Counties in South Dakota by annual precipitation

Lincoln County had the highest annual precipitation of 66 counties in 2024, at 35.42 inches. Harding County had the lowest, at 11.26 inches. The median was 21.21 inches and the figure for South Dakota was 19.02 inches. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

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Highest35.42Lincoln County
Lowest11.26Harding County
Median21.2166 counties
South Dakota19.02History

Map of counties, 2024

Aurora County: 24.23 inchesBeadle County: 21.66 inchesBennett County: 15.57 inchesBon Homme County: 26.64 inchesBrookings County: 28.55 inchesBrown County: 19.97 inchesBrule County: 23.75 inchesBuffalo County: 23.09 inchesButte County: 13.77 inchesCampbell County: 15.07 inchesCharles Mix County: 23.87 inchesClark County: 25 inchesClay County: 28.72 inchesCodington County: 26.34 inchesCorson County: 15.68 inchesCuster County: 13.61 inchesDavison County: 26.77 inchesDay County: 22.64 inchesDeuel County: 28.6 inchesDewey County: 15.75 inchesDouglas County: 25.39 inchesEdmunds County: 16.16 inchesFall River County: 11.84 inchesFaulk County: 17.68 inchesGrant County: 26.06 inchesGregory County: 22.13 inchesHaakon County: 15.15 inchesHamlin County: 28.37 inchesHand County: 20.76 inchesHanson County: 27.7 inchesHarding County: 11.26 inchesHughes County: 18.68 inchesHutchinson County: 29.12 inchesHyde County: 20.47 inchesJackson County: 15 inchesJerauld County: 22.42 inchesJones County: 17.44 inchesKingsbury County: 27.76 inchesLake County: 28.29 inchesLawrence County: 20.36 inchesLincoln County: 35.42 inchesLyman County: 19.96 inchesMcCook County: 29.95 inchesMcPherson County: 15.91 inchesMarshall County: 22.82 inchesMeade County: 15.18 inchesMellette County: 16.81 inchesMiner County: 26.53 inchesMinnehaha County: 30.95 inchesMoody County: 28.05 inchesOglala Lakota County: 12.58 inchesPennington County: 14.92 inchesPerkins County: 13.33 inchesPotter County: 16.85 inchesRoberts County: 24 inchesSanborn County: 23.96 inchesSpink County: 20.29 inchesStanley County: 16.35 inchesSully County: 17.48 inchesTodd County: 17.43 inchesTripp County: 19.43 inchesTurner County: 33.17 inchesUnion County: 30.42 inchesWalworth County: 15.87 inchesYankton County: 27.71 inchesZiebach County: 15.22 inches
  • Under 15
  • 15 to 17
  • 17 to 21
  • 21 to 24
  • 24 to 28
  • 28 and over
inches, 2024. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2024

Lincoln County: 35.42 inchesLincoln County35.42Turner County: 33.17 inchesTurner County33.17Minnehaha County: 30.95 inchesMinnehaha County30.95Union County: 30.42 inchesUnion County30.42McCook County: 29.95 inchesMcCook County29.95Hutchinson County: 29.12 inchesHutchinson County29.12Clay County: 28.72 inchesClay County28.72Deuel County: 28.6 inchesDeuel County28.6Brookings County: 28.55 inchesBrookings County28.55Hamlin County: 28.37 inchesHamlin County28.37Lake County: 28.29 inchesLake County28.29Moody County: 28.05 inchesMoody County28.05Kingsbury County: 27.76 inchesKingsbury County27.76Yankton County: 27.71 inchesYankton County27.71Hanson County: 27.7 inchesHanson County27.7Davison County: 26.77 inchesDavison County26.77Bon Homme County: 26.64 inchesBon Homme County26.64Miner County: 26.53 inchesMiner County26.53Codington County: 26.34 inchesCodington County26.34Grant County: 26.06 inchesGrant County26.06Douglas County: 25.39 inchesDouglas County25.39Clark County: 25 inchesClark County25Aurora County: 24.23 inchesAurora County24.23Roberts County: 24 inchesRoberts County24Sanborn County: 23.96 inchesSanborn County23.96Charles Mix County: 23.87 inchesCharles Mix County23.87Brule County: 23.75 inchesBrule County23.75Buffalo County: 23.09 inchesBuffalo County23.09Marshall County: 22.82 inchesMarshall County22.82Day County: 22.64 inchesDay County22.64Jerauld County: 22.42 inchesJerauld County22.42Gregory County: 22.13 inchesGregory County22.13Beadle County: 21.66 inchesBeadle County21.66Hand County: 20.76 inchesHand County20.76Hyde County: 20.47 inchesHyde County20.47Lawrence County: 20.36 inchesLawrence County20.36Spink County: 20.29 inchesSpink County20.29Brown County: 19.97 inchesBrown County19.97Lyman County: 19.96 inchesLyman County19.96Tripp County: 19.43 inchesTripp County19.43Lincoln County: 35.42 inchesLincoln County35.42Turner County: 33.17 inchesTurner County33.17Minnehaha County: 30.95 inchesMinnehaha County30.95Union County: 30.42 inchesUnion County30.42McCook County: 29.95 inchesMcCook County29.95Hutchinson County: 29.12 inchesHutchinson County29.12Clay County: 28.72 inchesClay County28.72Deuel County: 28.6 inchesDeuel County28.6Brookings County: 28.55 inchesBrookings County28.55Hamlin County: 28.37 inchesHamlin County28.37Lake County: 28.29 inchesLake County28.29Moody County: 28.05 inchesMoody County28.05Kingsbury County: 27.76 inchesKingsbury County27.76Yankton County: 27.71 inchesYankton County27.71Hanson County: 27.7 inchesHanson County27.7Davison County: 26.77 inchesDavison County26.77Bon Homme County: 26.64 inchesBon Homme County26.64Miner County: 26.53 inchesMiner County26.53Codington County: 26.34 inchesCodington County26.34Grant County: 26.06 inchesGrant County26.06Douglas County: 25.39 inchesDouglas County25.39Clark County: 25 inchesClark County25Aurora County: 24.23 inchesAurora County24.23Roberts County: 24 inchesRoberts County24Sanborn County: 23.96 inchesSanborn County23.96Charles Mix County: 23.87 inchesCharles Mix County23.87Brule County: 23.75 inchesBrule County23.75Buffalo County: 23.09 inchesBuffalo County23.09Marshall County: 22.82 inchesMarshall County22.82Day County: 22.64 inchesDay County22.64Jerauld County: 22.42 inchesJerauld County22.42Gregory County: 22.13 inchesGregory County22.13Beadle County: 21.66 inchesBeadle County21.66Hand County: 20.76 inchesHand County20.76Hyde County: 20.47 inchesHyde County20.47Lawrence County: 20.36 inchesLawrence County20.36Spink County: 20.29 inchesSpink County20.29Brown County: 19.97 inchesBrown County19.97Lyman County: 19.96 inchesLyman County19.96Tripp County: 19.43 inchesTripp County19.43
inches. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2024
inches
Change on 2023
1Lincoln County35.42+48.3%
2Turner County33.17+43.7%
3Minnehaha County30.95+47.7%
4Union County30.42+8.9%
5McCook County29.95+35.9%
6Hutchinson County29.12+14.3%
7Clay County28.72+6.5%
8Deuel County28.6+19.5%
9Brookings County28.55+34.1%
10Hamlin County28.37+23.5%
11Lake County28.29+31.8%
12Moody County28.05+37.1%
13Kingsbury County27.76+13.7%
14Yankton County27.71+6.7%
15Hanson County27.7+17.1%
16Davison County26.77+5.7%
17Bon Homme County26.64-7.8%
18Miner County26.53+20%
19Codington County26.34+16.8%
20Grant County26.06+6.5%
21Douglas County25.39-8.6%
22Clark County25+8.9%
23Aurora County24.23-9.6%
24Roberts County24-8.3%
25Sanborn County23.96+3.4%
26Charles Mix County23.87-15.2%
27Brule County23.75-10.8%
28Buffalo County23.09-8.9%
29Marshall County22.82-2.8%
30Day County22.64-2.5%
31Jerauld County22.42-12.8%
32Gregory County22.13-20.9%
33Beadle County21.66-4.4%
34Hand County20.76-21.4%
35Hyde County20.47-22.8%
36Lawrence County20.36-30%
37Spink County20.29-17.6%
38Brown County19.97-15.2%
39Lyman County19.96-19.2%
40Tripp County19.43-26.4%
41Hughes County18.68-15.9%
42Faulk County17.68-34.5%
43Sully County17.48-19.9%
44Jones County17.44-17.7%
45Todd County17.43-44.3%
46Potter County16.85-27.3%
47Mellette County16.81-31.5%
48Stanley County16.35-14.1%
49Edmunds County16.16-33.3%
50McPherson County15.91-32.2%
51Walworth County15.87-32.2%
52Dewey County15.75-26.6%
53Corson County15.68-24.2%
54Bennett County15.57-49%
55Ziebach County15.22-25.2%
56Meade County15.18-31.5%
57Haakon County15.15-19.7%
58Campbell County15.07-33.2%
59Jackson County15-36.5%
60Pennington County14.92-32.4%
61Butte County13.77-34.6%
62Custer County13.61-39.8%
63Perkins County13.33-33.4%
64Oglala Lakota County12.58-51.4%
65Fall River County11.84-47.1%
66Harding County11.26-33.9%

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, 2024) [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, 2024. 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=2024. 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, 2024. 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=2024.

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, 2024 [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=2024 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{noaa_counties_in_south_dakota_2024,
  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, 2024}},
  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=2024. 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, 2024
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=2024
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/south-dakota-counties?period=2024.
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?

Lincoln County, with 35.42 inches in 2024, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which county has the lowest annual precipitation?

Harding County, with 11.26 inches in 2024.

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