Counties in South Dakota by annual precipitation

Hamlin County had the highest annual precipitation of 66 counties in 2020, at 22.03 inches. Harding County had the lowest, at 10.76 inches. The median was 17.33 inches and the figure for South Dakota was 16.17 inches. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

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Highest22.03Hamlin County
Lowest10.76Harding County
Median17.3366 counties
South Dakota16.17History

Map of counties, 2020

Aurora County: 18.12 inchesBeadle County: 18.91 inchesBennett County: 14.08 inchesBon Homme County: 20.53 inchesBrookings County: 20.26 inchesBrown County: 17.37 inchesBrule County: 18.72 inchesBuffalo County: 18.62 inchesButte County: 12.71 inchesCampbell County: 13.72 inchesCharles Mix County: 21.53 inchesClark County: 20.35 inchesClay County: 16.29 inchesCodington County: 20.25 inchesCorson County: 14.61 inchesCuster County: 14.19 inchesDavison County: 18.24 inchesDay County: 16.97 inchesDeuel County: 20.07 inchesDewey County: 15.39 inchesDouglas County: 20.49 inchesEdmunds County: 14.39 inchesFall River County: 11.51 inchesFaulk County: 16.35 inchesGrant County: 18.04 inchesGregory County: 21.87 inchesHaakon County: 15.77 inchesHamlin County: 22.03 inchesHand County: 18.58 inchesHanson County: 17.3 inchesHarding County: 10.76 inchesHughes County: 15.72 inchesHutchinson County: 17.81 inchesHyde County: 17.64 inchesJackson County: 14.26 inchesJerauld County: 18.29 inchesJones County: 17.63 inchesKingsbury County: 21.91 inchesLake County: 17.56 inchesLawrence County: 19.11 inchesLincoln County: 17.36 inchesLyman County: 17.95 inchesMcCook County: 16.05 inchesMcPherson County: 16.1 inchesMarshall County: 16.7 inchesMeade County: 14.03 inchesMellette County: 16.69 inchesMiner County: 17.81 inchesMinnehaha County: 16.83 inchesMoody County: 19.27 inchesOglala Lakota County: 13.1 inchesPennington County: 14.14 inchesPerkins County: 13.15 inchesPotter County: 15.21 inchesRoberts County: 16.65 inchesSanborn County: 17.98 inchesSpink County: 17.77 inchesStanley County: 16.32 inchesSully County: 15.74 inchesTodd County: 17.49 inchesTripp County: 19.62 inchesTurner County: 16.43 inchesUnion County: 17.19 inchesWalworth County: 14.14 inchesYankton County: 17.68 inchesZiebach County: 15.46 inches
  • Under 14
  • 14 to 16
  • 16 to 17
  • 17 to 18
  • 18 to 19
  • 19 and over
inches, 2020. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2020

Hamlin County: 22.03 inchesHamlin County22.03Kingsbury County: 21.91 inchesKingsbury County21.91Gregory County: 21.87 inchesGregory County21.87Charles Mix County: 21.53 inchesCharles Mix County21.53Bon Homme County: 20.53 inchesBon Homme County20.53Douglas County: 20.49 inchesDouglas County20.49Clark County: 20.35 inchesClark County20.35Brookings County: 20.26 inchesBrookings County20.26Codington County: 20.25 inchesCodington County20.25Deuel County: 20.07 inchesDeuel County20.07Tripp County: 19.62 inchesTripp County19.62Moody County: 19.27 inchesMoody County19.27Lawrence County: 19.11 inchesLawrence County19.11Beadle County: 18.91 inchesBeadle County18.91Brule County: 18.72 inchesBrule County18.72Buffalo County: 18.62 inchesBuffalo County18.62Hand County: 18.58 inchesHand County18.58Jerauld County: 18.29 inchesJerauld County18.29Davison County: 18.24 inchesDavison County18.24Aurora County: 18.12 inchesAurora County18.12Grant County: 18.04 inchesGrant County18.04Sanborn County: 17.98 inchesSanborn County17.98Lyman County: 17.95 inchesLyman County17.95Hutchinson County: 17.81 inchesHutchinson County17.81Miner County: 17.81 inchesMiner County17.81Spink County: 17.77 inchesSpink County17.77Yankton County: 17.68 inchesYankton County17.68Hyde County: 17.64 inchesHyde County17.64Jones County: 17.63 inchesJones County17.63Lake County: 17.56 inchesLake County17.56Todd County: 17.49 inchesTodd County17.49Brown County: 17.37 inchesBrown County17.37Lincoln County: 17.36 inchesLincoln County17.36Hanson County: 17.3 inchesHanson County17.3Union County: 17.19 inchesUnion County17.19Day County: 16.97 inchesDay County16.97Minnehaha County: 16.83 inchesMinnehaha County16.83Marshall County: 16.7 inchesMarshall County16.7Mellette County: 16.69 inchesMellette County16.69Roberts County: 16.65 inchesRoberts County16.65Hamlin County: 22.03 inchesHamlin County22.03Kingsbury County: 21.91 inchesKingsbury County21.91Gregory County: 21.87 inchesGregory County21.87Charles Mix County: 21.53 inchesCharles Mix County21.53Bon Homme County: 20.53 inchesBon Homme County20.53Douglas County: 20.49 inchesDouglas County20.49Clark County: 20.35 inchesClark County20.35Brookings County: 20.26 inchesBrookings County20.26Codington County: 20.25 inchesCodington County20.25Deuel County: 20.07 inchesDeuel County20.07Tripp County: 19.62 inchesTripp County19.62Moody County: 19.27 inchesMoody County19.27Lawrence County: 19.11 inchesLawrence County19.11Beadle County: 18.91 inchesBeadle County18.91Brule County: 18.72 inchesBrule County18.72Buffalo County: 18.62 inchesBuffalo County18.62Hand County: 18.58 inchesHand County18.58Jerauld County: 18.29 inchesJerauld County18.29Davison County: 18.24 inchesDavison County18.24Aurora County: 18.12 inchesAurora County18.12Grant County: 18.04 inchesGrant County18.04Sanborn County: 17.98 inchesSanborn County17.98Lyman County: 17.95 inchesLyman County17.95Hutchinson County: 17.81 inchesHutchinson County17.81Miner County: 17.81 inchesMiner County17.81Spink County: 17.77 inchesSpink County17.77Yankton County: 17.68 inchesYankton County17.68Hyde County: 17.64 inchesHyde County17.64Jones County: 17.63 inchesJones County17.63Lake County: 17.56 inchesLake County17.56Todd County: 17.49 inchesTodd County17.49Brown County: 17.37 inchesBrown County17.37Lincoln County: 17.36 inchesLincoln County17.36Hanson County: 17.3 inchesHanson County17.3Union County: 17.19 inchesUnion County17.19Day County: 16.97 inchesDay County16.97Minnehaha County: 16.83 inchesMinnehaha County16.83Marshall County: 16.7 inchesMarshall County16.7Mellette County: 16.69 inchesMellette County16.69Roberts County: 16.65 inchesRoberts County16.65
inches. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2020
inches
Change on 2019
1Hamlin County22.03-42.1%
2Kingsbury County21.91-46.2%
3Gregory County21.87-41.1%
4Charles Mix County21.53-42.4%
5Bon Homme County20.53-40.1%
6Douglas County20.49-49.9%
7Clark County20.35-44.7%
8Brookings County20.26-50.2%
9Codington County20.25-44.4%
10Deuel County20.07-46%
11Tripp County19.62-40%
12Moody County19.27-53.8%
13Lawrence County19.11-40.8%
14Beadle County18.91-49.2%
15Brule County18.72-50.6%
16Buffalo County18.62-47%
17Hand County18.58-47.6%
18Jerauld County18.29-51.3%
19Davison County18.24-57.5%
20Aurora County18.12-54.6%
21Grant County18.04-47.9%
22Sanborn County17.98-54.6%
23Lyman County17.95-46.7%
24Hutchinson County17.81-53.9%
24Miner County17.81-56.9%
26Spink County17.77-47.3%
27Yankton County17.68-49.5%
28Hyde County17.64-45.2%
29Jones County17.63-39.2%
30Lake County17.56-57.9%
31Todd County17.49-49.1%
32Brown County17.37-40.9%
33Lincoln County17.36-58.3%
34Hanson County17.3-58.5%
35Union County17.19-50.9%
36Day County16.97-50.1%
37Minnehaha County16.83-58.4%
38Marshall County16.7-51.1%
39Mellette County16.69-45.8%
40Roberts County16.65-51.6%
41Turner County16.43-56.3%
42Faulk County16.35-46.1%
43Stanley County16.32-42.9%
44Clay County16.29-52.2%
45McPherson County16.1-42.5%
46McCook County16.05-60.1%
47Haakon County15.77-39.5%
48Sully County15.74-44%
49Hughes County15.72-46%
50Ziebach County15.46-46.3%
51Dewey County15.39-47.2%
52Potter County15.21-46.9%
53Corson County14.61-50.1%
54Edmunds County14.39-48.9%
55Jackson County14.26-51.1%
56Custer County14.19-45.6%
57Pennington County14.14-49.6%
57Walworth County14.14-48.9%
59Bennett County14.08-58.6%
60Meade County14.03-49.5%
61Campbell County13.72-50.7%
62Perkins County13.15-48.7%
63Oglala Lakota County13.1-50.2%
64Butte County12.71-47.9%
65Fall River County11.51-46.5%
66Harding County10.76-54.8%

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, 2020) [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, 2020. 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=2020. 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, 2020. 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=2020.

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, 2020 [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=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{noaa_counties_in_south_dakota_2020,
  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, 2020}},
  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=2020. 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, 2020
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=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/south-dakota-counties?period=2020.
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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Rank Counties in South Dakota by annual precipitation using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest annual precipitation?

Hamlin County, with 22.03 inches in 2020, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which county has the lowest annual precipitation?

Harding County, with 10.76 inches in 2020.

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