Counties in South Dakota by average annual temperature

Tripp County had the highest average annual temperature of 66 counties in 2015, at 50.3 °F. McPherson County had the lowest, at 44.6 °F. The median was 47.6 °F and the figure for South Dakota was 47.5 °F. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

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Highest50.3Tripp County
Median47.666 counties
South Dakota47.5History

Map of counties, 2015

Aurora County: 48.4 °FBeadle County: 47.4 °FBennett County: 48.8 °FBon Homme County: 49.7 °FBrookings County: 45.6 °FBrown County: 45.5 °FBrule County: 49.2 °FBuffalo County: 48.1 °FButte County: 47.6 °FCampbell County: 45.6 °FCharles Mix County: 49.8 °FClark County: 46 °FClay County: 49.4 °FCodington County: 44.9 °FCorson County: 46.1 °FCuster County: 47.6 °FDavison County: 47.9 °FDay County: 44.8 °FDeuel County: 45 °FDewey County: 47.5 °FDouglas County: 48.9 °FEdmunds County: 45.3 °FFall River County: 49.2 °FFaulk County: 45.8 °FGrant County: 45.7 °FGregory County: 49.8 °FHaakon County: 48.8 °FHamlin County: 45.6 °FHand County: 46.7 °FHanson County: 47.6 °FHarding County: 46 °FHughes County: 48.3 °FHutchinson County: 48.7 °FHyde County: 46.6 °FJackson County: 49.4 °FJerauld County: 47.5 °FJones County: 49.6 °FKingsbury County: 46.8 °FLake County: 46.3 °FLawrence County: 44.8 °FLincoln County: 48.6 °FLyman County: 49.6 °FMcCook County: 47.5 °FMcPherson County: 44.6 °FMarshall County: 44.6 °FMeade County: 48.4 °FMellette County: 49.9 °FMiner County: 47 °FMinnehaha County: 47.6 °FMoody County: 46.3 °FOglala Lakota County: 49.6 °FPennington County: 47.8 °FPerkins County: 46.5 °FPotter County: 46.5 °FRoberts County: 45.3 °FSanborn County: 47.5 °FSpink County: 46.4 °FStanley County: 48.9 °FSully County: 47.6 °FTodd County: 49.2 °FTripp County: 50.3 °FTurner County: 48.7 °FUnion County: 49.2 °FWalworth County: 46 °FYankton County: 49.6 °FZiebach County: 48 °F
  • Under 46
  • 46 to 47
  • 47 to 48
  • 48 to 49
  • 49 and over
°F, 2015. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December average temperature, counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2015

Tripp County: 50.3 °FTripp County50.3Mellette County: 49.9 °FMellette County49.9Charles Mix County: 49.8 °FCharles Mix County49.8Gregory County: 49.8 °FGregory County49.8Bon Homme County: 49.7 °FBon Homme County49.7Jones County: 49.6 °FJones County49.6Lyman County: 49.6 °FLyman County49.6Oglala Lakota County: 49.6 °FOglala Lakota County49.6Yankton County: 49.6 °FYankton County49.6Clay County: 49.4 °FClay County49.4Jackson County: 49.4 °FJackson County49.4Brule County: 49.2 °FBrule County49.2Fall River County: 49.2 °FFall River County49.2Todd County: 49.2 °FTodd County49.2Union County: 49.2 °FUnion County49.2Douglas County: 48.9 °FDouglas County48.9Stanley County: 48.9 °FStanley County48.9Bennett County: 48.8 °FBennett County48.8Haakon County: 48.8 °FHaakon County48.8Hutchinson County: 48.7 °FHutchinson County48.7Turner County: 48.7 °FTurner County48.7Lincoln County: 48.6 °FLincoln County48.6Aurora County: 48.4 °FAurora County48.4Meade County: 48.4 °FMeade County48.4Hughes County: 48.3 °FHughes County48.3Buffalo County: 48.1 °FBuffalo County48.1Ziebach County: 48 °FZiebach County48Davison County: 47.9 °FDavison County47.9Pennington County: 47.8 °FPennington County47.8Butte County: 47.6 °FButte County47.6Custer County: 47.6 °FCuster County47.6Hanson County: 47.6 °FHanson County47.6Minnehaha County: 47.6 °FMinnehaha County47.6Sully County: 47.6 °FSully County47.6Dewey County: 47.5 °FDewey County47.5Jerauld County: 47.5 °FJerauld County47.5McCook County: 47.5 °FMcCook County47.5Sanborn County: 47.5 °FSanborn County47.5Beadle County: 47.4 °FBeadle County47.4Miner County: 47 °FMiner County47Tripp County: 50.3 °FTripp County50.3Mellette County: 49.9 °FMellette County49.9Charles Mix County: 49.8 °FCharles Mix County49.8Gregory County: 49.8 °FGregory County49.8Bon Homme County: 49.7 °FBon Homme County49.7Jones County: 49.6 °FJones County49.6Lyman County: 49.6 °FLyman County49.6Oglala Lakota County: 49.6 °FOglala Lakota County49.6Yankton County: 49.6 °FYankton County49.6Clay County: 49.4 °FClay County49.4Jackson County: 49.4 °FJackson County49.4Brule County: 49.2 °FBrule County49.2Fall River County: 49.2 °FFall River County49.2Todd County: 49.2 °FTodd County49.2Union County: 49.2 °FUnion County49.2Douglas County: 48.9 °FDouglas County48.9Stanley County: 48.9 °FStanley County48.9Bennett County: 48.8 °FBennett County48.8Haakon County: 48.8 °FHaakon County48.8Hutchinson County: 48.7 °FHutchinson County48.7Turner County: 48.7 °FTurner County48.7Lincoln County: 48.6 °FLincoln County48.6Aurora County: 48.4 °FAurora County48.4Meade County: 48.4 °FMeade County48.4Hughes County: 48.3 °FHughes County48.3Buffalo County: 48.1 °FBuffalo County48.1Ziebach County: 48 °FZiebach County48Davison County: 47.9 °FDavison County47.9Pennington County: 47.8 °FPennington County47.8Butte County: 47.6 °FButte County47.6Custer County: 47.6 °FCuster County47.6Hanson County: 47.6 °FHanson County47.6Minnehaha County: 47.6 °FMinnehaha County47.6Sully County: 47.6 °FSully County47.6Dewey County: 47.5 °FDewey County47.5Jerauld County: 47.5 °FJerauld County47.5McCook County: 47.5 °FMcCook County47.5Sanborn County: 47.5 °FSanborn County47.5Beadle County: 47.4 °FBeadle County47.4Miner County: 47 °FMiner County47
°F. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December average temperature, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2015
°F
Change on 2014
1Tripp County50.3+7.5%
2Mellette County49.9+7.3%
3Charles Mix County49.8+7.6%
3Gregory County49.8+7.8%
5Bon Homme County49.7+7.8%
6Jones County49.6+7.8%
6Lyman County49.6+8.3%
6Oglala Lakota County49.6+6%
6Yankton County49.6+8.1%
10Clay County49.4+7.9%
10Jackson County49.4+6.5%
12Brule County49.2+8.4%
12Fall River County49.2+6%
12Todd County49.2+7%
12Union County49.2+7.7%
16Douglas County48.9+8.2%
16Stanley County48.9+8.7%
18Bennett County48.8+6.8%
18Haakon County48.8+8%
20Hutchinson County48.7+8.2%
20Turner County48.7+8.5%
22Lincoln County48.6+8.2%
23Aurora County48.4+8.8%
23Meade County48.4+8%
25Hughes County48.3+9.3%
26Buffalo County48.1+9.1%
27Ziebach County48+10.1%
28Davison County47.9+8.4%
29Pennington County47.8+6.9%
30Butte County47.6+7.2%
30Custer County47.6+6.5%
30Hanson County47.6+8.7%
30Minnehaha County47.6+8.9%
30Sully County47.6+9.9%
35Dewey County47.5+10.5%
35Jerauld County47.5+9.7%
35McCook County47.5+9.4%
35Sanborn County47.5+8.4%
39Beadle County47.4+9.2%
40Miner County47+9.3%
41Kingsbury County46.8+9.9%
42Hand County46.7+9.6%
43Hyde County46.6+9.6%
44Perkins County46.5+10.7%
44Potter County46.5+10.7%
46Spink County46.4+10.5%
47Lake County46.3+9.5%
47Moody County46.3+9.5%
49Corson County46.1+10.8%
50Clark County46+10.8%
50Harding County46+8.5%
50Walworth County46+10.6%
53Faulk County45.8+10.4%
54Grant County45.7+11.2%
55Brookings County45.6+10.9%
55Campbell County45.6+10.4%
55Hamlin County45.6+11.5%
58Brown County45.5+11.2%
59Edmunds County45.3+11%
59Roberts County45.3+10.5%
61Deuel County45+11.9%
62Codington County44.9+12%
63Day County44.8+11.4%
63Lawrence County44.8+5.9%
65Marshall County44.6+10.9%
65McPherson County44.6+11.5%

Other periods

About this ranking

Mean air temperature from January to December, in degrees Fahrenheit: the average of the 12 monthly mean temperatures. 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, so a county with mountains and valleys has one value for very different local climates. 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 average temperature, 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 average temperature, counties (Counties in South Dakota by average annual temperature, 2015) [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 average temperature, counties, Counties in South Dakota by average annual temperature, 2015. 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/average-annual-temperature/south-dakota-counties?period=2015. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. 2026. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December average temperature, counties. Counties in South Dakota by average annual temperature, 2015. 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/average-annual-temperature/south-dakota-counties?period=2015.

Harvard

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (2026) NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December average temperature, counties, Counties in South Dakota by average annual temperature, 2015 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-annual-temperature/south-dakota-counties?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{noaa_counties_in_south_dakota_2015,
  author = {{NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information}},
  title = {{NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December average temperature, counties: Counties in South Dakota by average annual temperature, 2015}},
  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/average-annual-temperature/south-dakota-counties?period=2015. Publisher attribution: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December average temperature, 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 average temperature, counties: Counties in South Dakota by average annual temperature, 2015
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/average-annual-temperature/south-dakota-counties?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-annual-temperature/south-dakota-counties?period=2015.
N1  - Publisher attribution: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December average temperature, 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 average annual temperature using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest average annual temperature?

Tripp County, with 50.3 °F in 2015, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which county has the lowest average annual temperature?

McPherson County, with 44.6 °F in 2015.

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 average temperature, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Average annual temperature: other rankings

Counties in South Dakota: more rankings