Counties in South Dakota by business establishments (QCEW)

Minnehaha County had the highest business establishments (QCEW) of 65 counties in 2015, at 6,915. Buffalo County had the lowest, at 25. The median was 220 and the figure for South Dakota was 32,486. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest6,915Minnehaha County
Median22065 counties
South Dakota32,486History

Map of counties, 2015

Aurora County: 107 countBeadle County: 661 countBennett County: 96 countBon Homme County: 226 countBrookings County: 1,061 countBrown County: 1,455 countBrule County: 261 countBuffalo County: 25 countButte County: 386 countCampbell County: 71 countCharles Mix County: 344 countClark County: 164 countClay County: 379 countCodington County: 1,224 countCorson County: 68 countCuster County: 340 countDavison County: 829 countDay County: 229 countDeuel County: 179 countDewey County: 144 countDouglas County: 124 countEdmunds County: 172 countFall River County: 285 countFaulk County: 96 countGrant County: 353 countGregory County: 222 countHaakon County: 103 countHamlin County: 235 countHand County: 155 countHanson County: 96 countHarding County: 62 countHughes County: 836 countHutchinson County: 272 countHyde County: 60 countJackson County: 84 countJerauld County: 109 countJones County: 69 countKingsbury County: 228 countLake County: 451 countLawrence County: 1,169 countLincoln County: 1,770 countLyman County: 122 countMcCook County: 220 countMcPherson County: 87 countMarshall County: 194 countMeade County: 797 countMellette County: 47 countMiner County: 103 countMinnehaha County: 6,915 countMoody County: 206 countPennington County: 4,347 countPerkins County: 149 countPotter County: 127 countRoberts County: 287 countSanborn County: 79 countSpink County: 262 countStanley County: 142 countSully County: 95 countTodd County: 106 countTripp County: 259 countTurner County: 286 countUnion County: 679 countWalworth County: 260 countYankton County: 825 countZiebach County: 35 count
  • Under 90
  • 90 to 130
  • 130 to 220
  • 220 to 280
  • 280 to 720
  • 720 and over
  • No data
count, 2015. Hatched areas have no value for this period. 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, 2015

Minnehaha County: 6,915 countMinnehaha County6,915Pennington County: 4,347 countPennington County4,347Lincoln County: 1,770 countLincoln County1,770Brown County: 1,455 countBrown County1,455Codington County: 1,224 countCodington County1,224Lawrence County: 1,169 countLawrence County1,169Brookings County: 1,061 countBrookings County1,061Hughes County: 836 countHughes County836Davison County: 829 countDavison County829Yankton County: 825 countYankton County825Meade County: 797 countMeade County797Union County: 679 countUnion County679Beadle County: 661 countBeadle County661Lake County: 451 countLake County451Butte County: 386 countButte County386Clay County: 379 countClay County379Grant County: 353 countGrant County353Charles Mix County: 344 countCharles Mix County344Custer County: 340 countCuster County340Roberts County: 287 countRoberts County287Turner County: 286 countTurner County286Fall River County: 285 countFall River County285Hutchinson County: 272 countHutchinson County272Spink County: 262 countSpink County262Brule County: 261 countBrule County261Walworth County: 260 countWalworth County260Tripp County: 259 countTripp County259Hamlin County: 235 countHamlin County235Day County: 229 countDay County229Kingsbury County: 228 countKingsbury County228Bon Homme County: 226 countBon Homme County226Gregory County: 222 countGregory County222McCook County: 220 countMcCook County220Moody County: 206 countMoody County206Marshall County: 194 countMarshall County194Deuel County: 179 countDeuel County179Edmunds County: 172 countEdmunds County172Clark County: 164 countClark County164Hand County: 155 countHand County155Perkins County: 149 countPerkins County149Minnehaha County: 6,915 countMinnehaha County6,915Pennington County: 4,347 countPennington County4,347Lincoln County: 1,770 countLincoln County1,770Brown County: 1,455 countBrown County1,455Codington County: 1,224 countCodington County1,224Lawrence County: 1,169 countLawrence County1,169Brookings County: 1,061 countBrookings County1,061Hughes County: 836 countHughes County836Davison County: 829 countDavison County829Yankton County: 825 countYankton County825Meade County: 797 countMeade County797Union County: 679 countUnion County679Beadle County: 661 countBeadle County661Lake County: 451 countLake County451Butte County: 386 countButte County386Clay County: 379 countClay County379Grant County: 353 countGrant County353Charles Mix County: 344 countCharles Mix County344Custer County: 340 countCuster County340Roberts County: 287 countRoberts County287Turner County: 286 countTurner County286Fall River County: 285 countFall River County285Hutchinson County: 272 countHutchinson County272Spink County: 262 countSpink County262Brule County: 261 countBrule County261Walworth County: 260 countWalworth County260Tripp County: 259 countTripp County259Hamlin County: 235 countHamlin County235Day County: 229 countDay County229Kingsbury County: 228 countKingsbury County228Bon Homme County: 226 countBon Homme County226Gregory County: 222 countGregory County222McCook County: 220 countMcCook County220Moody County: 206 countMoody County206Marshall County: 194 countMarshall County194Deuel County: 179 countDeuel County179Edmunds County: 172 countEdmunds County172Clark County: 164 countClark County164Hand County: 155 countHand County155Perkins County: 149 countPerkins County149
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

RankCounties2015
count
Change on 2014
1Minnehaha County6,915+1.7%
2Pennington County4,347+2.5%
3Lincoln County1,770+4.3%
4Brown County1,455+0.3%
5Codington County1,224+2.1%
6Lawrence County1,169+3.6%
7Brookings County1,061+1.2%
8Hughes County836+1.7%
9Davison County829+1.5%
10Yankton County825+0.9%
11Meade County797+0.6%
12Union County679+1.5%
13Beadle County661-0.9%
14Lake County451+2.3%
15Butte County386+2.1%
16Clay County379+0.5%
17Grant County353+3.8%
18Charles Mix County344+1.2%
19Custer County340+0.9%
20Roberts County287+1.4%
21Turner County286+0.4%
22Fall River County285+2.5%
23Hutchinson County272+1.9%
24Spink County262+1.9%
25Brule County261-0.4%
26Walworth County260+0.4%
27Tripp County259+1.6%
28Hamlin County235+1.7%
29Day County229+4.1%
30Kingsbury County228+0.4%
31Bon Homme County226+0.4%
32Gregory County222+0.9%
33McCook County220+2.8%
34Moody County2060%
35Marshall County194+2.1%
36Deuel County179-2.2%
37Edmunds County172-1.7%
38Clark County164+1.9%
39Hand County155+2.6%
40Perkins County149+2.8%
41Dewey County144-4%
42Stanley County142+2.2%
43Potter County127+0.8%
44Douglas County124-2.4%
45Lyman County122+3.4%
46Jerauld County109+1.9%
47Aurora County107-5.3%
48Todd County106-1.9%
49Haakon County1030%
49Miner County103+2%
51Bennett County96-1%
51Faulk County96+4.3%
51Hanson County96+9.1%
54Sully County95+4.4%
55McPherson County870%
56Jackson County84+3.7%
57Sanborn County79-3.7%
58Campbell County71+1.4%
59Jones County690%
60Corson County68-2.9%
61Harding County62+1.6%
62Hyde County600%
63Mellette County47-2.1%
64Ziebach County35-5.4%
65Buffalo 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. 1 counties with data in other periods have no value for 2015 and are left out rather than filled from another source. 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/2015/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), 2015) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/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), 2015. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties?period=2015. 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), 2015. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties?period=2015.

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), 2015 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_south_dakota_2015,
  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), 2015}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties?period=2015. 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/2015/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), 2015
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties?period=2015.
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/2015/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Counties in South Dakota by business establishments (QCEW) using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"establishments_qcew","level":"province","within":"South Dakota","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=establishments_qcew&level=province&within=South%20Dakota&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which county has the highest business establishments (QCEW)?

Minnehaha County, with 6,915 in 2015, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest business establishments (QCEW)?

Buffalo County, with 25 in 2015.

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. 1 counties have no value for 2015 and are not ranked.

Business establishments (QCEW): other rankings

Counties in South Dakota: more rankings