Counties in South Dakota by business establishments (QCEW)

Minnehaha County had the highest business establishments (QCEW) of 66 counties in 2017, at 7,220. Buffalo County had the lowest, at 29. The median was 209 and the figure for South Dakota was 33,279. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest7,220Minnehaha County
Median20966 counties
South Dakota33,279History

Map of counties, 2017

Aurora County: 101 countBeadle County: 672 countBennett County: 96 countBon Homme County: 212 countBrookings County: 1,075 countBrown County: 1,482 countBrule County: 264 countBuffalo County: 29 countButte County: 393 countCampbell County: 71 countCharles Mix County: 342 countClark County: 163 countClay County: 385 countCodington County: 1,225 countCorson County: 68 countCuster County: 340 countDavison County: 819 countDay County: 230 countDeuel County: 181 countDewey County: 141 countDouglas County: 127 countEdmunds County: 171 countFall River County: 300 countFaulk County: 96 countGrant County: 359 countGregory County: 234 countHaakon County: 108 countHamlin County: 230 countHand County: 161 countHanson County: 95 countHarding County: 64 countHughes County: 854 countHutchinson County: 272 countHyde County: 65 countJackson County: 84 countJerauld County: 109 countJones County: 70 countKingsbury County: 221 countLake County: 468 countLawrence County: 1,193 countLincoln County: 1,937 countLyman County: 124 countMcCook County: 227 countMcPherson County: 88 countMarshall County: 189 countMeade County: 808 countMellette County: 47 countMiner County: 104 countMinnehaha County: 7,220 countMoody County: 205 countOglala Lakota County: 122 countPennington County: 4,456 countPerkins County: 151 countPotter County: 131 countRoberts County: 288 countSanborn County: 76 countSpink County: 276 countStanley County: 139 countSully County: 92 countTodd County: 105 countTripp County: 265 countTurner County: 308 countUnion County: 718 countWalworth County: 257 countYankton County: 837 countZiebach County: 34 count
  • Under 90
  • 90 to 130
  • 130 to 210
  • 210 to 280
  • 280 to 730
  • 730 and over
count, 2017. 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, 2017

Minnehaha County: 7,220 countMinnehaha County7,220Pennington County: 4,456 countPennington County4,456Lincoln County: 1,937 countLincoln County1,937Brown County: 1,482 countBrown County1,482Codington County: 1,225 countCodington County1,225Lawrence County: 1,193 countLawrence County1,193Brookings County: 1,075 countBrookings County1,075Hughes County: 854 countHughes County854Yankton County: 837 countYankton County837Davison County: 819 countDavison County819Meade County: 808 countMeade County808Union County: 718 countUnion County718Beadle County: 672 countBeadle County672Lake County: 468 countLake County468Butte County: 393 countButte County393Clay County: 385 countClay County385Grant County: 359 countGrant County359Charles Mix County: 342 countCharles Mix County342Custer County: 340 countCuster County340Turner County: 308 countTurner County308Fall River County: 300 countFall River County300Roberts County: 288 countRoberts County288Spink County: 276 countSpink County276Hutchinson County: 272 countHutchinson County272Tripp County: 265 countTripp County265Brule County: 264 countBrule County264Walworth County: 257 countWalworth County257Gregory County: 234 countGregory County234Day County: 230 countDay County230Hamlin County: 230 countHamlin County230McCook County: 227 countMcCook County227Kingsbury County: 221 countKingsbury County221Bon Homme County: 212 countBon Homme County212Moody County: 205 countMoody County205Marshall County: 189 countMarshall County189Deuel County: 181 countDeuel County181Edmunds County: 171 countEdmunds County171Clark County: 163 countClark County163Hand County: 161 countHand County161Perkins County: 151 countPerkins County151Minnehaha County: 7,220 countMinnehaha County7,220Pennington County: 4,456 countPennington County4,456Lincoln County: 1,937 countLincoln County1,937Brown County: 1,482 countBrown County1,482Codington County: 1,225 countCodington County1,225Lawrence County: 1,193 countLawrence County1,193Brookings County: 1,075 countBrookings County1,075Hughes County: 854 countHughes County854Yankton County: 837 countYankton County837Davison County: 819 countDavison County819Meade County: 808 countMeade County808Union County: 718 countUnion County718Beadle County: 672 countBeadle County672Lake County: 468 countLake County468Butte County: 393 countButte County393Clay County: 385 countClay County385Grant County: 359 countGrant County359Charles Mix County: 342 countCharles Mix County342Custer County: 340 countCuster County340Turner County: 308 countTurner County308Fall River County: 300 countFall River County300Roberts County: 288 countRoberts County288Spink County: 276 countSpink County276Hutchinson County: 272 countHutchinson County272Tripp County: 265 countTripp County265Brule County: 264 countBrule County264Walworth County: 257 countWalworth County257Gregory County: 234 countGregory County234Day County: 230 countDay County230Hamlin County: 230 countHamlin County230McCook County: 227 countMcCook County227Kingsbury County: 221 countKingsbury County221Bon Homme County: 212 countBon Homme County212Moody County: 205 countMoody County205Marshall County: 189 countMarshall County189Deuel County: 181 countDeuel County181Edmunds County: 171 countEdmunds County171Clark County: 163 countClark County163Hand County: 161 countHand County161Perkins 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

RankCounties2017
count
Change on 2016
1Minnehaha County7,220+1.8%
2Pennington County4,456+1.2%
3Lincoln County1,937+4%
4Brown County1,482+0.3%
5Codington County1,225-1.1%
6Lawrence County1,193+1.3%
7Brookings County1,075+0.5%
8Hughes County854+1.9%
9Yankton County8370%
10Davison County819-1.2%
11Meade County808+0.7%
12Union County718+4.7%
13Beadle County672-0.7%
14Lake County468+1.1%
15Butte County393+1.6%
16Clay County385+2.1%
17Grant County359+0.6%
18Charles Mix County342-0.6%
19Custer County340+1.2%
20Turner County308+4.1%
21Fall River County300+1.4%
22Roberts County288+0.7%
23Spink County276+0.4%
24Hutchinson County272-1.4%
25Tripp County265-1.5%
26Brule County264+0.8%
27Walworth County257-0.4%
28Gregory County234+2.2%
29Day County230-0.9%
29Hamlin County230-3.4%
31McCook County227-1.7%
32Kingsbury County221-0.5%
33Bon Homme County212-3.2%
34Moody County205+0.5%
35Marshall County189-3.6%
36Deuel County181-1.1%
37Edmunds County171-0.6%
38Clark County163-1.8%
39Hand County161+4.5%
40Perkins County1510%
41Dewey County141+0.7%
42Stanley County139-1.4%
43Potter County131+2.3%
44Douglas County127+0.8%
45Lyman County124+0.8%
46Oglala Lakota County122+2.5%
47Jerauld County109-0.9%
48Haakon County108+0.9%
49Todd County1050%
50Miner County104-1%
51Aurora County101-2.9%
52Bennett County96-3%
52Faulk County96-2%
54Hanson County95-3.1%
55Sully County92-3.2%
56McPherson County880%
57Jackson County840%
58Sanborn County76-1.3%
59Campbell County71-5.3%
60Jones County700%
61Corson County68+1.5%
62Hyde County65+6.6%
63Harding County64+3.2%
64Mellette County470%
65Ziebach County340%
66Buffalo County29+16%

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/2017/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), 2017) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2017/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), 2017. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2017/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties?period=2017. 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), 2017. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2017/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties?period=2017.

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), 2017 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2017/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties?period=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_south_dakota_2017,
  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), 2017}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2017/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties?period=2017. 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/2017/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), 2017
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2017/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties?period=2017.
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/2017/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 7,220 in 2017, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest business establishments (QCEW)?

Buffalo County, with 29 in 2017.

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