Counties in South Dakota by average annual temperature

Jackson County had the highest average annual temperature of 66 counties in 2024, at 50.8 °F. McPherson County had the lowest, at 44.9 °F. The median was 48.2 °F and the figure for South Dakota was 48.3 °F. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

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Highest50.8Jackson County
Median48.266 counties
South Dakota48.3History

Map of counties, 2024

Aurora County: 48.9 °FBeadle County: 47.9 °FBennett County: 50 °FBon Homme County: 50.5 °FBrookings County: 46.6 °FBrown County: 46.4 °FBrule County: 49.4 °FBuffalo County: 48.2 °FButte County: 48.6 °FCampbell County: 46 °FCharles Mix County: 50.5 °FClark County: 46.4 °FClay County: 50.6 °FCodington County: 45.6 °FCorson County: 46.7 °FCuster County: 48.6 °FDavison County: 48.7 °FDay County: 45.3 °FDeuel County: 46.1 °FDewey County: 47.9 °FDouglas County: 49.6 °FEdmunds County: 46.2 °FFall River County: 50.4 °FFaulk County: 46.8 °FGrant County: 46.7 °FGregory County: 50.3 °FHaakon County: 49.2 °FHamlin County: 46.2 °FHand County: 47.3 °FHanson County: 48.6 °FHarding County: 47.4 °FHughes County: 48.6 °FHutchinson County: 49.6 °FHyde County: 47 °FJackson County: 50.8 °FJerauld County: 47.8 °FJones County: 49.9 °FKingsbury County: 46.9 °FLake County: 47.6 °FLawrence County: 45.5 °FLincoln County: 49.5 °FLyman County: 49.6 °FMcCook County: 48.7 °FMcPherson County: 44.9 °FMarshall County: 45 °FMeade County: 48.9 °FMellette County: 50.7 °FMiner County: 48 °FMinnehaha County: 49 °FMoody County: 47.7 °FOglala Lakota County: 50.8 °FPennington County: 48.9 °FPerkins County: 47.1 °FPotter County: 46.8 °FRoberts County: 46.4 °FSanborn County: 48.2 °FSpink County: 47.5 °FStanley County: 48.8 °FSully County: 47.7 °FTodd County: 50.2 °FTripp County: 50.3 °FTurner County: 49.7 °FUnion County: 50.5 °FWalworth County: 46.7 °FYankton County: 50.5 °FZiebach County: 48.2 °F
  • Under 46
  • 46 to 47
  • 47 to 48
  • 48 to 49
  • 49 to 50
  • 50 and over
°F, 2024. 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, 2024

Jackson County: 50.8 °FJackson County50.8Oglala Lakota County: 50.8 °FOglala Lakota County50.8Mellette County: 50.7 °FMellette County50.7Clay County: 50.6 °FClay County50.6Bon Homme County: 50.5 °FBon Homme County50.5Charles Mix County: 50.5 °FCharles Mix County50.5Union County: 50.5 °FUnion County50.5Yankton County: 50.5 °FYankton County50.5Fall River County: 50.4 °FFall River County50.4Gregory County: 50.3 °FGregory County50.3Tripp County: 50.3 °FTripp County50.3Todd County: 50.2 °FTodd County50.2Bennett County: 50 °FBennett County50Jones County: 49.9 °FJones County49.9Turner County: 49.7 °FTurner County49.7Douglas County: 49.6 °FDouglas County49.6Hutchinson County: 49.6 °FHutchinson County49.6Lyman County: 49.6 °FLyman County49.6Lincoln County: 49.5 °FLincoln County49.5Brule County: 49.4 °FBrule County49.4Haakon County: 49.2 °FHaakon County49.2Minnehaha County: 49 °FMinnehaha County49Aurora County: 48.9 °FAurora County48.9Meade County: 48.9 °FMeade County48.9Pennington County: 48.9 °FPennington County48.9Stanley County: 48.8 °FStanley County48.8Davison County: 48.7 °FDavison County48.7McCook County: 48.7 °FMcCook County48.7Butte County: 48.6 °FButte County48.6Custer County: 48.6 °FCuster County48.6Hanson County: 48.6 °FHanson County48.6Hughes County: 48.6 °FHughes County48.6Buffalo County: 48.2 °FBuffalo County48.2Sanborn County: 48.2 °FSanborn County48.2Ziebach County: 48.2 °FZiebach County48.2Miner County: 48 °FMiner County48Beadle County: 47.9 °FBeadle County47.9Dewey County: 47.9 °FDewey County47.9Jerauld County: 47.8 °FJerauld County47.8Moody County: 47.7 °FMoody County47.7Jackson County: 50.8 °FJackson County50.8Oglala Lakota County: 50.8 °FOglala Lakota County50.8Mellette County: 50.7 °FMellette County50.7Clay County: 50.6 °FClay County50.6Bon Homme County: 50.5 °FBon Homme County50.5Charles Mix County: 50.5 °FCharles Mix County50.5Union County: 50.5 °FUnion County50.5Yankton County: 50.5 °FYankton County50.5Fall River County: 50.4 °FFall River County50.4Gregory County: 50.3 °FGregory County50.3Tripp County: 50.3 °FTripp County50.3Todd County: 50.2 °FTodd County50.2Bennett County: 50 °FBennett County50Jones County: 49.9 °FJones County49.9Turner County: 49.7 °FTurner County49.7Douglas County: 49.6 °FDouglas County49.6Hutchinson County: 49.6 °FHutchinson County49.6Lyman County: 49.6 °FLyman County49.6Lincoln County: 49.5 °FLincoln County49.5Brule County: 49.4 °FBrule County49.4Haakon County: 49.2 °FHaakon County49.2Minnehaha County: 49 °FMinnehaha County49Aurora County: 48.9 °FAurora County48.9Meade County: 48.9 °FMeade County48.9Pennington County: 48.9 °FPennington County48.9Stanley County: 48.8 °FStanley County48.8Davison County: 48.7 °FDavison County48.7McCook County: 48.7 °FMcCook County48.7Butte County: 48.6 °FButte County48.6Custer County: 48.6 °FCuster County48.6Hanson County: 48.6 °FHanson County48.6Hughes County: 48.6 °FHughes County48.6Buffalo County: 48.2 °FBuffalo County48.2Sanborn County: 48.2 °FSanborn County48.2Ziebach County: 48.2 °FZiebach County48.2Miner County: 48 °FMiner County48Beadle County: 47.9 °FBeadle County47.9Dewey County: 47.9 °FDewey County47.9Jerauld County: 47.8 °FJerauld County47.8Moody County: 47.7 °FMoody County47.7
°F. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December average temperature, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2024
°F
Change on 2023
1Jackson County50.8+3.3%
1Oglala Lakota County50.8+3.9%
3Mellette County50.7+2%
4Clay County50.6+2.8%
5Bon Homme County50.5+2.4%
5Charles Mix County50.5+2.4%
5Union County50.5+2.6%
5Yankton County50.5+2.6%
9Fall River County50.4+3.9%
10Gregory County50.3+2.4%
10Tripp County50.3+2.2%
12Todd County50.2+3.1%
13Bennett County50+2.9%
14Jones County49.9+2%
15Turner County49.7+2.9%
16Douglas County49.6+2.7%
16Hutchinson County49.6+2.5%
16Lyman County49.6+2.5%
19Lincoln County49.5+3.1%
20Brule County49.4+2.5%
21Haakon County49.2+2.7%
22Minnehaha County49+3.2%
23Aurora County48.9+2.7%
23Meade County48.9+2.7%
23Pennington County48.9+3.8%
26Stanley County48.8+2.3%
27Davison County48.7+2.5%
27McCook County48.7+2.5%
29Butte County48.6+3.2%
29Custer County48.6+4.1%
29Hanson County48.6+2.3%
29Hughes County48.6+2.7%
33Buffalo County48.2+2.8%
33Sanborn County48.2+2.6%
33Ziebach County48.2+2.6%
36Miner County48+3%
37Beadle County47.9+3%
37Dewey County47.9+3.2%
39Jerauld County47.8+2.6%
40Moody County47.7+4.1%
40Sully County47.7+3%
42Lake County47.6+3.5%
43Spink County47.5+3.9%
44Harding County47.4+2.4%
45Hand County47.3+3.3%
46Perkins County47.1+2.8%
47Hyde County47+3.1%
48Kingsbury County46.9+3.1%
49Faulk County46.8+4.2%
49Potter County46.8+4%
51Corson County46.7+4.2%
51Grant County46.7+3.8%
51Walworth County46.7+4.5%
54Brookings County46.6+3.6%
55Brown County46.4+5.7%
55Clark County46.4+3.3%
55Roberts County46.4+4.5%
58Edmunds County46.2+4.8%
58Hamlin County46.2+3.4%
60Deuel County46.1+2.7%
61Campbell County46+4.8%
62Codington County45.6+3.4%
63Lawrence County45.5+3.9%
64Day County45.3+4.4%
65Marshall County45+5.6%
66McPherson County44.9+5.2%

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, 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 average temperature, counties, Counties in South Dakota by average annual temperature, 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/average-annual-temperature/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 average temperature, counties. Counties in South Dakota by average annual temperature, 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/average-annual-temperature/south-dakota-counties?period=2024.

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, 2024 [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=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 average temperature, counties: Counties in South Dakota by average annual temperature, 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/average-annual-temperature/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 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, 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/average-annual-temperature/south-dakota-counties?period=2024
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-annual-temperature/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 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?

Jackson County, with 50.8 °F in 2024, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which county has the lowest average annual temperature?

McPherson County, with 44.9 °F 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 average temperature, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Average annual temperature: other rankings

Counties in South Dakota: more rankings