Counties in South Dakota by business establishments (QCEW)

Minnehaha County had the highest business establishments (QCEW) of 66 counties in 2014, at 6,799. Buffalo County had the lowest, at 25. The median was 210 and the figure for South Dakota was 31,976. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest6,799Minnehaha County
Median21066 counties
South Dakota31,976History

Map of counties, 2014

Aurora County: 113 countBeadle County: 667 countBennett County: 97 countBon Homme County: 225 countBrookings County: 1,048 countBrown County: 1,451 countBrule County: 262 countBuffalo County: 25 countButte County: 378 countCampbell County: 70 countCharles Mix County: 340 countClark County: 161 countClay County: 377 countCodington County: 1,199 countCorson County: 70 countCuster County: 337 countDavison County: 817 countDay County: 220 countDeuel County: 183 countDewey County: 150 countDouglas County: 127 countEdmunds County: 175 countFall River County: 278 countFaulk County: 92 countGrant County: 340 countGregory County: 220 countHaakon County: 103 countHamlin County: 231 countHand County: 151 countHanson County: 88 countHarding County: 61 countHughes County: 822 countHutchinson County: 267 countHyde County: 60 countJackson County: 81 countJerauld County: 107 countJones County: 69 countKingsbury County: 227 countLake County: 441 countLawrence County: 1,128 countLincoln County: 1,697 countLyman County: 118 countMcCook County: 214 countMcPherson County: 87 countMarshall County: 190 countMeade County: 792 countMellette County: 48 countMiner County: 101 countMinnehaha County: 6,799 countMoody County: 206 countOglala Lakota County: 122 countPennington County: 4,241 countPerkins County: 145 countPotter County: 126 countRoberts County: 283 countSanborn County: 82 countSpink County: 257 countStanley County: 139 countSully County: 91 countTodd County: 108 countTripp County: 255 countTurner County: 285 countUnion County: 669 countWalworth County: 259 countYankton County: 818 countZiebach County: 37 count
  • Under 90
  • 90 to 120
  • 120 to 210
  • 210 to 270
  • 270 to 690
  • 690 and over
count, 2014. Source: BLS, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2014

Minnehaha County: 6,799 countMinnehaha County6,799Pennington County: 4,241 countPennington County4,241Lincoln County: 1,697 countLincoln County1,697Brown County: 1,451 countBrown County1,451Codington County: 1,199 countCodington County1,199Lawrence County: 1,128 countLawrence County1,128Brookings County: 1,048 countBrookings County1,048Hughes County: 822 countHughes County822Yankton County: 818 countYankton County818Davison County: 817 countDavison County817Meade County: 792 countMeade County792Union County: 669 countUnion County669Beadle County: 667 countBeadle County667Lake County: 441 countLake County441Butte County: 378 countButte County378Clay County: 377 countClay County377Charles Mix County: 340 countCharles Mix County340Grant County: 340 countGrant County340Custer County: 337 countCuster County337Turner County: 285 countTurner County285Roberts County: 283 countRoberts County283Fall River County: 278 countFall River County278Hutchinson County: 267 countHutchinson County267Brule County: 262 countBrule County262Walworth County: 259 countWalworth County259Spink County: 257 countSpink County257Tripp County: 255 countTripp County255Hamlin County: 231 countHamlin County231Kingsbury County: 227 countKingsbury County227Bon Homme County: 225 countBon Homme County225Day County: 220 countDay County220Gregory County: 220 countGregory County220McCook County: 214 countMcCook County214Moody County: 206 countMoody County206Marshall County: 190 countMarshall County190Deuel County: 183 countDeuel County183Edmunds County: 175 countEdmunds County175Clark County: 161 countClark County161Hand County: 151 countHand County151Dewey County: 150 countDewey County150Minnehaha County: 6,799 countMinnehaha County6,799Pennington County: 4,241 countPennington County4,241Lincoln County: 1,697 countLincoln County1,697Brown County: 1,451 countBrown County1,451Codington County: 1,199 countCodington County1,199Lawrence County: 1,128 countLawrence County1,128Brookings County: 1,048 countBrookings County1,048Hughes County: 822 countHughes County822Yankton County: 818 countYankton County818Davison County: 817 countDavison County817Meade County: 792 countMeade County792Union County: 669 countUnion County669Beadle County: 667 countBeadle County667Lake County: 441 countLake County441Butte County: 378 countButte County378Clay County: 377 countClay County377Charles Mix County: 340 countCharles Mix County340Grant County: 340 countGrant County340Custer County: 337 countCuster County337Turner County: 285 countTurner County285Roberts County: 283 countRoberts County283Fall River County: 278 countFall River County278Hutchinson County: 267 countHutchinson County267Brule County: 262 countBrule County262Walworth County: 259 countWalworth County259Spink County: 257 countSpink County257Tripp County: 255 countTripp County255Hamlin County: 231 countHamlin County231Kingsbury County: 227 countKingsbury County227Bon Homme County: 225 countBon Homme County225Day County: 220 countDay County220Gregory County: 220 countGregory County220McCook County: 214 countMcCook County214Moody County: 206 countMoody County206Marshall County: 190 countMarshall County190Deuel County: 183 countDeuel County183Edmunds County: 175 countEdmunds County175Clark County: 161 countClark County161Hand County: 151 countHand County151Dewey County: 150 countDewey County150
count. Source: BLS, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2014
count
Change on 2013
1Minnehaha County6,799+1.4%
2Pennington County4,241+2.3%
3Lincoln County1,697+4%
4Brown County1,451+1.4%
5Codington County1,199+0.3%
6Lawrence County1,128-1.9%
7Brookings County1,048+1.8%
8Hughes County822-1%
9Yankton County818-0.8%
10Davison County817+0.2%
11Meade County792+1.8%
12Union County669+1.7%
13Beadle County667+1.1%
14Lake County441+1.8%
15Butte County378+2.7%
16Clay County377-2.6%
17Charles Mix County340+1.8%
17Grant County340-1.2%
19Custer County337+3.4%
20Turner County285+0.4%
21Roberts County283-3.4%
22Fall River County278-1.4%
23Hutchinson County267-1.8%
24Brule County262-2.2%
25Walworth County259+0.8%
26Spink County2570%
27Tripp County255+2.4%
28Hamlin County231+1.3%
29Kingsbury County227+3.7%
30Bon Homme County225+0.4%
31Day County220-0.9%
31Gregory County2200%
33McCook County214-1.4%
34Moody County206+2.5%
35Marshall County1900%
36Deuel County183+1.1%
37Edmunds County175+2.3%
38Clark County1610%
39Hand County1510%
40Dewey County150-3.2%
41Perkins County145+0.7%
42Stanley County139+1.5%
43Douglas County1270%
44Potter County126-2.3%
45Oglala Lakota County122+3.4%
46Lyman County118-0.8%
47Aurora County113-2.6%
48Todd County108+3.8%
49Jerauld County107+1.9%
50Haakon County1030%
51Miner County101+4.1%
52Bennett County97-3%
53Faulk County92+4.5%
54Sully County91+3.4%
55Hanson County88+7.3%
56McPherson County87-2.2%
57Sanborn County82-1.2%
58Jackson County81+1.3%
59Campbell County70+2.9%
59Corson County70-1.4%
61Jones County69-1.4%
62Harding County61-1.6%
63Hyde County600%
64Mellette County48+2.1%
65Ziebach County37-2.6%
66Buffalo County250%

Other periods

About this ranking

Average number of establishments with jobs covered by unemployment insurance during the year, all industries, private and government, from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. An establishment is a single place of business, such as a factory, store or office; a company with several locations has several.

Counts places of business, not firms: for firms use employer_firms. Changes in how large employers report their locations can move the count without any change in activity.

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. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2014/a/industry/10.csv. 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

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2026). Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties (Counties in South Dakota by business establishments (QCEW), 2014) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2014/a/industry/10.csv

MLA 9

Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties, Counties in South Dakota by business establishments (QCEW), 2014. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2014/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties?period=2014. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Counties in South Dakota by business establishments (QCEW), 2014. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2014/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties?period=2014.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties, Counties in South Dakota by business establishments (QCEW), 2014 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2014/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties?period=2014 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_south_dakota_2014,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties: Counties in South Dakota by business establishments (QCEW), 2014}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2014/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties?period=2014. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2014/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
TI  - Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties: Counties in South Dakota by business establishments (QCEW), 2014
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2014/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties?period=2014
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties?period=2014.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2014/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Rank Counties in South Dakota by business establishments (QCEW) using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest business establishments (QCEW)?

Minnehaha County, with 6,799 in 2014, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest business establishments (QCEW)?

Buffalo County, with 25 in 2014.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Business establishments (QCEW): other rankings

Counties in South Dakota: more rankings