Counties in South Dakota by business establishments (QCEW)

Minnehaha County had the highest business establishments (QCEW) of 66 counties in 2016, at 7,089. Buffalo County had the lowest, at 25. The median was 212 and the figure for South Dakota was 32,980. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest7,089Minnehaha County
Median21266 counties
South Dakota32,980History

Map of counties, 2016

Aurora County: 104 countBeadle County: 677 countBennett County: 99 countBon Homme County: 219 countBrookings County: 1,070 countBrown County: 1,478 countBrule County: 262 countBuffalo County: 25 countButte County: 387 countCampbell County: 75 countCharles Mix County: 344 countClark County: 166 countClay County: 377 countCodington County: 1,239 countCorson County: 67 countCuster County: 336 countDavison County: 829 countDay County: 232 countDeuel County: 183 countDewey County: 140 countDouglas County: 126 countEdmunds County: 172 countFall River County: 296 countFaulk County: 98 countGrant County: 357 countGregory County: 229 countHaakon County: 107 countHamlin County: 238 countHand County: 154 countHanson County: 98 countHarding County: 62 countHughes County: 838 countHutchinson County: 276 countHyde County: 61 countJackson County: 84 countJerauld County: 110 countJones County: 70 countKingsbury County: 222 countLake County: 463 countLawrence County: 1,178 countLincoln County: 1,863 countLyman County: 123 countMcCook County: 231 countMcPherson County: 88 countMarshall County: 196 countMeade County: 802 countMellette County: 47 countMiner County: 105 countMinnehaha County: 7,089 countMoody County: 204 countOglala Lakota County: 119 countPennington County: 4,402 countPerkins County: 151 countPotter County: 128 countRoberts County: 286 countSanborn County: 77 countSpink County: 275 countStanley County: 141 countSully County: 95 countTodd County: 105 countTripp County: 269 countTurner County: 296 countUnion County: 686 countWalworth County: 258 countYankton County: 837 countZiebach County: 34 count
  • Under 90
  • 90 to 130
  • 130 to 210
  • 210 to 280
  • 280 to 710
  • 710 and over
count, 2016. 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, 2016

Minnehaha County: 7,089 countMinnehaha County7,089Pennington County: 4,402 countPennington County4,402Lincoln County: 1,863 countLincoln County1,863Brown County: 1,478 countBrown County1,478Codington County: 1,239 countCodington County1,239Lawrence County: 1,178 countLawrence County1,178Brookings County: 1,070 countBrookings County1,070Hughes County: 838 countHughes County838Yankton County: 837 countYankton County837Davison County: 829 countDavison County829Meade County: 802 countMeade County802Union County: 686 countUnion County686Beadle County: 677 countBeadle County677Lake County: 463 countLake County463Butte County: 387 countButte County387Clay County: 377 countClay County377Grant County: 357 countGrant County357Charles Mix County: 344 countCharles Mix County344Custer County: 336 countCuster County336Fall River County: 296 countFall River County296Turner County: 296 countTurner County296Roberts County: 286 countRoberts County286Hutchinson County: 276 countHutchinson County276Spink County: 275 countSpink County275Tripp County: 269 countTripp County269Brule County: 262 countBrule County262Walworth County: 258 countWalworth County258Hamlin County: 238 countHamlin County238Day County: 232 countDay County232McCook County: 231 countMcCook County231Gregory County: 229 countGregory County229Kingsbury County: 222 countKingsbury County222Bon Homme County: 219 countBon Homme County219Moody County: 204 countMoody County204Marshall County: 196 countMarshall County196Deuel County: 183 countDeuel County183Edmunds County: 172 countEdmunds County172Clark County: 166 countClark County166Hand County: 154 countHand County154Perkins County: 151 countPerkins County151Minnehaha County: 7,089 countMinnehaha County7,089Pennington County: 4,402 countPennington County4,402Lincoln County: 1,863 countLincoln County1,863Brown County: 1,478 countBrown County1,478Codington County: 1,239 countCodington County1,239Lawrence County: 1,178 countLawrence County1,178Brookings County: 1,070 countBrookings County1,070Hughes County: 838 countHughes County838Yankton County: 837 countYankton County837Davison County: 829 countDavison County829Meade County: 802 countMeade County802Union County: 686 countUnion County686Beadle County: 677 countBeadle County677Lake County: 463 countLake County463Butte County: 387 countButte County387Clay County: 377 countClay County377Grant County: 357 countGrant County357Charles Mix County: 344 countCharles Mix County344Custer County: 336 countCuster County336Fall River County: 296 countFall River County296Turner County: 296 countTurner County296Roberts County: 286 countRoberts County286Hutchinson County: 276 countHutchinson County276Spink County: 275 countSpink County275Tripp County: 269 countTripp County269Brule County: 262 countBrule County262Walworth County: 258 countWalworth County258Hamlin County: 238 countHamlin County238Day County: 232 countDay County232McCook County: 231 countMcCook County231Gregory County: 229 countGregory County229Kingsbury County: 222 countKingsbury County222Bon Homme County: 219 countBon Homme County219Moody County: 204 countMoody County204Marshall County: 196 countMarshall County196Deuel County: 183 countDeuel County183Edmunds County: 172 countEdmunds County172Clark County: 166 countClark County166Hand County: 154 countHand County154Perkins County: 151 countPerkins County151
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

RankCounties2016
count
Change on 2015
1Minnehaha County7,089+2.5%
2Pennington County4,402+1.3%
3Lincoln County1,863+5.3%
4Brown County1,478+1.6%
5Codington County1,239+1.2%
6Lawrence County1,178+0.8%
7Brookings County1,070+0.8%
8Hughes County838+0.2%
9Yankton County837+1.5%
10Davison County8290%
11Meade County802+0.6%
12Union County686+1%
13Beadle County677+2.4%
14Lake County463+2.7%
15Butte County387+0.3%
16Clay County377-0.5%
17Grant County357+1.1%
18Charles Mix County3440%
19Custer County336-1.2%
20Fall River County296+3.9%
20Turner County296+3.5%
22Roberts County286-0.3%
23Hutchinson County276+1.5%
24Spink County275+5%
25Tripp County269+3.9%
26Brule County262+0.4%
27Walworth County258-0.8%
28Hamlin County238+1.3%
29Day County232+1.3%
30McCook County231+5%
31Gregory County229+3.2%
32Kingsbury County222-2.6%
33Bon Homme County219-3.1%
34Moody County204-1%
35Marshall County196+1%
36Deuel County183+2.2%
37Edmunds County1720%
38Clark County166+1.2%
39Hand County154-0.6%
40Perkins County151+1.3%
41Stanley County141-0.7%
42Dewey County140-2.8%
43Potter County128+0.8%
44Douglas County126+1.6%
45Lyman County123+0.8%
46Oglala Lakota County119n/a
47Jerauld County110+0.9%
48Haakon County107+3.9%
49Miner County105+1.9%
49Todd County105-0.9%
51Aurora County104-2.8%
52Bennett County99+3.1%
53Faulk County98+2.1%
53Hanson County98+2.1%
55Sully County950%
56McPherson County88+1.1%
57Jackson County840%
58Sanborn County77-2.5%
59Campbell County75+5.6%
60Jones County70+1.4%
61Corson County67-1.5%
62Harding County620%
63Hyde County61+1.7%
64Mellette County470%
65Ziebach County34-2.9%
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/2016/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), 2016) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2016/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), 2016. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2016/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties?period=2016. 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), 2016. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2016/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties?period=2016.

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), 2016 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2016/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties?period=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_south_dakota_2016,
  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), 2016}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2016/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties?period=2016. 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/2016/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), 2016
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2016/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties?period=2016.
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/2016/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 7,089 in 2016, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest business establishments (QCEW)?

Buffalo County, with 25 in 2016.

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