States · South Dakota · Union County

Dakota Dunes, South Dakota.

A community in Union County, with no city government of its own. Zillow publishes no home prices for it: see Union County’s.

Living in Dakota Dunes, Union County, South Dakota

Dakota Dunes, in Union County, had 4,020 people in the 2020 census. 67% of its homes are lived in by their owners and 33% are rented. Unemployment in Union County was 2.6% in August 2026, and the county had 0.7% fewer jobs in 2025 than the year before. The most residents work in schools and health care, then professional services.

People 4,020 in the 2020 census; median age 42.6
Household income Too few homes in Dakota Dunes for the Census survey to measure.
Unemployment 2.6% Union County, August 2026; 2.2% a year before
Homes 67% lived in by their owners; 33% rented
  • 1,519households
  • 60%of adults have a degree
  • 2%below the poverty line
  • 12 mintypical commute
  • 10%work from home

What residents work in

  • Schools, hospitals and social care24%
  • Professional and business services18%
  • Banks, insurance and property12%
  • Manufacturing8%
  • Building trades7%
  • Restaurants, hotels and entertainment6%

Employed residents by industry, from the Census survey. Union County had 9,566 jobs in 2025, 0.7% fewer than the year before (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Weather through the year

Average daily high and low for each month: coldest in January, 30° and 9°; warmest in July, 86° and 63° 0° 20° 40° 60° 80° J 30° 9° F M A M J J 86° 63° A S O N D
Average daily high and low for each month: coldest in January, 30° and 9°; warmest in July, 86° and 63° 0° 20° 40° 60° 80° J 30° 9° F M A M J J 86° 63° A S O N D

Coldest in January, with highs near 30° and lows near 9°; warmest in July, with highs near 86° and lows near 63°. About 30 inches of rain and melted snow a year.

Average daily high and low, 1991–2020, at the Sioux City Ang weather station, 8 miles away (NOAA).

Largest workplaces in Union County

  1. Lunchtime SolutionsCafeteria food services contractors616
  2. FIMCO PlantsSprayers and dusters, farm-type, manufacturing373
  3. Makers Pride North Sioux CityBakery products, dry, manufacturing300
  4. Thermo Bond BuildingsPrefabricated wood buildings manufacturing268
  5. Riverside TechnologiesComputer peripheral equipment merchant wholesalers202
  6. Siouxland Surgery CenterGeneral hospital193FTE
  7. Dakota Valley School District 61-8School district179FTE
  8. empirical technology, inc. - Corporate OfficeCorporate offices119

Staff on average in 2025, as each workplace reported it to OSHA with its injury records: 21 workplaces with 20 or more staff, 2,838 people in all across the county; Dakota Dunes has two of its own. Hospitals come from their Medicare cost reports (CMS, 2023) and school districts from the Common Core of Data (NCES, 2023–24); FTE marks full-time equivalent staff. Not listed: many offices and banks, which need not report to OSHA; military bases, whose staff OPM withholds; and, in about half the states, city and county governments.

Natural hazards

  1. Winter weatherVery high
  2. TornadoesVery high
  3. Inland floodingVery high
  4. Ice stormsRelatively high
  5. LightningRelatively high
  6. Strong windRelatively high

FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the risk each natural hazard poses to the people, buildings and farms in Dakota Dunes’ census tracts, against the rest of the country; all of them together, relatively high. It is meant for planning, not a substitute for a local risk assessment or a flood map: FEMA’s index.

From the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 census and its American Community Survey (2020–2024 five-year estimates), and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A survey, so each figure has a margin of error, and figures it is not sure of are left out. More on Union County.