List of counties in South Dakota 2024 | Top Cities in South Dakota

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List of Cities and Counties in South Dakota

Discover South Dakota population facts easily with our list of counties and cities. Find out how many people live in each area, from big cities to small towns, and see how South Dakota population is spread out across the state.

South Dakota Counties by Population

A county is an administrative subdivision of a US state or territory. As of 2022, South Dakota is divided into 66 counties.

The average population of South Dakota counties is 13,566; Minnehaha County is the most populous (199,685) and Jones County is the least (879). The average land area is 1150 sq mi. The largest county is Meade County (3,471 sq mi) and the smallest is Clay County (412 sq mi).

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#	County	Population 2020	Area (sq. mi.)	Density (people/sq. mi)
1	Minnehaha	199,685	809	246.83
2	Pennington	111,806	2,776	40.28
3	Lincoln	67,870	578	117.42
4	Brown	38,101	1,713	22.24
5	Brookings	34,639	794	43.63
6	Meade	30,173	3,471	8.69
7	Codington	28,427	688	41.32
8	Lawrence	26,165	800	32.71
9	Yankton	23,297	522	44.63
10	Davison	19,878	436	45.59
11	Beadle	19,121	1,259	15.19
12	Hughes	17,694	741	23.88
13	Union	16,872	460	36.68
14	Clay	15,150	412	36.77
15	Oglala Lakota	13,586	2,094	6.49
16	Lake	10,851	563	19.27
17	Butte	10,456	2,249	4.65
18	Roberts	10,163	1,101	9.23
19	Todd	9,286	1,388	6.69
20	Charles Mix	9,163	1,098	8.35
21	Turner	8,708	617	14.11
22	Custer	8,609	1,558	5.53
23	Grant	7,519	682	11.02
24	Hutchinson	7,411	813	9.12
25	Fall River	7,202	1,740	4.14
26	Bon Homme	7,014	563	12.46
27	Moody	6,315	520	12.14
28	Spink	6,269	1,504	4.17
29	Hamlin	6,255	511	12.24
30	McCook	5,695	575	9.90
31	Tripp	5,569	1,614	3.45
32	Day	5,414	1,029	5.26
33	Walworth	5,248	708	7.41
34	Dewey	5,246	2,303	2.28
35	Brule	5,242	819	6.40
36	Kingsbury	5,192	838	6.20
37	Marshall	4,304	839	5.13
38	Deuel	4,272	624	6.85
39	Edmunds	4,033	1,146	3.52
40	Gregory	3,977	1,016	3.91
41	Corson	3,872	2,473	1.57
42	Clark	3,855	958	4.02
43	Lyman	3,764	1,640	2.30
44	Hanson	3,505	435	8.06
45	Bennett	3,406	1,185	2.87
46	Hand	3,095	1,437	2.15
47	Stanley	3,032	1,443	2.10
48	Jackson	2,878	1,869	1.54
49	Douglas	2,821	434	6.50
50	Perkins	2,819	2,872	0.98
51	Aurora	2,748	708	3.88
52	Potter	2,475	866	2.86
53	McPherson	2,420	1,137	2.13
54	Ziebach	2,380	1,962	1.21
55	Sanborn	2,378	569	4.18
56	Miner	2,314	570	4.06
57	Faulk	2,137	1,000	2.14
58	Buffalo	1,923	471	4.08
59	Mellette	1,908	1,307	1.46
60	Haakon	1,835	1,813	1.01
61	Jerauld	1,636	530	3.09
62	Sully	1,476	1,007	1.47
63	Campbell	1,380	736	1.88
64	Harding	1,327	2,671	0.50
65	Hyde	1,236	861	1.44
66	Jones	879	971	0.91

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Top Cities in South Dakota by population

The most populated city in South Dakota is Sioux Falls. It’s the only city in South Dakota with a population of more than 100,000.

Let’s have a look at the Top Cities in South Dakota by population

#	City	Population
1	Sioux Falls	192,517
2	Rapid City	74,703
3	Aberdeen	28,495
4	Brookings	23,377
5	Watertown	22,655
6	Mitchell	15,660
7	Yankton	15,411
8	Huron	14,263
9	Pierre	14,091
10	Spearfish	12,193

Source: US Census 2020

Most Populous Counties in South Dakota

The most populous county in South Dakota is Minnehaha County with 199,685 residents. Its followed by Pennington County (111,806) and Lincoln County (67,870)

Let’s have a look at the Top 10 most populous counties

#	County	Population 2020
1	Minnehaha	199,685
2	Pennington	111,806
3	Lincoln	67,870
4	Brown	38,101
5	Brookings	34,639
6	Meade	30,173
7	Codington	28,427
8	Lawrence	26,165
9	Yankton	23,297
10	Davison	19,878

Least Populated South Dakota County

The least populous county in South Dakota County with 879 residents, it’s followed by Hyde County and Harding County.

Let’s have a look at 5 least populated counties in South Dakota

#	County	Population 2020
1	Jones	879
2	Hyde	1,236
3	Harding	1,327
4	Campbell	1,380
5	Sully	1,476

source: US Census 2021

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Largest counties in South Dakota by area

The Largest county by Land Area in South Dakota is Meade County with an area of 3,471 sq. miles. Perkins County with an area of 2,872 sq. mi. comes next followed by Pennington County (2,776 sq. mi.)

Let’s have a look at the Top 10 counties by Area

#	County	Area (sq. mi.)
1	Meade	3,471
2	Perkins	2,872
3	Pennington	2,776
4	Harding	2,671
5	Corson	2,473
6	Dewey	2,303
7	Butte	2,249
8	Oglala Lakota	2,094
9	Ziebach	1,962
10	Jackson	1,869

Smallest County in South Dakota by area

The smallest county by area in South Dakota is Clay County with an area of 412 square miles.

#	County	Area (sq. mi.)
1	Clay	412
2	Douglas	434
3	Hanson	435
4	Davison	436
5	Union	460

source: US Census report 2021

Most densely populated Counties in South Dakota

The most densely populated county in South Dakota is Minnehaha County, with 247 people per sq. mi. Next comes Lincoln County with 117 people per sq. mi. followed by Davison County (46/ sq.mi)

Let’s have a look at the Top densely populated counties

#	County	Density (people/sq. mi)
1	Minnehaha	246.83
2	Lincoln	117.42
3	Davison	45.59
4	Yankton	44.63
5	Brookings	43.63

Least Densely Populated County in South Dakota

Harding County with a population density of just 0.50 people per sq. miles is the least densely populated county in South Dakota

#	County	Density (people/sq. mi)
1	Harding	0.50
2	Jones	0.91
3	Perkins	0.98
4	Haakon	1.01
5	Ziebach	1.21

Sources