Counties in South Dakota by share of adults with a bachelor's degree

Brookings County had the highest share of adults with a bachelor's degree of 66 counties in 2022, at 42.4%. Buffalo County had the lowest, at 6.8%. The median was 23.2% and the figure for South Dakota was 30.4%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest42.4Brookings County
Median23.266 counties
South Dakota30.4History

Top 40 counties, 2022

CSVChart (SVG)

Brookings CountyBrookings County: 42.4 %42.4Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 41.8 %41.8Clay CountyClay County: 40 %40Lawrence CountyLawrence County: 36.7 %36.7Hughes CountyHughes County: 35.4 %35.4Union CountyUnion County: 35.4 %35.4Lake CountyLake County: 34.6 %34.6Minnehaha CountyMinnehaha County: 34.2 %34.2Jones CountyJones County: 33.9 %33.9Pennington CountyPennington County: 33.4 %33.4Brown CountyBrown County: 32.8 %32.8Custer CountyCuster County: 30.5 %30.5Campbell CountyCampbell County: 28.4 %28.4Edmunds CountyEdmunds County: 28.2 %28.2McCook CountyMcCook County: 27.7 %27.7Walworth CountyWalworth County: 27.7 %27.7Meade CountyMeade County: 27.4 %27.4Harding CountyHarding County: 27.4 %27.4Yankton CountyYankton County: 27.3 %27.3Moody CountyMoody County: 27 %27Stanley CountyStanley County: 26.9 %26.9Turner CountyTurner County: 26.5 %26.5Hutchinson CountyHutchinson County: 25.8 %25.8Brule CountyBrule County: 25.7 %25.7Beadle CountyBeadle County: 25.5 %25.5Hand CountyHand County: 25.3 %25.3Spink CountySpink County: 25.1 %25.1Charles Mix CountyCharles Mix County: 24.7 %24.7Grant CountyGrant County: 24.4 %24.4Potter CountyPotter County: 24.3 %24.3Deuel CountyDeuel County: 23.7 %23.7Marshall CountyMarshall County: 23.3 %23.3Davison CountyDavison County: 23.3 %23.3Lyman CountyLyman County: 23.2 %23.2Kingsbury CountyKingsbury County: 23 %23Day CountyDay County: 22.4 %22.4Faulk CountyFaulk County: 22.2 %22.2Hamlin CountyHamlin County: 21.9 %21.9Sully CountySully County: 21.5 %21.5Hanson CountyHanson County: 21.1 %21.1
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCounties2022 (%)Change on 2021
1Brookings County42.4-0.5 pts
2Lincoln County41.8+0.5 pts
3Clay County40-5.9 pts
4Lawrence County36.7+2.2 pts
5Hughes County35.4+0.9 pts
5Union County35.4+1 pts
7Lake County34.6+1.5 pts
8Minnehaha County34.2+0.7 pts
9Jones County33.9-4.7 pts
10Pennington County33.4+0.1 pts
11Brown County32.8+0.4 pts
12Custer County30.5+3.8 pts
13Campbell County28.4+1.2 pts
14Edmunds County28.2+3.5 pts
15McCook County27.7+2 pts
16Walworth County27.7+2.5 pts
17Meade County27.4-0.5 pts
18Harding County27.4+4.3 pts
19Yankton County27.3+0.8 pts
20Moody County27+0.3 pts
21Stanley County26.9-2.2 pts
22Turner County26.5+0.5 pts
23Hutchinson County25.8+0.4 pts
24Brule County25.7+1.2 pts
25Beadle County25.5+1.6 pts
26Hand County25.3+0.3 pts
27Spink County25.1-1.4 pts
28Charles Mix County24.7+2.3 pts
29Grant County24.4-0.2 pts
30Potter County24.3-0.1 pts
31Deuel County23.7+0.4 pts
32Marshall County23.3-4.7 pts
33Davison County23.3+0.5 pts
34Lyman County23.2-2.6 pts
35Kingsbury County23-1.1 pts
36Day County22.4+1.2 pts
37Faulk County22.2-3.2 pts
38Hamlin County21.9+0.7 pts
39Sully County21.5+0.8 pts
40Hanson County21.1+2.9 pts
41Douglas County20.6+0.8 pts
42McPherson County20.5-1.1 pts
43Hyde County20.3+3.6 pts
44Perkins County20.2-0.6 pts
45Codington County20.2-0.1 pts
46Bon Homme County20.1-2.7 pts
47Sanborn County19.9+2.7 pts
48Fall River County19.9-2.2 pts
49Gregory County19.2+0.1 pts
50Clark County18.7-0.5 pts
51Bennett County18.4-1.8 pts
52Aurora County18.2-0.1 pts
53Butte County18.2-2.1 pts
54Dewey County17.9+0.8 pts
55Corson County17.2+1.7 pts
56Tripp County17.1-2.1 pts
57Jerauld County16.8-2.6 pts
58Haakon County16.6+0.6 pts
59Roberts County16.5+0.4 pts
60Miner County16.5-0.8 pts
61Jackson County15.6+1.4 pts
62Ziebach County14.9+0.3 pts
63Todd County14.7+1.4 pts
64Mellette County11.9-2.7 pts
65Oglala Lakota County8.2-2.2 pts
66Buffalo County6.8-0.1 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

People aged 25 and over whose highest degree is a bachelor's, master's, professional school or doctorate degree, as a percentage of all people aged 25 and over. United States: American Community Survey five-year estimate, where the period shown is the last year of the five-year span.

Excludes associate degrees and college without a degree. Not comparable with EU tertiary attainment, which includes short-cycle tertiary education and usually covers ages 25 to 64. Calculated from counts in ACS table B15003, which are stored as inputs.

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

U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2022/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2022-b15003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

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Questions

Which county has the highest share of adults with a bachelor's degree?

Brookings County, with 42.4% in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest share of adults with a bachelor's degree?

Buffalo County, with 6.8% in 2022.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Bachelor's degree or higher, population 25 and over: other rankings

Counties in South Dakota: more rankings