Safe Rate Rankings

Best USDA Mortgage Lenders in South Dakota

Updated May 26, 2026

⚖️ The 4 PsRankings are calculated based on observed lender differences on closed loans across Pricing, Pull-through, Product, and Place.

🛡️ No Pay to PlayLenders cannot buy their way to the top. Rankings are 100% earned.

📊 HMDA 2024Built using publicly available originated loan data from the federal government.

🎯 Peer BenchmarkedPerformance is normalized and benchmarked against peer institutions.

Market

Total Lenders62

Total Loans8,496

Median Rate Spread0.14%

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Rank	Lender	Overall	Pricing	Product	Pull Through	Place	Avg Fees	Rate Spread	# of Loans
1	First Dakota National BankBank	Exceptional	Exceptional	Strong	Strong	Exceptional	$1,000Fees	0.112%Below	409
2	Dacotah BankBank	Exceptional	Strong	Strong	Exceptional	Exceptional	$1,902Fees	0.022%Below	256
3	Plains Commerce BankBank	Exceptional	Strong	Exceptional	Sound	Exceptional	$2,993Fees	0.057%Below	1,524
4	U.S. Bank National AssociationBank	Exceptional	Strong	Exceptional	Sound	Strong	$1,035Fees	0.050%Above	186
5	First Bank & TrustBank	Strong	Sound	Strong	Strong	Exceptional	$2,808Fees	0.156%Below	550
6	First International Bank & TrustBank	Strong	Sound	—	Exceptional	Exceptional	$1,402Fees	0.166%Below	261
7	American Bank & TrustBank	Strong	Strong	—	Sound	Exceptional	$2,147Fees	0.126%Below	243
8	CORTRUST MORTGAGE, INC.Independent Mortgage Company	Strong	Sound	—	Strong	Exceptional	$2,385Fees	0.063%Below	203
9	BANKWEST, INC.Bank	Strong	Sound	—	Strong	Exceptional	$3,213Fees	0.049%Below	163
10	CU MORTGAGE DIRECT, LLCIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Sound	—	Strong	Strong	$2,486Fees	0.050%Above	123
11	Gateway First BankBank	Strong	Acceptable	Exceptional	Strong	Strong	$2,269Fees	0.021%Above	105
12	FAIRWAY INDEPENDENT MORTGAGE CORPORATIONIndependent Mortgage Company	Strong	Mediocre	Exceptional	Strong	Strong	$2,181Fees	0.166%Above	276

How We Rank Lenders

Our rankings use geometric mean scoring across equally-weighted categories. This rewards lenders who perform consistently well across all metrics, not just excel in one area.

Our Point System (Max 40 Points)

Pricing

Rate and fee competitiveness (25%)

Pull Through

Reliability in closing loans (25%)

Product

Specialization in the loan type (25%)

Place

Local market expertise (25%)

Data Integrity & Updates

Data is updated quarterly based on the latest HMDA filings and proprietary SafeRate analysis. All metrics are calculated using standardized methodologies to ensure fair comparison across lenders.