Counties in South Dakota by annual precipitation

Todd County had the highest annual precipitation of 66 counties in 2023, at 31.27 inches. Harding County had the lowest, at 17.04 inches. The median was 23.51 inches and the figure for South Dakota was 23.33 inches. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

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Highest31.27Todd County
Lowest17.04Harding County
Median23.5166 counties
South Dakota23.33History

Map of counties, 2023

Aurora County: 26.81 inchesBeadle County: 22.65 inchesBennett County: 30.5 inchesBon Homme County: 28.9 inchesBrookings County: 21.29 inchesBrown County: 23.54 inchesBrule County: 26.64 inchesBuffalo County: 25.35 inchesButte County: 21.07 inchesCampbell County: 22.57 inchesCharles Mix County: 28.15 inchesClark County: 22.95 inchesClay County: 26.97 inchesCodington County: 22.56 inchesCorson County: 20.69 inchesCuster County: 22.62 inchesDavison County: 25.33 inchesDay County: 23.22 inchesDeuel County: 23.93 inchesDewey County: 21.47 inchesDouglas County: 27.79 inchesEdmunds County: 24.24 inchesFall River County: 22.4 inchesFaulk County: 26.99 inchesGrant County: 24.48 inchesGregory County: 27.96 inchesHaakon County: 18.86 inchesHamlin County: 22.98 inchesHand County: 26.4 inchesHanson County: 23.66 inchesHarding County: 17.04 inchesHughes County: 22.2 inchesHutchinson County: 25.47 inchesHyde County: 26.5 inchesJackson County: 23.62 inchesJerauld County: 25.7 inchesJones County: 21.2 inchesKingsbury County: 24.42 inchesLake County: 21.47 inchesLawrence County: 29.09 inchesLincoln County: 23.88 inchesLyman County: 24.7 inchesMcCook County: 22.04 inchesMcPherson County: 23.47 inchesMarshall County: 23.47 inchesMeade County: 22.16 inchesMellette County: 24.55 inchesMiner County: 22.1 inchesMinnehaha County: 20.96 inchesMoody County: 20.46 inchesOglala Lakota County: 25.91 inchesPennington County: 22.07 inchesPerkins County: 20.02 inchesPotter County: 23.18 inchesRoberts County: 26.17 inchesSanborn County: 23.18 inchesSpink County: 24.63 inchesStanley County: 19.03 inchesSully County: 21.82 inchesTodd County: 31.27 inchesTripp County: 26.41 inchesTurner County: 23.08 inchesUnion County: 27.94 inchesWalworth County: 23.42 inchesYankton County: 25.98 inchesZiebach County: 20.36 inches
  • Under 21
  • 21 to 23
  • 23 to 24
  • 24 to 25
  • 25 to 27
  • 27 and over
inches, 2023. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2023

Todd County: 31.27 inchesTodd County31.27Bennett County: 30.5 inchesBennett County30.5Lawrence County: 29.09 inchesLawrence County29.09Bon Homme County: 28.9 inchesBon Homme County28.9Charles Mix County: 28.15 inchesCharles Mix County28.15Gregory County: 27.96 inchesGregory County27.96Union County: 27.94 inchesUnion County27.94Douglas County: 27.79 inchesDouglas County27.79Faulk County: 26.99 inchesFaulk County26.99Clay County: 26.97 inchesClay County26.97Aurora County: 26.81 inchesAurora County26.81Brule County: 26.64 inchesBrule County26.64Hyde County: 26.5 inchesHyde County26.5Tripp County: 26.41 inchesTripp County26.41Hand County: 26.4 inchesHand County26.4Roberts County: 26.17 inchesRoberts County26.17Yankton County: 25.98 inchesYankton County25.98Oglala Lakota County: 25.91 inchesOglala Lakota County25.91Jerauld County: 25.7 inchesJerauld County25.7Hutchinson County: 25.47 inchesHutchinson County25.47Buffalo County: 25.35 inchesBuffalo County25.35Davison County: 25.33 inchesDavison County25.33Lyman County: 24.7 inchesLyman County24.7Spink County: 24.63 inchesSpink County24.63Mellette County: 24.55 inchesMellette County24.55Grant County: 24.48 inchesGrant County24.48Kingsbury County: 24.42 inchesKingsbury County24.42Edmunds County: 24.24 inchesEdmunds County24.24Deuel County: 23.93 inchesDeuel County23.93Lincoln County: 23.88 inchesLincoln County23.88Hanson County: 23.66 inchesHanson County23.66Jackson County: 23.62 inchesJackson County23.62Brown County: 23.54 inchesBrown County23.54Marshall County: 23.47 inchesMarshall County23.47McPherson County: 23.47 inchesMcPherson County23.47Walworth County: 23.42 inchesWalworth County23.42Day County: 23.22 inchesDay County23.22Potter County: 23.18 inchesPotter County23.18Sanborn County: 23.18 inchesSanborn County23.18Turner County: 23.08 inchesTurner County23.08Todd County: 31.27 inchesTodd County31.27Bennett County: 30.5 inchesBennett County30.5Lawrence County: 29.09 inchesLawrence County29.09Bon Homme County: 28.9 inchesBon Homme County28.9Charles Mix County: 28.15 inchesCharles Mix County28.15Gregory County: 27.96 inchesGregory County27.96Union County: 27.94 inchesUnion County27.94Douglas County: 27.79 inchesDouglas County27.79Faulk County: 26.99 inchesFaulk County26.99Clay County: 26.97 inchesClay County26.97Aurora County: 26.81 inchesAurora County26.81Brule County: 26.64 inchesBrule County26.64Hyde County: 26.5 inchesHyde County26.5Tripp County: 26.41 inchesTripp County26.41Hand County: 26.4 inchesHand County26.4Roberts County: 26.17 inchesRoberts County26.17Yankton County: 25.98 inchesYankton County25.98Oglala Lakota County: 25.91 inchesOglala Lakota County25.91Jerauld County: 25.7 inchesJerauld County25.7Hutchinson County: 25.47 inchesHutchinson County25.47Buffalo County: 25.35 inchesBuffalo County25.35Davison County: 25.33 inchesDavison County25.33Lyman County: 24.7 inchesLyman County24.7Spink County: 24.63 inchesSpink County24.63Mellette County: 24.55 inchesMellette County24.55Grant County: 24.48 inchesGrant County24.48Kingsbury County: 24.42 inchesKingsbury County24.42Edmunds County: 24.24 inchesEdmunds County24.24Deuel County: 23.93 inchesDeuel County23.93Lincoln County: 23.88 inchesLincoln County23.88Hanson County: 23.66 inchesHanson County23.66Jackson County: 23.62 inchesJackson County23.62Brown County: 23.54 inchesBrown County23.54Marshall County: 23.47 inchesMarshall County23.47McPherson County: 23.47 inchesMcPherson County23.47Walworth County: 23.42 inchesWalworth County23.42Day County: 23.22 inchesDay County23.22Potter County: 23.18 inchesPotter County23.18Sanborn County: 23.18 inchesSanborn County23.18Turner County: 23.08 inchesTurner County23.08
inches. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2023
inches
Change on 2022
1Todd County31.27+83.2%
2Bennett County30.5+112.4%
3Lawrence County29.09+44.7%
4Bon Homme County28.9+76.1%
5Charles Mix County28.15+61.5%
6Gregory County27.96+57.5%
7Union County27.94+57.2%
8Douglas County27.79+60.5%
9Faulk County26.99+23%
10Clay County26.97+54.9%
11Aurora County26.81+66.3%
12Brule County26.64+58%
13Hyde County26.5+30.3%
14Tripp County26.41+59.5%
15Hand County26.4+25.1%
16Roberts County26.17+20.1%
17Yankton County25.98+62.8%
18Oglala Lakota County25.91+96.3%
19Jerauld County25.7+45.3%
20Hutchinson County25.47+49.4%
21Buffalo County25.35+37.6%
22Davison County25.33+52.3%
23Lyman County24.7+34.2%
24Spink County24.63+19.4%
25Mellette County24.55+46.8%
26Grant County24.48+10.5%
27Kingsbury County24.42+30%
28Edmunds County24.24+14.7%
29Deuel County23.93-4.2%
30Lincoln County23.88+31.1%
31Hanson County23.66+34.9%
32Jackson County23.62+66.3%
33Brown County23.54+13.9%
34Marshall County23.47+16.8%
34McPherson County23.47+16.2%
36Walworth County23.42+30.7%
37Day County23.22+12.1%
38Potter County23.18+24.4%
38Sanborn County23.18+38.6%
40Turner County23.08+30.6%
41Hamlin County22.98+4.4%
42Clark County22.95+15.7%
43Beadle County22.65+21%
44Custer County22.62+50.6%
45Campbell County22.57+33.7%
46Codington County22.56-0.7%
47Fall River County22.4+78.3%
48Hughes County22.2+18.7%
49Meade County22.16+59.8%
50Miner County22.1+20%
51Pennington County22.07+41.3%
52McCook County22.04+18.3%
53Sully County21.82+24%
54Dewey County21.47+30%
54Lake County21.47-0.2%
56Brookings County21.29-10.8%
57Jones County21.2+31.5%
58Butte County21.07+57.6%
59Minnehaha County20.96-0.2%
60Corson County20.69+28.2%
61Moody County20.46-9.3%
62Ziebach County20.36+56.7%
63Perkins County20.02+56.4%
64Stanley County19.03+24.1%
65Haakon County18.86+49.1%
66Harding County17.04+25.8%

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, 2023) [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, 2023. 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=2023. 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, 2023. 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=2023.

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, 2023 [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=2023 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{noaa_counties_in_south_dakota_2023,
  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, 2023}},
  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=2023. 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, 2023
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=2023
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/south-dakota-counties?period=2023.
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?

Todd County, with 31.27 inches in 2023, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which county has the lowest annual precipitation?

Harding County, with 17.04 inches in 2023.

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