Counties in South Dakota by average annual temperature

Tripp County had the highest average annual temperature of 66 counties in 2016, at 51.2 °F. McPherson County had the lowest, at 45.1 °F. The median was 48.4 °F and the figure for South Dakota was 48.4 °F. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

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Highest51.2Tripp County
Median48.466 counties
South Dakota48.4History

Map of counties, 2016

Aurora County: 49.2 °FBeadle County: 48.2 °FBennett County: 49.7 °FBon Homme County: 50.6 °FBrookings County: 46.4 °FBrown County: 46.8 °FBrule County: 50.2 °FBuffalo County: 49 °FButte County: 48.5 °FCampbell County: 46.3 °FCharles Mix County: 50.8 °FClark County: 46.6 °FClay County: 50.1 °FCodington County: 45.7 °FCorson County: 46.9 °FCuster County: 48.4 °FDavison County: 48.8 °FDay County: 45.4 °FDeuel County: 45.9 °FDewey County: 48.1 °FDouglas County: 49.7 °FEdmunds County: 46.2 °FFall River County: 49.9 °FFaulk County: 46.8 °FGrant County: 46.5 °FGregory County: 50.8 °FHaakon County: 49.3 °FHamlin County: 46.4 °FHand County: 47.8 °FHanson County: 48.6 °FHarding County: 47.5 °FHughes County: 49.1 °FHutchinson County: 49.7 °FHyde County: 47.6 °FJackson County: 50.3 °FJerauld County: 48.3 °FJones County: 50.1 °FKingsbury County: 47.2 °FLake County: 47.2 °FLawrence County: 46.2 °FLincoln County: 49.1 °FLyman County: 50.4 °FMcCook County: 48.5 °FMcPherson County: 45.1 °FMarshall County: 45.6 °FMeade County: 48.9 °FMellette County: 50.8 °FMiner County: 47.9 °FMinnehaha County: 48.5 °FMoody County: 47.1 °FOglala Lakota County: 50.3 °FPennington County: 48.6 °FPerkins County: 47 °FPotter County: 47.5 °FRoberts County: 46.3 °FSanborn County: 48.4 °FSpink County: 47.5 °FStanley County: 49.4 °FSully County: 48.3 °FTodd County: 50 °FTripp County: 51.2 °FTurner County: 49.5 °FUnion County: 50 °FWalworth County: 47 °FYankton County: 50.5 °FZiebach County: 48.3 °F
  • Under 46
  • 46 to 48
  • 48 to 49
  • 49 to 50
  • 50 and over
°F, 2016. 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, 2016

Tripp County: 51.2 °FTripp County51.2Charles Mix County: 50.8 °FCharles Mix County50.8Gregory County: 50.8 °FGregory County50.8Mellette County: 50.8 °FMellette County50.8Bon Homme County: 50.6 °FBon Homme County50.6Yankton County: 50.5 °FYankton County50.5Lyman County: 50.4 °FLyman County50.4Jackson County: 50.3 °FJackson County50.3Oglala Lakota County: 50.3 °FOglala Lakota County50.3Brule County: 50.2 °FBrule County50.2Clay County: 50.1 °FClay County50.1Jones County: 50.1 °FJones County50.1Todd County: 50 °FTodd County50Union County: 50 °FUnion County50Fall River County: 49.9 °FFall River County49.9Bennett County: 49.7 °FBennett County49.7Douglas County: 49.7 °FDouglas County49.7Hutchinson County: 49.7 °FHutchinson County49.7Turner County: 49.5 °FTurner County49.5Stanley County: 49.4 °FStanley County49.4Haakon County: 49.3 °FHaakon County49.3Aurora County: 49.2 °FAurora County49.2Hughes County: 49.1 °FHughes County49.1Lincoln County: 49.1 °FLincoln County49.1Buffalo County: 49 °FBuffalo County49Meade County: 48.9 °FMeade County48.9Davison County: 48.8 °FDavison County48.8Hanson County: 48.6 °FHanson County48.6Pennington County: 48.6 °FPennington County48.6Butte County: 48.5 °FButte County48.5McCook County: 48.5 °FMcCook County48.5Minnehaha County: 48.5 °FMinnehaha County48.5Custer County: 48.4 °FCuster County48.4Sanborn County: 48.4 °FSanborn County48.4Jerauld County: 48.3 °FJerauld County48.3Sully County: 48.3 °FSully County48.3Ziebach County: 48.3 °FZiebach County48.3Beadle County: 48.2 °FBeadle County48.2Dewey County: 48.1 °FDewey County48.1Miner County: 47.9 °FMiner County47.9Tripp County: 51.2 °FTripp County51.2Charles Mix County: 50.8 °FCharles Mix County50.8Gregory County: 50.8 °FGregory County50.8Mellette County: 50.8 °FMellette County50.8Bon Homme County: 50.6 °FBon Homme County50.6Yankton County: 50.5 °FYankton County50.5Lyman County: 50.4 °FLyman County50.4Jackson County: 50.3 °FJackson County50.3Oglala Lakota County: 50.3 °FOglala Lakota County50.3Brule County: 50.2 °FBrule County50.2Clay County: 50.1 °FClay County50.1Jones County: 50.1 °FJones County50.1Todd County: 50 °FTodd County50Union County: 50 °FUnion County50Fall River County: 49.9 °FFall River County49.9Bennett County: 49.7 °FBennett County49.7Douglas County: 49.7 °FDouglas County49.7Hutchinson County: 49.7 °FHutchinson County49.7Turner County: 49.5 °FTurner County49.5Stanley County: 49.4 °FStanley County49.4Haakon County: 49.3 °FHaakon County49.3Aurora County: 49.2 °FAurora County49.2Hughes County: 49.1 °FHughes County49.1Lincoln County: 49.1 °FLincoln County49.1Buffalo County: 49 °FBuffalo County49Meade County: 48.9 °FMeade County48.9Davison County: 48.8 °FDavison County48.8Hanson County: 48.6 °FHanson County48.6Pennington County: 48.6 °FPennington County48.6Butte County: 48.5 °FButte County48.5McCook County: 48.5 °FMcCook County48.5Minnehaha County: 48.5 °FMinnehaha County48.5Custer County: 48.4 °FCuster County48.4Sanborn County: 48.4 °FSanborn County48.4Jerauld County: 48.3 °FJerauld County48.3Sully County: 48.3 °FSully County48.3Ziebach County: 48.3 °FZiebach County48.3Beadle County: 48.2 °FBeadle County48.2Dewey County: 48.1 °FDewey County48.1Miner County: 47.9 °FMiner County47.9
°F. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December average temperature, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2016
°F
Change on 2015
1Tripp County51.2+1.8%
2Charles Mix County50.8+2%
2Gregory County50.8+2%
2Mellette County50.8+1.8%
5Bon Homme County50.6+1.8%
6Yankton County50.5+1.8%
7Lyman County50.4+1.6%
8Jackson County50.3+1.8%
8Oglala Lakota County50.3+1.4%
10Brule County50.2+2%
11Clay County50.1+1.4%
11Jones County50.1+1%
13Todd County50+1.6%
13Union County50+1.6%
15Fall River County49.9+1.4%
16Bennett County49.7+1.8%
16Douglas County49.7+1.6%
16Hutchinson County49.7+2.1%
19Turner County49.5+1.6%
20Stanley County49.4+1%
21Haakon County49.3+1%
22Aurora County49.2+1.7%
23Hughes County49.1+1.7%
23Lincoln County49.1+1%
25Buffalo County49+1.9%
26Meade County48.9+1%
27Davison County48.8+1.9%
28Hanson County48.6+2.1%
28Pennington County48.6+1.7%
30Butte County48.5+1.9%
30McCook County48.5+2.1%
30Minnehaha County48.5+1.9%
33Custer County48.4+1.7%
33Sanborn County48.4+1.9%
35Jerauld County48.3+1.7%
35Sully County48.3+1.5%
35Ziebach County48.3+0.6%
38Beadle County48.2+1.7%
39Dewey County48.1+1.3%
40Miner County47.9+1.9%
41Hand County47.8+2.4%
42Hyde County47.6+2.1%
43Harding County47.5+3.3%
43Potter County47.5+2.2%
43Spink County47.5+2.4%
46Kingsbury County47.2+0.9%
46Lake County47.2+1.9%
48Moody County47.1+1.7%
49Perkins County47+1.1%
49Walworth County47+2.2%
51Corson County46.9+1.7%
52Brown County46.8+2.9%
52Faulk County46.8+2.2%
54Clark County46.6+1.3%
55Grant County46.5+1.8%
56Brookings County46.4+1.8%
56Hamlin County46.4+1.8%
58Campbell County46.3+1.5%
58Roberts County46.3+2.2%
60Edmunds County46.2+2%
60Lawrence County46.2+3.1%
62Deuel County45.9+2%
63Codington County45.7+1.8%
64Marshall County45.6+2.2%
65Day County45.4+1.3%
66McPherson County45.1+1.1%

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, 2016) [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, 2016. 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=2016. 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, 2016. 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=2016.

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, 2016 [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=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{noaa_counties_in_south_dakota_2016,
  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, 2016}},
  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=2016. 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, 2016
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=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-annual-temperature/south-dakota-counties?period=2016.
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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Questions

Which county has the highest average annual temperature?

Tripp County, with 51.2 °F in 2016, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which county has the lowest average annual temperature?

McPherson County, with 45.1 °F in 2016.

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