Counties in South Dakota by business establishments (QCEW)

Minnehaha County had the highest business establishments (QCEW) of 66 counties in 2022, at 9,428. Ziebach County had the lowest, at 28. The median was 220 and the figure for South Dakota was 38,716. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest9,428Minnehaha County
Median22066 counties
South Dakota38,716History

Map of counties, 2022

Aurora County: 106 countBeadle County: 680 countBennett County: 95 countBon Homme County: 233 countBrookings County: 1,278 countBrown County: 1,509 countBrule County: 252 countBuffalo County: 30 countButte County: 447 countCampbell County: 71 countCharles Mix County: 373 countClark County: 180 countClay County: 451 countCodington County: 1,373 countCorson County: 68 countCuster County: 401 countDavison County: 813 countDay County: 246 countDeuel County: 192 countDewey County: 146 countDouglas County: 124 countEdmunds County: 174 countFall River County: 318 countFaulk County: 110 countGrant County: 368 countGregory County: 238 countHaakon County: 116 countHamlin County: 264 countHand County: 173 countHanson County: 111 countHarding County: 73 countHughes County: 921 countHutchinson County: 291 countHyde County: 64 countJackson County: 85 countJerauld County: 103 countJones County: 68 countKingsbury County: 260 countLake County: 472 countLawrence County: 1,540 countLincoln County: 2,382 countLyman County: 142 countMcCook County: 240 countMcPherson County: 88 countMarshall County: 202 countMeade County: 981 countMellette County: 46 countMiner County: 105 countMinnehaha County: 9,428 countMoody County: 207 countOglala Lakota County: 129 countPennington County: 5,677 countPerkins County: 145 countPotter County: 140 countRoberts County: 309 countSanborn County: 89 countSpink County: 278 countStanley County: 158 countSully County: 93 countTodd County: 105 countTripp County: 258 countTurner County: 331 countUnion County: 845 countWalworth County: 255 countYankton County: 855 countZiebach County: 28 count
  • Under 90
  • 90 to 140
  • 140 to 220
  • 220 to 300
  • 300 to 820
  • 820 and over
count, 2022. 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, 2022

Minnehaha County: 9,428 countMinnehaha County9,428Pennington County: 5,677 countPennington County5,677Lincoln County: 2,382 countLincoln County2,382Lawrence County: 1,540 countLawrence County1,540Brown County: 1,509 countBrown County1,509Codington County: 1,373 countCodington County1,373Brookings County: 1,278 countBrookings County1,278Meade County: 981 countMeade County981Hughes County: 921 countHughes County921Yankton County: 855 countYankton County855Union County: 845 countUnion County845Davison County: 813 countDavison County813Beadle County: 680 countBeadle County680Lake County: 472 countLake County472Clay County: 451 countClay County451Butte County: 447 countButte County447Custer County: 401 countCuster County401Charles Mix County: 373 countCharles Mix County373Grant County: 368 countGrant County368Turner County: 331 countTurner County331Fall River County: 318 countFall River County318Roberts County: 309 countRoberts County309Hutchinson County: 291 countHutchinson County291Spink County: 278 countSpink County278Hamlin County: 264 countHamlin County264Kingsbury County: 260 countKingsbury County260Tripp County: 258 countTripp County258Walworth County: 255 countWalworth County255Brule County: 252 countBrule County252Day County: 246 countDay County246McCook County: 240 countMcCook County240Gregory County: 238 countGregory County238Bon Homme County: 233 countBon Homme County233Moody County: 207 countMoody County207Marshall County: 202 countMarshall County202Deuel County: 192 countDeuel County192Clark County: 180 countClark County180Edmunds County: 174 countEdmunds County174Hand County: 173 countHand County173Stanley County: 158 countStanley County158Minnehaha County: 9,428 countMinnehaha County9,428Pennington County: 5,677 countPennington County5,677Lincoln County: 2,382 countLincoln County2,382Lawrence County: 1,540 countLawrence County1,540Brown County: 1,509 countBrown County1,509Codington County: 1,373 countCodington County1,373Brookings County: 1,278 countBrookings County1,278Meade County: 981 countMeade County981Hughes County: 921 countHughes County921Yankton County: 855 countYankton County855Union County: 845 countUnion County845Davison County: 813 countDavison County813Beadle County: 680 countBeadle County680Lake County: 472 countLake County472Clay County: 451 countClay County451Butte County: 447 countButte County447Custer County: 401 countCuster County401Charles Mix County: 373 countCharles Mix County373Grant County: 368 countGrant County368Turner County: 331 countTurner County331Fall River County: 318 countFall River County318Roberts County: 309 countRoberts County309Hutchinson County: 291 countHutchinson County291Spink County: 278 countSpink County278Hamlin County: 264 countHamlin County264Kingsbury County: 260 countKingsbury County260Tripp County: 258 countTripp County258Walworth County: 255 countWalworth County255Brule County: 252 countBrule County252Day County: 246 countDay County246McCook County: 240 countMcCook County240Gregory County: 238 countGregory County238Bon Homme County: 233 countBon Homme County233Moody County: 207 countMoody County207Marshall County: 202 countMarshall County202Deuel County: 192 countDeuel County192Clark County: 180 countClark County180Edmunds County: 174 countEdmunds County174Hand County: 173 countHand County173Stanley County: 158 countStanley County158
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

RankCounties2022
count
Change on 2021
1Minnehaha County9,428+10.1%
2Pennington County5,677+9.7%
3Lincoln County2,382+5.5%
4Lawrence County1,540+8.6%
5Brown County1,509+2.2%
6Codington County1,373+4.9%
7Brookings County1,278+7.5%
8Meade County981+7.2%
9Hughes County921+3.4%
10Yankton County855-0.8%
11Union County845+7.4%
12Davison County813-0.1%
13Beadle County680+0.1%
14Lake County472+1.1%
15Clay County451+3.9%
16Butte County447+9%
17Custer County401+2.6%
18Charles Mix County373+2.5%
19Grant County368+0.3%
20Turner County331+4.4%
21Fall River County318+2.6%
22Roberts County309+2%
23Hutchinson County291+1.7%
24Spink County278-0.4%
25Hamlin County264+1.5%
26Kingsbury County260+3.2%
27Tripp County258+0.8%
28Walworth County255+2%
29Brule County252-2.3%
30Day County246+1.7%
31McCook County240+4.3%
32Gregory County238+1.7%
33Bon Homme County233+5%
34Moody County207-0.5%
35Marshall County202-1%
36Deuel County192+2.1%
37Clark County180+0.6%
38Edmunds County174-3.3%
39Hand County173+1.8%
40Stanley County158+0.6%
41Dewey County1460%
42Perkins County145-0.7%
43Lyman County142+1.4%
44Potter County140+2.9%
45Oglala Lakota County129+1.6%
46Douglas County124-2.4%
47Haakon County116+1.8%
48Hanson County111+2.8%
49Faulk County110+4.8%
50Aurora County106-3.6%
51Miner County105+2.9%
51Todd County1050%
53Jerauld County103-1.9%
54Bennett County95-1%
55Sully County93-4.1%
56Sanborn County89+1.1%
57McPherson County88+1.1%
58Jackson County850%
59Harding County73+4.3%
60Campbell County71-1.4%
61Corson County680%
61Jones County680%
63Hyde County64+1.6%
64Mellette County46+2.2%
65Buffalo County30+7.1%
66Ziebach County28-12.5%

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/2022/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), 2022) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2022/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), 2022. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2022/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties?period=2022. 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), 2022. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2022/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties?period=2022.

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), 2022 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2022/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties?period=2022 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_south_dakota_2022,
  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), 2022}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2022/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties?period=2022. 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/2022/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), 2022
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2022/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties?period=2022
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties?period=2022.
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/2022/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 9,428 in 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest business establishments (QCEW)?

Ziebach County, with 28 in 2022.

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