the Census Bureau's honest admission: we asked, but we did not ask enough people to be sure.
We need better data. Not as a caveat. Not as a footnote. As a demand. Every wide confidence interval is a community the federal government has not counted carefully enough. Every missing reliability tier is a question no one bothered to ask. But here is what the uncertainty also tells us: these communities are larger, richer, and more capable than any survey has yet measured. The youngest populations in the region. Land that stretches to every horizon. Tribal colleges, bison herds, community health workers, language revitalization, food sovereignty movements -- none of it captured in a Census form. The absence of data is not the absence of wealth. It is wealth the instruments cannot yet see. This report is proof of concept. The ore is there -- more of it than anyone has counted. The refinery is what we are building.