Where South Dakota, Minnesota & Iowa Rank – 2026 Windiest States

If you've stepped outside anytime in the past few weeks and felt like your hat was about to become a permanent resident of a neighboring county, you're not alone. We all know the feeling of leaning into a 40-mile-per-hour gust to get to our cars, but how does our local "breeze" actually compare to the rest of the country?

We've crunched the latest numbers for 2026, and while we might have a sense of humor about it, the data proves that the states of Iowa, Minnesota, and South Dakota are some of the absolute toughest places to keep a patio umbrella on the ground.

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Sout Dakota - WE'RE NUMBER 1!

World Population Review recently released its list of the 2026 'Windiest States' in the US, and while there are several different stats to look at, the most important for everyone is "Average Wind Speed". Unfortunately for South Dakotans, there's nothing "average" about the wind in the Mount Rushmore State.

Here's a look at the top-5 windiest states, according to the most recent data:

1. South Dakota: 21.32
2. Montana: 21.03 MPH
3. Wyoming: 20.88 MPH
4. Idaho: 20.59 MPH
5. Colorado: 20.16 MPH

Why is South Dakota #1?

It isn't just bad luck or "Mother Nature" having a bad day." South Dakota's top ranking is a perfect storm of geography and physics. Because it sits right in the middle of the North American continent and doesn't have major barriers like mountain ranges or giant forests to slow down the air, the Mount Rushmore State can get windier than a weatherman in a hurricane!

As for Minnesota and Iowa; they're no slouches either. The Land of Ten Thousand Lakes currently stands at 12th overall (18.51 MPH), and Iowa comes in at number 17 (18.09 MPH).

To see the full list, check out the article from World Population Review here.