Data / Rankings / Annual precipitation / Counties in South Dakota

Counties in South Dakota by annual precipitation

Grant County had the highest annual precipitation of 66 counties in 2021, at 29.99 inches. Harding County had the lowest, at 12.2 inches. The median was 18.92 inches and the figure for South Dakota was 18.15 inches. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

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Highest29.99Grant County
Lowest12.2Harding County
Median18.9266 counties
South Dakota18.15History

Map of counties, 2021

Aurora County: 18.46 inchesBeadle County: 20.17 inchesBennett County: 20.04 inchesBon Homme County: 19.81 inchesBrookings County: 24.2 inchesBrown County: 20.95 inchesBrule County: 18.07 inchesBuffalo County: 18.91 inchesButte County: 12.52 inchesCampbell County: 15.3 inchesCharles Mix County: 18.7 inchesClark County: 25.23 inchesClay County: 22.17 inchesCodington County: 28.75 inchesCorson County: 16.39 inchesCuster County: 17.31 inchesDavison County: 18.82 inchesDay County: 25.39 inchesDeuel County: 28.45 inchesDewey County: 15.58 inchesDouglas County: 19.23 inchesEdmunds County: 18.16 inchesFall River County: 16.02 inchesFaulk County: 18.62 inchesGrant County: 29.99 inchesGregory County: 18.73 inchesHaakon County: 13.72 inchesHamlin County: 27.32 inchesHand County: 19.41 inchesHanson County: 18.93 inchesHarding County: 12.2 inchesHughes County: 15.27 inchesHutchinson County: 20.39 inchesHyde County: 16.99 inchesJackson County: 16.19 inchesJerauld County: 19.34 inchesJones County: 17.17 inchesKingsbury County: 23.55 inchesLake County: 20.54 inchesLawrence County: 20.57 inchesLincoln County: 28.01 inchesLyman County: 19.09 inchesMcCook County: 20 inchesMcPherson County: 17.16 inchesMarshall County: 24.08 inchesMeade County: 13.8 inchesMellette County: 18.66 inchesMiner County: 19.09 inchesMinnehaha County: 24.13 inchesMoody County: 23.45 inchesOglala Lakota County: 15.96 inchesPennington County: 15.69 inchesPerkins County: 14.07 inchesPotter County: 16.07 inchesRoberts County: 28.31 inchesSanborn County: 18.16 inchesSpink County: 20.48 inchesStanley County: 14.47 inchesSully County: 14.74 inchesTodd County: 19.92 inchesTripp County: 18.83 inchesTurner County: 23.61 inchesUnion County: 22.16 inchesWalworth County: 17.4 inchesYankton County: 19.93 inchesZiebach County: 14.3 inches
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inches, 2021. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2021

Grant County: 29.99 inchesGrant County29.99Codington County: 28.75 inchesCodington County28.75Deuel County: 28.45 inchesDeuel County28.45Roberts County: 28.31 inchesRoberts County28.31Lincoln County: 28.01 inchesLincoln County28.01Hamlin County: 27.32 inchesHamlin County27.32Day County: 25.39 inchesDay County25.39Clark County: 25.23 inchesClark County25.23Brookings County: 24.2 inchesBrookings County24.2Minnehaha County: 24.13 inchesMinnehaha County24.13Marshall County: 24.08 inchesMarshall County24.08Turner County: 23.61 inchesTurner County23.61Kingsbury County: 23.55 inchesKingsbury County23.55Moody County: 23.45 inchesMoody County23.45Clay County: 22.17 inchesClay County22.17Union County: 22.16 inchesUnion County22.16Brown County: 20.95 inchesBrown County20.95Lawrence County: 20.57 inchesLawrence County20.57Lake County: 20.54 inchesLake County20.54Spink County: 20.48 inchesSpink County20.48Hutchinson County: 20.39 inchesHutchinson County20.39Beadle County: 20.17 inchesBeadle County20.17Bennett County: 20.04 inchesBennett County20.04McCook County: 20 inchesMcCook County20Yankton County: 19.93 inchesYankton County19.93Todd County: 19.92 inchesTodd County19.92Bon Homme County: 19.81 inchesBon Homme County19.81Hand County: 19.41 inchesHand County19.41Jerauld County: 19.34 inchesJerauld County19.34Douglas County: 19.23 inchesDouglas County19.23Lyman County: 19.09 inchesLyman County19.09Miner County: 19.09 inchesMiner County19.09Hanson County: 18.93 inchesHanson County18.93Buffalo County: 18.91 inchesBuffalo County18.91Tripp County: 18.83 inchesTripp County18.83Davison County: 18.82 inchesDavison County18.82Gregory County: 18.73 inchesGregory County18.73Charles Mix County: 18.7 inchesCharles Mix County18.7Mellette County: 18.66 inchesMellette County18.66Faulk County: 18.62 inchesFaulk County18.62Grant County: 29.99 inchesGrant County29.99Codington County: 28.75 inchesCodington County28.75Deuel County: 28.45 inchesDeuel County28.45Roberts County: 28.31 inchesRoberts County28.31Lincoln County: 28.01 inchesLincoln County28.01Hamlin County: 27.32 inchesHamlin County27.32Day County: 25.39 inchesDay County25.39Clark County: 25.23 inchesClark County25.23Brookings County: 24.2 inchesBrookings County24.2Minnehaha County: 24.13 inchesMinnehaha County24.13Marshall County: 24.08 inchesMarshall County24.08Turner County: 23.61 inchesTurner County23.61Kingsbury County: 23.55 inchesKingsbury County23.55Moody County: 23.45 inchesMoody County23.45Clay County: 22.17 inchesClay County22.17Union County: 22.16 inchesUnion County22.16Brown County: 20.95 inchesBrown County20.95Lawrence County: 20.57 inchesLawrence County20.57Lake County: 20.54 inchesLake County20.54Spink County: 20.48 inchesSpink County20.48Hutchinson County: 20.39 inchesHutchinson County20.39Beadle County: 20.17 inchesBeadle County20.17Bennett County: 20.04 inchesBennett County20.04McCook County: 20 inchesMcCook County20Yankton County: 19.93 inchesYankton County19.93Todd County: 19.92 inchesTodd County19.92Bon Homme County: 19.81 inchesBon Homme County19.81Hand County: 19.41 inchesHand County19.41Jerauld County: 19.34 inchesJerauld County19.34Douglas County: 19.23 inchesDouglas County19.23Lyman County: 19.09 inchesLyman County19.09Miner County: 19.09 inchesMiner County19.09Hanson County: 18.93 inchesHanson County18.93Buffalo County: 18.91 inchesBuffalo County18.91Tripp County: 18.83 inchesTripp County18.83Davison County: 18.82 inchesDavison County18.82Gregory County: 18.73 inchesGregory County18.73Charles Mix County: 18.7 inchesCharles Mix County18.7Mellette County: 18.66 inchesMellette County18.66Faulk County: 18.62 inchesFaulk County18.62
inches. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2021
inches		Change on 2020
1Grant County29.99+66.2%
2Codington County28.75+42%
3Deuel County28.45+41.8%
4Roberts County28.31+70%
5Lincoln County28.01+61.3%
6Hamlin County27.32+24%
7Day County25.39+49.6%
8Clark County25.23+24%
9Brookings County24.2+19.4%
10Minnehaha County24.13+43.4%
11Marshall County24.08+44.2%
12Turner County23.61+43.7%
13Kingsbury County23.55+7.5%
14Moody County23.45+21.7%
15Clay County22.17+36.1%
16Union County22.16+28.9%
17Brown County20.95+20.6%
18Lawrence County20.57+7.6%
19Lake County20.54+17%
20Spink County20.48+15.3%
21Hutchinson County20.39+14.5%
22Beadle County20.17+6.7%
23Bennett County20.04+42.3%
24McCook County20+24.6%
25Yankton County19.93+12.7%
26Todd County19.92+13.9%
27Bon Homme County19.81-3.5%
28Hand County19.41+4.5%
29Jerauld County19.34+5.7%
30Douglas County19.23-6.1%
31Lyman County19.09+6.4%
31Miner County19.09+7.2%
33Hanson County18.93+9.4%
34Buffalo County18.91+1.6%
35Tripp County18.83-4%
36Davison County18.82+3.2%
37Gregory County18.73-14.4%
38Charles Mix County18.7-13.1%
39Mellette County18.66+11.8%
40Faulk County18.62+13.9%
41Aurora County18.46+1.9%
42Edmunds County18.16+26.2%
42Sanborn County18.16+1%
44Brule County18.07-3.5%
45Walworth County17.4+23.1%
46Custer County17.31+22%
47Jones County17.17-2.6%
48McPherson County17.16+6.6%
49Hyde County16.99-3.7%
50Corson County16.39+12.2%
51Jackson County16.19+13.5%
52Potter County16.07+5.7%
53Fall River County16.02+39.2%
54Oglala Lakota County15.96+21.8%
55Pennington County15.69+11%
56Dewey County15.58+1.2%
57Campbell County15.3+11.5%
58Hughes County15.27-2.9%
59Sully County14.74-6.4%
60Stanley County14.47-11.3%
61Ziebach County14.3-7.5%
62Perkins County14.07+7%
63Meade County13.8-1.6%
64Haakon County13.72-13%
65Butte County12.52-1.5%
66Harding County12.2+13.4%

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, 2021) [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, 2021. 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=2021. 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, 2021. 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=2021.

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, 2021 [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=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{noaa_counties_in_south_dakota_2021,
  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, 2021}},
  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=2021. 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, 2021
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=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/south-dakota-counties?period=2021.
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?

Grant County, with 29.99 inches in 2021, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which county has the lowest annual precipitation?

Harding County, with 12.2 inches in 2021.

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