Counties in South Dakota by business establishments (QCEW)

Minnehaha County had the highest business establishments (QCEW) of 66 counties in 2019, at 7,655. Buffalo County had the lowest, at 29. The median was 216 and the figure for South Dakota was 34,232. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest7,655Minnehaha County
Median21666 counties
South Dakota34,232History

Map of counties, 2019

Aurora County: 110 countBeadle County: 667 countBennett County: 89 countBon Homme County: 218 countBrookings County: 1,094 countBrown County: 1,459 countBrule County: 263 countBuffalo County: 29 countButte County: 401 countCampbell County: 72 countCharles Mix County: 348 countClark County: 177 countClay County: 400 countCodington County: 1,235 countCorson County: 66 countCuster County: 352 countDavison County: 818 countDay County: 249 countDeuel County: 175 countDewey County: 139 countDouglas County: 129 countEdmunds County: 181 countFall River County: 299 countFaulk County: 105 countGrant County: 358 countGregory County: 233 countHaakon County: 105 countHamlin County: 249 countHand County: 169 countHanson County: 98 countHarding County: 70 countHughes County: 868 countHutchinson County: 270 countHyde County: 69 countJackson County: 84 countJerauld County: 108 countJones County: 69 countKingsbury County: 222 countLake County: 477 countLawrence County: 1,263 countLincoln County: 2,053 countLyman County: 127 countMcCook County: 227 countMcPherson County: 89 countMarshall County: 196 countMeade County: 849 countMellette County: 42 countMiner County: 107 countMinnehaha County: 7,655 countMoody County: 214 countOglala Lakota County: 119 countPennington County: 4,638 countPerkins County: 144 countPotter County: 134 countRoberts County: 296 countSanborn County: 80 countSpink County: 273 countStanley County: 147 countSully County: 95 countTodd County: 103 countTripp County: 265 countTurner County: 310 countUnion County: 722 countWalworth County: 252 countYankton County: 841 countZiebach County: 34 count
  • Under 90
  • 90 to 130
  • 130 to 220
  • 220 to 280
  • 280 to 740
  • 740 and over
count, 2019. 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, 2019

Minnehaha County: 7,655 countMinnehaha County7,655Pennington County: 4,638 countPennington County4,638Lincoln County: 2,053 countLincoln County2,053Brown County: 1,459 countBrown County1,459Lawrence County: 1,263 countLawrence County1,263Codington County: 1,235 countCodington County1,235Brookings County: 1,094 countBrookings County1,094Hughes County: 868 countHughes County868Meade County: 849 countMeade County849Yankton County: 841 countYankton County841Davison County: 818 countDavison County818Union County: 722 countUnion County722Beadle County: 667 countBeadle County667Lake County: 477 countLake County477Butte County: 401 countButte County401Clay County: 400 countClay County400Grant County: 358 countGrant County358Custer County: 352 countCuster County352Charles Mix County: 348 countCharles Mix County348Turner County: 310 countTurner County310Fall River County: 299 countFall River County299Roberts County: 296 countRoberts County296Spink County: 273 countSpink County273Hutchinson County: 270 countHutchinson County270Tripp County: 265 countTripp County265Brule County: 263 countBrule County263Walworth County: 252 countWalworth County252Day County: 249 countDay County249Hamlin County: 249 countHamlin County249Gregory County: 233 countGregory County233McCook County: 227 countMcCook County227Kingsbury County: 222 countKingsbury County222Bon Homme County: 218 countBon Homme County218Moody County: 214 countMoody County214Marshall County: 196 countMarshall County196Edmunds County: 181 countEdmunds County181Clark County: 177 countClark County177Deuel County: 175 countDeuel County175Hand County: 169 countHand County169Stanley County: 147 countStanley County147Minnehaha County: 7,655 countMinnehaha County7,655Pennington County: 4,638 countPennington County4,638Lincoln County: 2,053 countLincoln County2,053Brown County: 1,459 countBrown County1,459Lawrence County: 1,263 countLawrence County1,263Codington County: 1,235 countCodington County1,235Brookings County: 1,094 countBrookings County1,094Hughes County: 868 countHughes County868Meade County: 849 countMeade County849Yankton County: 841 countYankton County841Davison County: 818 countDavison County818Union County: 722 countUnion County722Beadle County: 667 countBeadle County667Lake County: 477 countLake County477Butte County: 401 countButte County401Clay County: 400 countClay County400Grant County: 358 countGrant County358Custer County: 352 countCuster County352Charles Mix County: 348 countCharles Mix County348Turner County: 310 countTurner County310Fall River County: 299 countFall River County299Roberts County: 296 countRoberts County296Spink County: 273 countSpink County273Hutchinson County: 270 countHutchinson County270Tripp County: 265 countTripp County265Brule County: 263 countBrule County263Walworth County: 252 countWalworth County252Day County: 249 countDay County249Hamlin County: 249 countHamlin County249Gregory County: 233 countGregory County233McCook County: 227 countMcCook County227Kingsbury County: 222 countKingsbury County222Bon Homme County: 218 countBon Homme County218Moody County: 214 countMoody County214Marshall County: 196 countMarshall County196Edmunds County: 181 countEdmunds County181Clark County: 177 countClark County177Deuel County: 175 countDeuel County175Hand County: 169 countHand County169Stanley County: 147 countStanley County147
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

RankCounties2019
count
Change on 2018
1Minnehaha County7,655+3.4%
2Pennington County4,638+2.4%
3Lincoln County2,053+3%
4Brown County1,459-1.2%
5Lawrence County1,263+2.8%
6Codington County1,235+1.2%
7Brookings County1,094+1.8%
8Hughes County868+0.5%
9Meade County849+2.4%
10Yankton County841+0.2%
11Davison County818+0.7%
12Union County722-0.3%
13Beadle County667-0.3%
14Lake County477-1%
15Butte County401+1.3%
16Clay County400+1.3%
17Grant County358-0.6%
18Custer County352+0.6%
19Charles Mix County348+0.3%
20Turner County310+1.6%
21Fall River County299-0.3%
22Roberts County296+0.3%
23Spink County273-1.4%
24Hutchinson County270-0.4%
25Tripp County265+1.1%
26Brule County263-3%
27Walworth County252-2.7%
28Day County249+3.3%
28Hamlin County249+3.8%
30Gregory County233+0.4%
31McCook County227-0.9%
32Kingsbury County222+1.4%
33Bon Homme County218+2.3%
34Moody County214+1.4%
35Marshall County196+1.6%
36Edmunds County181+2.3%
37Clark County177+2.3%
38Deuel County175-1.1%
39Hand County169+1.2%
40Stanley County147+1.4%
41Perkins County144-1.4%
42Dewey County139-1.4%
43Potter County134+1.5%
44Douglas County129+0.8%
45Lyman County1270%
46Oglala Lakota County119-3.3%
47Aurora County110+4.8%
48Jerauld County1080%
49Miner County107-0.9%
50Faulk County105+1.9%
50Haakon County1050%
52Todd County103+2%
53Hanson County980%
54Sully County95+2.2%
55Bennett County89-4.3%
55McPherson County89+1.1%
57Jackson County84+1.2%
58Sanborn County80-1.2%
59Campbell County720%
60Harding County70+2.9%
61Hyde County69+6.2%
61Jones County69+1.5%
63Corson County66-1.5%
64Mellette County42-8.7%
65Ziebach County34-2.9%
66Buffalo County29-3.3%

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/2019/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), 2019) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2019/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), 2019. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2019/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties?period=2019. 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), 2019. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2019/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties?period=2019.

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), 2019 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2019/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties?period=2019 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_south_dakota_2019,
  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), 2019}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2019/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties?period=2019. 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/2019/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), 2019
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2019/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties?period=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties?period=2019.
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/2019/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Questions

Which county has the highest business establishments (QCEW)?

Minnehaha County, with 7,655 in 2019, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest business establishments (QCEW)?

Buffalo County, with 29 in 2019.

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