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

Clay County had the highest share of adults with a bachelor's degree of 66 counties in 2023, at 46%. Buffalo County had the lowest, at 7%. The median was 24.3% and the figure for South Dakota was 31.1%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest46Clay County
Median24.366 counties
South Dakota31.1History

Top 40 counties, 2023

CSVChart (SVG)

Clay CountyClay County: 46 %46Brookings CountyBrookings County: 44 %44Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 42.5 %42.5Union CountyUnion County: 36.5 %36.5Hughes CountyHughes County: 35.9 %35.9Lake CountyLake County: 34.7 %34.7Minnehaha CountyMinnehaha County: 34.6 %34.6Lawrence CountyLawrence County: 34.1 %34.1Pennington CountyPennington County: 34.1 %34.1Brown CountyBrown County: 33.2 %33.2Custer CountyCuster County: 32.1 %32.1Walworth CountyWalworth County: 31.1 %31.1Moody CountyMoody County: 31 %31Harding CountyHarding County: 30.4 %30.4Brule CountyBrule County: 30.2 %30.2Campbell CountyCampbell County: 29.6 %29.6Edmunds CountyEdmunds County: 29.5 %29.5McCook CountyMcCook County: 28.7 %28.7Yankton CountyYankton County: 27.7 %27.7Spink CountySpink County: 27.1 %27.1Meade CountyMeade County: 26.9 %26.9Potter CountyPotter County: 26.6 %26.6Beadle CountyBeadle County: 26.4 %26.4Hand CountyHand County: 26.2 %26.2Turner CountyTurner County: 26.2 %26.2Hutchinson CountyHutchinson County: 25.7 %25.7Grant CountyGrant County: 25.5 %25.5Stanley CountyStanley County: 25.4 %25.4Jones CountyJones County: 25.4 %25.4Lyman CountyLyman County: 25.3 %25.3Charles Mix CountyCharles Mix County: 25.1 %25.1Davison CountyDavison County: 25 %25Hamlin CountyHamlin County: 24.5 %24.5Deuel CountyDeuel County: 24.1 %24.1Douglas CountyDouglas County: 22.9 %22.9Marshall CountyMarshall County: 22.5 %22.5McPherson CountyMcPherson County: 22.4 %22.4Kingsbury CountyKingsbury County: 22.3 %22.3Fall River CountyFall River County: 22.2 %22.2Perkins CountyPerkins County: 21.8 %21.8
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCounties2023 (%)Change on 2022
1Clay County46+5.9 pts
2Brookings County44+1.5 pts
3Lincoln County42.5+0.7 pts
4Union County36.5+1.1 pts
5Hughes County35.9+0.5 pts
6Lake County34.7+0.1 pts
7Minnehaha County34.6+0.4 pts
8Lawrence County34.1-2.6 pts
9Pennington County34.1+0.7 pts
10Brown County33.2+0.4 pts
11Custer County32.1+1.6 pts
12Walworth County31.1+3.4 pts
13Moody County31+4 pts
14Harding County30.4+3 pts
15Brule County30.2+4.4 pts
16Campbell County29.6+1.2 pts
17Edmunds County29.5+1.4 pts
18McCook County28.7+1 pts
19Yankton County27.7+0.4 pts
20Spink County27.1+2.1 pts
21Meade County26.9-0.5 pts
22Potter County26.6+2.3 pts
23Beadle County26.4+0.9 pts
24Hand County26.2+0.9 pts
25Turner County26.2-0.2 pts
26Hutchinson County25.7-0.1 pts
27Grant County25.5+1.1 pts
28Stanley County25.4-1.5 pts
29Jones County25.4-8.5 pts
30Lyman County25.3+2.1 pts
31Charles Mix County25.1+0.4 pts
32Davison County25+1.7 pts
33Hamlin County24.5+2.6 pts
34Deuel County24.1+0.4 pts
35Douglas County22.9+2.3 pts
36Marshall County22.5-0.9 pts
37McPherson County22.4+1.9 pts
38Kingsbury County22.3-0.7 pts
39Fall River County22.2+2.3 pts
40Perkins County21.8+1.5 pts
41Hanson County21.6+0.4 pts
42Day County21.3-1.1 pts
43Jerauld County21.1+4.3 pts
44Hyde County21.1+0.8 pts
45Gregory County21+1.8 pts
46Sully County20.9-0.6 pts
47Codington County20.9+0.7 pts
48Bennett County20.3+1.9 pts
49Bon Homme County20.1-0 pts
50Tripp County19.9+2.8 pts
51Haakon County19.6+2.9 pts
52Butte County19.4+1.2 pts
53Corson County19.2+2.1 pts
53Sanborn County19.2-0.7 pts
55Aurora County18.7+0.5 pts
56Faulk County18.3-3.9 pts
56Roberts County18.3+1.7 pts
58Dewey County17.3-0.6 pts
59Todd County16.6+1.8 pts
60Mellette County16.3+4.4 pts
61Clark County16.2-2.4 pts
62Miner County16.1-0.4 pts
63Ziebach County14.1-0.8 pts
64Jackson County11.4-4.2 pts
65Oglala Lakota County9.8+1.6 pts
66Buffalo County7+0.2 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/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b15003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

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Questions

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

Clay County, with 46% in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Buffalo County, with 7% in 2023.

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