South Dakota cell towers at a glance
The FCC records list 915 cell towers and other antenna sites in South Dakota: every registered antenna structure that is built and still standing, plus the licensed cellular transmitter sites too short to need registration. That ranks South Dakota 38th of the 51 states and DC by number of registered sites. The most common structure is the tower, with 403 sites (44%). Sioux Falls has the most listed sites of any city, at 78.
To see the ones near you, tap Find towers near me above or type a South Dakota ZIP code. The list ranks sites by distance and shows the direction to each, its height and its owner.
Carriers on the record in South Dakota
AT&T is named on the most South Dakota sites, 107 of them (12%). A carrier is named only when it owns the structure or its cellular licence lists the site, so these counts are a floor, not a total. Most towers in South Dakota are owned by tower companies that rent space to several carriers without naming them.
| Carrier | Sites naming it | Share of South Dakota sites |
|---|---|---|
| Verizon | 14 | 1.5% |
| AT&T | 107 | 12% |
| T-Mobile | 3 | 0.3% |
Who owns the towers in South Dakota
The largest single owner name in South Dakota is CommNet Cellular Inc., with 121 sites (13%). Tower companies file under several subsidiary names, so one company can appear more than once below. Our guide to who owns cell towers explains which names belong together.
| Owner as filed | Sites | Share |
|---|---|---|
| CommNet Cellular Inc. | 121 | 13% |
| CCATT LLC | 113 | 12% |
| American Towers LLC | 58 | 6.3% |
| South Dakota Network, LLC | 33 | 3.6% |
| NorthWestern Corporation | 21 | 2.3% |
| BIT/State Radio Communications Engineering | 21 | 2.3% |
| EAST RIVER ELECTRIC POWER COOPERATIVE INC | 16 | 1.7% |
| Communications Center Inc | 16 | 1.7% |
Types of structure
| Structure | Sites | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Tower | 403 | 44% |
| Guyed tower | 231 | 25% |
| Lattice tower | 126 | 14% |
| Monopole | 77 | 8.4% |
| Pole | 36 | 3.9% |
| Other structure | 23 | 2.5% |
See types of cell towers for how to recognise each one.
Cities with the most listed sites
By the city named on each FCC filing. Filings use the nearest town, so rural towers count toward it. Each link opens the tower finder at the middle of that city's sites.
| City | Sites | |
|---|---|---|
| Sioux Falls | 78 | Towers around Sioux Falls |
| Rapid City | 31 | Towers around Rapid City |
| Aberdeen | 25 | Towers around Aberdeen |
| Brookings | 24 | Towers around Brookings |
| Mitchell | 22 | Towers around Mitchell |
| Pierre | 19 | Towers around Pierre |
| Watertown | 17 | Towers around Watertown |
| Yankton | 14 | Towers around Yankton |
| Vermillion | 14 | Towers around Vermillion |
| Huron | 12 | Towers around Huron |
Tallest registered structures in South Dakota
The tallest is a tower near Rowena at 1,998 feet (609 m) overall, owned by Gray Local Media, Inc.. Structures this tall are usually broadcast masts or buildings rather than cell sites, but many carry cell antennas partway up.
| Height | Type | City | Owner | ASR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,998 ft | Tower | Rowena | Gray Local Media, Inc. | 1042104 |
| 1,985 ft | Tower | Rowena | COMMUNITY TELEVISION SERVICES INC DBA = KELO TV | 1035413 |
| 1,706 ft | Guyed tower | Garden City | Nexstar Media Inc. | 1326676 |
| 1,706 ft | Tower | Garden City | Nexstar Media Inc. | 1035408 |
| 1,696 ft | Tower | Faith | SOUTH DAKOTA BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR EDUCATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS DBA = SOUTH DAKOTA PUBLIC BROADCASTING NETWORK | 1041089 |
What is not counted
FCC registration is required only for structures over 200 feet or near airports, so shorter monopoles, rooftop antennas and small cells in South Dakota are mostly missing unless a cellular licence lists them. Why a tower is missing from the map explains the gap. The data is rebuilt monthly from the FCC's bulk files.