SCOUTING REPORT | Owning it outright, seatbelt importance, assaulting witnesses, appreciating South Dakota places

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South Dakota joined a national trend of more homeowners living mortgage free. Those owners paid off their mortgages and chose to stay in the same home, or if they moved, they were able to buy a new home outright with the equity of their old home.

The state’s residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, had one of the highest rates of mortgage-free homeownership in the country.

The Census Bureau measured growth in mortgage-free homeownership from 2014 to 2024. Nationally, the free-and-clear owners rose 5 percentage points from 34.4 percent to 39.4 percent over that 10-year period.