South Dakota is ranked third in the nation for both overall Freedom and economic Freedom, state officials say

Rapid City, S.D. – According to the state officials, our state is one of the top-three Freest states in the nation, according to the Cato Institute’s Freedom in the 50 States project.

This index is based on state laws and other variables from January 2020 to January 2023.

This report also evaluates state COVID-19 responses and how they affected Freedom both during and after the pandemic.

South Dakota did not shut down during the pandemic.

Governor Noem was the only governor in America to never order a single business or church to close.

South Dakota’s ranking has gone up consistently since Governor Noem has been in office. The state was ranked 8^th in 2016 and 5^th in 2019.