Bank Statement Loans in South Dakota

Why Bank Statement Loans Matter in South Dakota’s Market

South Dakota home prices sit below the national average, and the state’s lack of an income tax keeps overall costs low. For self-employed borrowers, though, that affordability can still be hard to reach, because conventional loans are built around W-2 employees and penalize business owners and contractors who write off expenses on their tax returns.

Here’s why bank statement loans make sense for self-employed borrowers in South Dakota:

• South Dakota has a deep self-employed and small-business base. The state is home to more than 96,700 small businesses, which represent 98.9% of all businesses in South Dakota. Self-employed workers and contractors make up a meaningful share of the workforce, especially across agriculture, finance, healthcare, tourism, construction, and the trades.
• Write-offs make qualifying harder than it should be. The same deductions that keep a farmer, rancher, or small business owner healthy at tax time shrink the taxable income a conventional underwriter sees. IRS data shows that, nationally, sole proprietors report net income at roughly 20-23% of business receipts on average — well below the 50% of deposits Griffin Funding counts toward qualifying income by default. A profitable shop owner or contractor can look underqualified on paper even when the deposits hitting their account each month tell a different story. A bank statement loan looks at real deposits instead of an adjusted tax figure.
• Affordable prices keep loan amounts accessible. With the average South Dakota home value around $326,875, well below the national figure, borrowers can stay competitive when bidding on homes without taking on outsized loan amounts. Lower purchase prices, combined with no state income tax, can mean more manageable monthly carrying costs for self-employed buyers.

Sources: Zillow home value data (July 2026), U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy, and IRS Statistics of Income (Nonfarm Sole Proprietorships, 2008-2015; SOI Bulletin, Spring 2025).

How South Dakota Bank Statement Loans Work

South Dakota business owners and contractors who write off expenses often show a taxable income far below what they actually earn. This tends to leave them underqualified on paper for conventional loans, even when their cash flow tells a different story.

Bank statement loans qualify you based on cash flow shown in bank statements, rather than traditional tax-return income.

Griffin Funding reviews 12 to 24 months of bank statements and calculates income from actual deposit history. The percentage of deposits that count toward your income depends on whether you use personal or business bank statements. Personal statements count 100% of deposits; business statements typically apply a 50% expense factor, which can go as low as 10% depending on your business type.

To qualify for a bank statement loan, you’ll need:

• Credit score: 620 minimum
• Self-employment history: 2 years minimum (or 1 year if you’ve stayed in the same industry)
• Down payment: 10% with a 680+ credit score; 20% minimum with a 620-679 score
• Bank statements: 12 or 24 months of personal or business statements showing consistent deposits
• Property types: Single-family homes, multi-family homes, townhomes, condos, manufactured homes, and rural properties are all eligible
• LLC ownership: Properties can be held in an LLC

Prior bankruptcy requires a two-year waiting period before applying.

View Bank Statement Loan Requirements

Today’s Bank Statement Mortgage Loan Rates in South Dakota

As a national direct-to-consumer lender, Griffin Funding cuts out the broker markup and keeps non-QM (non-qualified mortgage) rates competitive. Your specific rate depends on your credit score, down payment, loan amount, and buydown points.

South Dakota Housing Markets for Self-Employed Buyers

From the Sioux Falls and Rapid City metros with the most economic activity to lower-cost regional cities and scenic Black Hills and river towns, South Dakota has real options for self-employed buyers at every price point. Here’s where borrowers are buying across the state.

Major Metros

• Aberdeen: Aberdeen sits in South Dakota’s most productive agricultural region and ranks among the most economically diverse micropolitan areas in the country, with medical device manufacturing, food processing, and Agtegra’s headquarters in town. That diversity means no single downturn takes your whole client list at once. Aberdeen also carries the second-lowest deposit requirement of any market on this page, so you get a regional commercial center at a lower qualifying bar than most of the smaller markets here.
• Sioux Falls: Among Sioux Falls’ major employers, finance and banking accounts for over 4,000 jobs across Wells Fargo, Citi, and First Premier Bank, while Sanford Health and Avera run competing hospital systems that make healthcare the city’s largest employment sector. Banks, trust companies, and hospital systems all outsource compliance, IT, marketing, and facilities work. That gives self-employed borrowers one of the deepest professional client bases in the state, and Sioux Falls still requires less monthly deposit volume than Rapid City or Spearfish.
• Rapid City: Ellsworth Air Force Base generated $799.3 million in local economic impact in fiscal 2023, and Ellsworth was selected as the first operational base for the B-21 Raider, with construction already underway and the first aircraft expected in 2027. Rapid City also functions as the retail and medical capital for a wide radius reaching into Wyoming and Nebraska. Construction, trades, and service businesses have a rare advantage here, which is knowing demand is scheduled to grow, rather than hoping it will.

Affordable Markets

• Huron: Dakota Provisions processes 200 million pounds of turkey a year in Huron and employs over 700 people. Plants that size run continuously on outside contractors for sanitation, refrigeration, equipment repair, and logistics. Huron also hosts the South Dakota State Fair every September, which fills lodging, food service, and vendor work for the week it runs. It carries the lowest deposit requirement on this page, so it is the easiest market on this page to qualify for.
• Mitchell: The Corn Palace draws close to 500,000 visitors a year, and pheasant hunting season from October through December fills lodging and restaurants across the region. Local manufacturers produce trailers, truck parts, packaging, and industrial fans, so the work here is not seasonal alone. Mitchell needs less monthly deposit volume than Yankton or Vermillion, making it a practical first purchase while your statement history is still building.
• Yankton: Yankton supports Avera Sacred Heart Hospital along with manufacturers including Wilson Trailer Company, Applied Engineering, and Great Plains Processing. Yankton’s industrial and healthcare employment bases are unusual for a city its size, so you can bid on hospital and plant contracts without facing the vendor pool a larger market would typically come with. Both contract out maintenance, fabrication, and skilled trades on service agreements rather than seasonal spikes. That steadiness produces deposit volume across the full 12 to 24 months a bank statement loan averages, which is what determines your qualifying income.

Lifestyle Markets

• Vermillion: The University of South Dakota employs over 1,200 Vermillion residents, with over 10,400 students living and spending in town. A student population that size in a city this small means restaurants, services, and rental maintenance have more demand than local competition can absorb. Vermillion also requires less monthly deposit volume than Brookings or Sioux Falls, so the university economy comes at a reachable entry point.
• Brookings: Founded by two SDSU engineering professors, Daktronics, one of the state’s largest employers, is still headquartered in Brookings, which is South Dakota’s second-largest manufacturing community. Major employers in Brookings also include 3M, Walmart, Larson Manufacturing, and Aramak. Engineering, industrial design, and technical services all find contract work here, and Brookings still requires less monthly deposit volume than Sioux Falls or Rapid City.
• Spearfish: Spearfish has one of the broadest economies in western South Dakota, spanning education, healthcare, and tourism, with Black Hills State University in town and Spearfish Canyon at the city’s edge. Tourism built on Black Hills outdoor recreation is a major economic factor here, which supports anyone in hospitality, guiding, or the trades serving visitors. Spearfish asks for more monthly deposit volume than any other market on this page, including Sioux Falls, so the lifestyle premium here is real and worth pricing before you commit.

Free Tools for Self-Employed Borrowers in South Dakota

Run the numbers before you commit. These free tools give you an instant read on your buying power and the South Dakota market.

• Bank Statement Loan Calculator: Quickly estimate how much home you could afford with a South Dakota bank statement loan. 
• Bank Statement Loan Refinance Calculator: See how much you could potentially save using a bank statement refinance loan in South Dakota. 
• Home Affordability Calculator: Get a better idea of how much home you may be able to afford based on your financial profile and mortgage details. 
• Housing Market Insights: Explore estimated values, transaction history, and appreciation trends for properties across the state of South Dakota. 

Apply for a Bank Statement Home Loan in South Dakota

Self-employed borrowers with non-traditional income still have options to purchase property in South Dakota. With a bank statement home loan, you can qualify for up to $4.5 million in financing, no tax returns or pay stubs required. Down payments start at 10% for qualified borrowers.

Griffin Funding has helped self-employed borrowers, small business owners, freelancers, tradespeople, and independent contractors qualify for bank statement mortgage loans across South Dakota. We lend throughout the entire state, from Sioux Falls, Rapid City, and Aberdeen to Spearfish, Brookings, and Vermillion, and the value markets of Yankton, Mitchell, and Huron.

Reach out today to learn more about how to qualify for a mortgage in South Dakota if you’re self-employed. If you’re ready to get pre-approved and lock in your rate, get started online.

• Guy Troxler, Griffin Funding South Dakota Loan Officer | NMLS# 1642169
• Joshua Miller, Griffin Funding South Dakota Loan Officer | NMLS# 1640013
• Malik Abiola, Griffin Funding South Dakota Loan Officer | NMLS# 1877867
• Ryne Sweeney, Griffin Funding South Dakota Loan Officer | NMLS# 2415016