Data / Rankings / Annual precipitation / Counties in South Dakota

Counties in South Dakota by annual precipitation

Davison County had the highest annual precipitation of 66 counties in 2019, at 42.89 inches. Fall River County had the lowest, at 21.5 inches. The median was 34.1 inches and the figure for South Dakota was 31.39 inches. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

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Highest42.89Davison County
Lowest21.5Fall River County
Median34.166 counties
South Dakota31.39History

Map of counties, 2019

Aurora County: 39.91 inchesBeadle County: 37.2 inchesBennett County: 33.98 inchesBon Homme County: 34.26 inchesBrookings County: 40.66 inchesBrown County: 29.4 inchesBrule County: 37.93 inchesBuffalo County: 35.11 inchesButte County: 24.39 inchesCampbell County: 27.84 inchesCharles Mix County: 37.41 inchesClark County: 36.78 inchesClay County: 34.06 inchesCodington County: 36.41 inchesCorson County: 29.29 inchesCuster County: 26.07 inchesDavison County: 42.89 inchesDay County: 34.01 inchesDeuel County: 37.16 inchesDewey County: 29.16 inchesDouglas County: 40.91 inchesEdmunds County: 28.17 inchesFall River County: 21.5 inchesFaulk County: 30.36 inchesGrant County: 34.64 inchesGregory County: 37.14 inchesHaakon County: 26.08 inchesHamlin County: 38.04 inchesHand County: 35.47 inchesHanson County: 41.68 inchesHarding County: 23.8 inchesHughes County: 29.13 inchesHutchinson County: 38.64 inchesHyde County: 32.19 inchesJackson County: 29.14 inchesJerauld County: 37.57 inchesJones County: 28.98 inchesKingsbury County: 40.7 inchesLake County: 41.74 inchesLawrence County: 32.27 inchesLincoln County: 41.62 inchesLyman County: 33.68 inchesMcCook County: 40.22 inchesMcPherson County: 28.01 inchesMarshall County: 34.13 inchesMeade County: 27.78 inchesMellette County: 30.81 inchesMiner County: 41.31 inchesMinnehaha County: 40.47 inchesMoody County: 41.7 inchesOglala Lakota County: 26.28 inchesPennington County: 28.08 inchesPerkins County: 25.63 inchesPotter County: 28.63 inchesRoberts County: 34.41 inchesSanborn County: 39.64 inchesSpink County: 33.74 inchesStanley County: 28.59 inchesSully County: 28.13 inchesTodd County: 34.39 inchesTripp County: 32.72 inchesTurner County: 37.6 inchesUnion County: 35.04 inchesWalworth County: 27.68 inchesYankton County: 35.01 inchesZiebach County: 28.81 inches
  • Under 28
  • 28 to 29
  • 29 to 34
  • 34 to 37
  • 37 to 40
  • 40 and over
inches, 2019. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2019

Davison County: 42.89 inchesDavison County42.89Lake County: 41.74 inchesLake County41.74Moody County: 41.7 inchesMoody County41.7Hanson County: 41.68 inchesHanson County41.68Lincoln County: 41.62 inchesLincoln County41.62Miner County: 41.31 inchesMiner County41.31Douglas County: 40.91 inchesDouglas County40.91Kingsbury County: 40.7 inchesKingsbury County40.7Brookings County: 40.66 inchesBrookings County40.66Minnehaha County: 40.47 inchesMinnehaha County40.47McCook County: 40.22 inchesMcCook County40.22Aurora County: 39.91 inchesAurora County39.91Sanborn County: 39.64 inchesSanborn County39.64Hutchinson County: 38.64 inchesHutchinson County38.64Hamlin County: 38.04 inchesHamlin County38.04Brule County: 37.93 inchesBrule County37.93Turner County: 37.6 inchesTurner County37.6Jerauld County: 37.57 inchesJerauld County37.57Charles Mix County: 37.41 inchesCharles Mix County37.41Beadle County: 37.2 inchesBeadle County37.2Deuel County: 37.16 inchesDeuel County37.16Gregory County: 37.14 inchesGregory County37.14Clark County: 36.78 inchesClark County36.78Codington County: 36.41 inchesCodington County36.41Hand County: 35.47 inchesHand County35.47Buffalo County: 35.11 inchesBuffalo County35.11Union County: 35.04 inchesUnion County35.04Yankton County: 35.01 inchesYankton County35.01Grant County: 34.64 inchesGrant County34.64Roberts County: 34.41 inchesRoberts County34.41Todd County: 34.39 inchesTodd County34.39Bon Homme County: 34.26 inchesBon Homme County34.26Marshall County: 34.13 inchesMarshall County34.13Clay County: 34.06 inchesClay County34.06Day County: 34.01 inchesDay County34.01Bennett County: 33.98 inchesBennett County33.98Spink County: 33.74 inchesSpink County33.74Lyman County: 33.68 inchesLyman County33.68Tripp County: 32.72 inchesTripp County32.72Lawrence County: 32.27 inchesLawrence County32.27Davison County: 42.89 inchesDavison County42.89Lake County: 41.74 inchesLake County41.74Moody County: 41.7 inchesMoody County41.7Hanson County: 41.68 inchesHanson County41.68Lincoln County: 41.62 inchesLincoln County41.62Miner County: 41.31 inchesMiner County41.31Douglas County: 40.91 inchesDouglas County40.91Kingsbury County: 40.7 inchesKingsbury County40.7Brookings County: 40.66 inchesBrookings County40.66Minnehaha County: 40.47 inchesMinnehaha County40.47McCook County: 40.22 inchesMcCook County40.22Aurora County: 39.91 inchesAurora County39.91Sanborn County: 39.64 inchesSanborn County39.64Hutchinson County: 38.64 inchesHutchinson County38.64Hamlin County: 38.04 inchesHamlin County38.04Brule County: 37.93 inchesBrule County37.93Turner County: 37.6 inchesTurner County37.6Jerauld County: 37.57 inchesJerauld County37.57Charles Mix County: 37.41 inchesCharles Mix County37.41Beadle County: 37.2 inchesBeadle County37.2Deuel County: 37.16 inchesDeuel County37.16Gregory County: 37.14 inchesGregory County37.14Clark County: 36.78 inchesClark County36.78Codington County: 36.41 inchesCodington County36.41Hand County: 35.47 inchesHand County35.47Buffalo County: 35.11 inchesBuffalo County35.11Union County: 35.04 inchesUnion County35.04Yankton County: 35.01 inchesYankton County35.01Grant County: 34.64 inchesGrant County34.64Roberts County: 34.41 inchesRoberts County34.41Todd County: 34.39 inchesTodd County34.39Bon Homme County: 34.26 inchesBon Homme County34.26Marshall County: 34.13 inchesMarshall County34.13Clay County: 34.06 inchesClay County34.06Day County: 34.01 inchesDay County34.01Bennett County: 33.98 inchesBennett County33.98Spink County: 33.74 inchesSpink County33.74Lyman County: 33.68 inchesLyman County33.68Tripp County: 32.72 inchesTripp County32.72Lawrence County: 32.27 inchesLawrence County32.27
inches. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2019
inches		Change on 2018
1Davison County42.89+61.4%
2Lake County41.74+33.7%
3Moody County41.7+17.4%
4Hanson County41.68+49%
5Lincoln County41.62-2.5%
6Miner County41.31+63.6%
7Douglas County40.91+37.1%
8Kingsbury County40.7+73.9%
9Brookings County40.66+24.5%
10Minnehaha County40.47+7.9%
11McCook County40.22+21.4%
12Aurora County39.91+59.9%
13Sanborn County39.64+66.8%
14Hutchinson County38.64+12.3%
15Hamlin County38.04+53.6%
16Brule County37.93+56%
17Turner County37.6-2.1%
18Jerauld County37.57+65.1%
19Charles Mix County37.41+17%
20Beadle County37.2+72.8%
21Deuel County37.16+27.2%
22Gregory County37.14+22.7%
23Clark County36.78+67.4%
24Codington County36.41+53.6%
25Hand County35.47+45.5%
26Buffalo County35.11+55.3%
27Union County35.04-10.9%
28Yankton County35.01-11.3%
29Grant County34.64+40.5%
30Roberts County34.41+47.1%
31Todd County34.39+16.6%
32Bon Homme County34.26-6.7%
33Marshall County34.13+50.4%
34Clay County34.06-12.5%
35Day County34.01+53.8%
36Bennett County33.98+25.3%
37Spink County33.74+61.5%
38Lyman County33.68+46.2%
39Tripp County32.72+31.1%
40Lawrence County32.27+10.4%
41Hyde County32.19+50.4%
42Mellette County30.81+39.3%
43Faulk County30.36+50.1%
44Brown County29.4+45%
45Corson County29.29+52.2%
46Dewey County29.16+50.1%
47Jackson County29.14+36.4%
48Hughes County29.13+55.7%
49Jones County28.98+51.3%
50Ziebach County28.81+60.1%
51Potter County28.63+51.2%
52Stanley County28.59+61.6%
53Edmunds County28.17+49.4%
54Sully County28.13+56.5%
55Pennington County28.08+22.9%
56McPherson County28.01+38.9%
57Campbell County27.84+37.1%
58Meade County27.78+29.6%
59Walworth County27.68+32.3%
60Oglala Lakota County26.28+22.5%
61Haakon County26.08+46.2%
62Custer County26.07+4.6%
63Perkins County25.63+46.6%
64Butte County24.39+19.6%
65Harding County23.8+38.6%
66Fall River County21.5-1%

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, 2019) [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, 2019. 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=2019. 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, 2019. 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=2019.

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, 2019 [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=2019 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{noaa_counties_in_south_dakota_2019,
  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, 2019}},
  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=2019. 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, 2019
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=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/south-dakota-counties?period=2019.
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?

Davison County, with 42.89 inches in 2019, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which county has the lowest annual precipitation?

Fall River County, with 21.5 inches in 2019.

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