Data / Rankings / Annual precipitation / Counties in South Dakota

Counties in South Dakota by annual precipitation

Bon Homme County had the highest annual precipitation of 66 counties in 2016, at 33.37 inches. Harding County had the lowest, at 12.82 inches. The median was 22.92 inches and the figure for South Dakota was 20.68 inches. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

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Highest33.37Bon Homme County
Lowest12.82Harding County
Median22.9266 counties
South Dakota20.68History

Map of counties, 2016

Aurora County: 26.04 inchesBeadle County: 21.98 inchesBennett County: 20.85 inchesBon Homme County: 33.37 inchesBrookings County: 30.54 inchesBrown County: 23 inchesBrule County: 23.13 inchesBuffalo County: 21.06 inchesButte County: 13.22 inchesCampbell County: 20.92 inchesCharles Mix County: 28.62 inchesClark County: 23.83 inchesClay County: 32.01 inchesCodington County: 25.8 inchesCorson County: 19.18 inchesCuster County: 16.48 inchesDavison County: 29.55 inchesDay County: 22.84 inchesDeuel County: 29.9 inchesDewey County: 19.41 inchesDouglas County: 28.48 inchesEdmunds County: 20 inchesFall River County: 15.07 inchesFaulk County: 19.04 inchesGrant County: 27.41 inchesGregory County: 26.21 inchesHaakon County: 16.78 inchesHamlin County: 26.87 inchesHand County: 20.59 inchesHanson County: 27.47 inchesHarding County: 12.82 inchesHughes County: 19.16 inchesHutchinson County: 30.21 inchesHyde County: 19.14 inchesJackson County: 17.26 inchesJerauld County: 23.82 inchesJones County: 18.99 inchesKingsbury County: 26.64 inchesLake County: 27.3 inchesLawrence County: 18.49 inchesLincoln County: 32.37 inchesLyman County: 20.13 inchesMcCook County: 26.39 inchesMcPherson County: 23.09 inchesMarshall County: 23.81 inchesMeade County: 15.05 inchesMellette County: 18.77 inchesMiner County: 26.26 inchesMinnehaha County: 29.15 inchesMoody County: 31.08 inchesOglala Lakota County: 16.43 inchesPennington County: 15.75 inchesPerkins County: 13.97 inchesPotter County: 20.81 inchesRoberts County: 24.47 inchesSanborn County: 27.06 inchesSpink County: 20.07 inchesStanley County: 18.34 inchesSully County: 19.56 inchesTodd County: 23.87 inchesTripp County: 21.11 inchesTurner County: 29.29 inchesUnion County: 30.5 inchesWalworth County: 21.33 inchesYankton County: 32.07 inchesZiebach County: 17.62 inches
  • Under 18
  • 18 to 20
  • 20 to 23
  • 23 to 26
  • 26 to 29
  • 29 and over
inches, 2016. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2016

Bon Homme County: 33.37 inchesBon Homme County33.37Lincoln County: 32.37 inchesLincoln County32.37Yankton County: 32.07 inchesYankton County32.07Clay County: 32.01 inchesClay County32.01Moody County: 31.08 inchesMoody County31.08Brookings County: 30.54 inchesBrookings County30.54Union County: 30.5 inchesUnion County30.5Hutchinson County: 30.21 inchesHutchinson County30.21Deuel County: 29.9 inchesDeuel County29.9Davison County: 29.55 inchesDavison County29.55Turner County: 29.29 inchesTurner County29.29Minnehaha County: 29.15 inchesMinnehaha County29.15Charles Mix County: 28.62 inchesCharles Mix County28.62Douglas County: 28.48 inchesDouglas County28.48Hanson County: 27.47 inchesHanson County27.47Grant County: 27.41 inchesGrant County27.41Lake County: 27.3 inchesLake County27.3Sanborn County: 27.06 inchesSanborn County27.06Hamlin County: 26.87 inchesHamlin County26.87Kingsbury County: 26.64 inchesKingsbury County26.64McCook County: 26.39 inchesMcCook County26.39Miner County: 26.26 inchesMiner County26.26Gregory County: 26.21 inchesGregory County26.21Aurora County: 26.04 inchesAurora County26.04Codington County: 25.8 inchesCodington County25.8Roberts County: 24.47 inchesRoberts County24.47Todd County: 23.87 inchesTodd County23.87Clark County: 23.83 inchesClark County23.83Jerauld County: 23.82 inchesJerauld County23.82Marshall County: 23.81 inchesMarshall County23.81Brule County: 23.13 inchesBrule County23.13McPherson County: 23.09 inchesMcPherson County23.09Brown County: 23 inchesBrown County23Day County: 22.84 inchesDay County22.84Beadle County: 21.98 inchesBeadle County21.98Walworth County: 21.33 inchesWalworth County21.33Tripp County: 21.11 inchesTripp County21.11Buffalo County: 21.06 inchesBuffalo County21.06Campbell County: 20.92 inchesCampbell County20.92Bennett County: 20.85 inchesBennett County20.85Bon Homme County: 33.37 inchesBon Homme County33.37Lincoln County: 32.37 inchesLincoln County32.37Yankton County: 32.07 inchesYankton County32.07Clay County: 32.01 inchesClay County32.01Moody County: 31.08 inchesMoody County31.08Brookings County: 30.54 inchesBrookings County30.54Union County: 30.5 inchesUnion County30.5Hutchinson County: 30.21 inchesHutchinson County30.21Deuel County: 29.9 inchesDeuel County29.9Davison County: 29.55 inchesDavison County29.55Turner County: 29.29 inchesTurner County29.29Minnehaha County: 29.15 inchesMinnehaha County29.15Charles Mix County: 28.62 inchesCharles Mix County28.62Douglas County: 28.48 inchesDouglas County28.48Hanson County: 27.47 inchesHanson County27.47Grant County: 27.41 inchesGrant County27.41Lake County: 27.3 inchesLake County27.3Sanborn County: 27.06 inchesSanborn County27.06Hamlin County: 26.87 inchesHamlin County26.87Kingsbury County: 26.64 inchesKingsbury County26.64McCook County: 26.39 inchesMcCook County26.39Miner County: 26.26 inchesMiner County26.26Gregory County: 26.21 inchesGregory County26.21Aurora County: 26.04 inchesAurora County26.04Codington County: 25.8 inchesCodington County25.8Roberts County: 24.47 inchesRoberts County24.47Todd County: 23.87 inchesTodd County23.87Clark County: 23.83 inchesClark County23.83Jerauld County: 23.82 inchesJerauld County23.82Marshall County: 23.81 inchesMarshall County23.81Brule County: 23.13 inchesBrule County23.13McPherson County: 23.09 inchesMcPherson County23.09Brown County: 23 inchesBrown County23Day County: 22.84 inchesDay County22.84Beadle County: 21.98 inchesBeadle County21.98Walworth County: 21.33 inchesWalworth County21.33Tripp County: 21.11 inchesTripp County21.11Buffalo County: 21.06 inchesBuffalo County21.06Campbell County: 20.92 inchesCampbell County20.92Bennett County: 20.85 inchesBennett County20.85
inches. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2016
inches		Change on 2015
1Bon Homme County33.37+13.4%
2Lincoln County32.37+5.8%
3Yankton County32.07+10.9%
4Clay County32.01+6.7%
5Moody County31.08-0.2%
6Brookings County30.54+9.2%
7Union County30.5+1.8%
8Hutchinson County30.21+8%
9Deuel County29.9+6.1%
10Davison County29.55+13.5%
11Turner County29.29+2.4%
12Minnehaha County29.15-1.7%
13Charles Mix County28.62+7.8%
14Douglas County28.48+9.3%
15Hanson County27.47+8.7%
16Grant County27.41+14.7%
17Lake County27.3+5.4%
18Sanborn County27.06+5.5%
19Hamlin County26.87+1.5%
20Kingsbury County26.64+5.1%
21McCook County26.39+5%
22Miner County26.26+11.2%
23Gregory County26.21+1.9%
24Aurora County26.04+3%
25Codington County25.8+6.7%
26Roberts County24.47+18.4%
27Todd County23.87-3%
28Clark County23.83+5.6%
29Jerauld County23.82-9.6%
30Marshall County23.81+20.4%
31Brule County23.13-10.2%
32McPherson County23.09+9.7%
33Brown County23+7.3%
34Day County22.84+4.6%
35Beadle County21.98-10.4%
36Walworth County21.33-0.5%
37Tripp County21.11-7.7%
38Buffalo County21.06-9.5%
39Campbell County20.92+7.1%
40Bennett County20.85-20.5%
41Potter County20.81+1.5%
42Hand County20.59-15.2%
43Lyman County20.13-6.8%
44Spink County20.07-7.1%
45Edmunds County20-4.4%
46Sully County19.56+1.9%
47Dewey County19.41+1.9%
48Corson County19.180%
49Hughes County19.16-3.1%
50Hyde County19.14-11.9%
51Faulk County19.04-10.1%
52Jones County18.99-15.4%
53Mellette County18.77-18.2%
54Lawrence County18.49-34.5%
55Stanley County18.34-7.5%
56Ziebach County17.62-3.5%
57Jackson County17.26-29.9%
58Haakon County16.78-21.6%
59Custer County16.48-31.2%
60Oglala Lakota County16.43-33.1%
61Pennington County15.75-35.8%
62Fall River County15.07-32.7%
63Meade County15.05-32.2%
64Perkins County13.97-19.3%
65Butte County13.22-33.2%
66Harding County12.82-27.9%

Other periods

About this ranking

Total precipitation from January to December, in inches: rain plus the water content of snow and other frozen precipitation. NOAA computes it from its climate divisional dataset (nClimDiv): station readings interpolated onto a 5 km grid and averaged over the area.

Values are area averages, not the reading at one weather station. NOAA revises the last two years every month.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. From the NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (nClimDiv), doi:10.7289/V5M32STR. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. (2026). NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties (Counties in South Dakota by annual precipitation, 2016) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping

MLA 9

NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties, Counties in South Dakota by annual precipitation, 2016. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, 6 Oct. 2026, https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/south-dakota-counties?period=2016. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. 2026. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Counties in South Dakota by annual precipitation, 2016. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/south-dakota-counties?period=2016.

Harvard

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (2026) NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties, Counties in South Dakota by annual precipitation, 2016 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/south-dakota-counties?period=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{noaa_counties_in_south_dakota_2016,
  author = {{NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information}},
  title = {{NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties: Counties in South Dakota by annual precipitation, 2016}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/south-dakota-counties?period=2016. Publisher attribution: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. From the NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (nClimDiv), doi:10.7289/V5M32STR. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
TI  - NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties: Counties in South Dakota by annual precipitation, 2016
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/06
PB  - NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/south-dakota-counties?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/south-dakota-counties?period=2016.
N1  - Publisher attribution: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. From the NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (nClimDiv), doi:10.7289/V5M32STR. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which county has the highest annual precipitation?

Bon Homme County, with 33.37 inches in 2016, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which county has the lowest annual precipitation?

Harding County, with 12.82 inches in 2016.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Annual precipitation: other rankings

Counties in South Dakota: more rankings