Counties in South Dakota by business establishments (QCEW)

Minnehaha County had the highest business establishments (QCEW) of 66 counties in 2023, at 9,789. Ziebach County had the lowest, at 28. The median was 224 and the figure for South Dakota was 39,657. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest9,789Minnehaha County
Median22466 counties
South Dakota39,657History

Map of counties, 2023

Aurora County: 105 countBeadle County: 695 countBennett County: 97 countBon Homme County: 239 countBrookings County: 1,343 countBrown County: 1,527 countBrule County: 256 countBuffalo County: 29 countButte County: 460 countCampbell County: 72 countCharles Mix County: 382 countClark County: 185 countClay County: 457 countCodington County: 1,407 countCorson County: 68 countCuster County: 417 countDavison County: 822 countDay County: 253 countDeuel County: 195 countDewey County: 150 countDouglas County: 129 countEdmunds County: 183 countFall River County: 333 countFaulk County: 122 countGrant County: 374 countGregory County: 230 countHaakon County: 117 countHamlin County: 270 countHand County: 173 countHanson County: 105 countHarding County: 71 countHughes County: 945 countHutchinson County: 298 countHyde County: 67 countJackson County: 83 countJerauld County: 105 countJones County: 64 countKingsbury County: 265 countLake County: 473 countLawrence County: 1,583 countLincoln County: 2,447 countLyman County: 139 countMcCook County: 238 countMcPherson County: 94 countMarshall County: 206 countMeade County: 1,028 countMellette County: 45 countMiner County: 108 countMinnehaha County: 9,789 countMoody County: 217 countOglala Lakota County: 132 countPennington County: 5,755 countPerkins County: 138 countPotter County: 144 countRoberts County: 315 countSanborn County: 89 countSpink County: 276 countStanley County: 156 countSully County: 95 countTodd County: 109 countTripp County: 260 countTurner County: 332 countUnion County: 868 countWalworth County: 252 countYankton County: 860 countZiebach County: 28 count
  • Under 90
  • 90 to 140
  • 140 to 220
  • 220 to 300
  • 300 to 830
  • 830 and over
count, 2023. 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, 2023

Minnehaha County: 9,789 countMinnehaha County9,789Pennington County: 5,755 countPennington County5,755Lincoln County: 2,447 countLincoln County2,447Lawrence County: 1,583 countLawrence County1,583Brown County: 1,527 countBrown County1,527Codington County: 1,407 countCodington County1,407Brookings County: 1,343 countBrookings County1,343Meade County: 1,028 countMeade County1,028Hughes County: 945 countHughes County945Union County: 868 countUnion County868Yankton County: 860 countYankton County860Davison County: 822 countDavison County822Beadle County: 695 countBeadle County695Lake County: 473 countLake County473Butte County: 460 countButte County460Clay County: 457 countClay County457Custer County: 417 countCuster County417Charles Mix County: 382 countCharles Mix County382Grant County: 374 countGrant County374Fall River County: 333 countFall River County333Turner County: 332 countTurner County332Roberts County: 315 countRoberts County315Hutchinson County: 298 countHutchinson County298Spink County: 276 countSpink County276Hamlin County: 270 countHamlin County270Kingsbury County: 265 countKingsbury County265Tripp County: 260 countTripp County260Brule County: 256 countBrule County256Day County: 253 countDay County253Walworth County: 252 countWalworth County252Bon Homme County: 239 countBon Homme County239McCook County: 238 countMcCook County238Gregory County: 230 countGregory County230Moody County: 217 countMoody County217Marshall County: 206 countMarshall County206Deuel County: 195 countDeuel County195Clark County: 185 countClark County185Edmunds County: 183 countEdmunds County183Hand County: 173 countHand County173Stanley County: 156 countStanley County156Minnehaha County: 9,789 countMinnehaha County9,789Pennington County: 5,755 countPennington County5,755Lincoln County: 2,447 countLincoln County2,447Lawrence County: 1,583 countLawrence County1,583Brown County: 1,527 countBrown County1,527Codington County: 1,407 countCodington County1,407Brookings County: 1,343 countBrookings County1,343Meade County: 1,028 countMeade County1,028Hughes County: 945 countHughes County945Union County: 868 countUnion County868Yankton County: 860 countYankton County860Davison County: 822 countDavison County822Beadle County: 695 countBeadle County695Lake County: 473 countLake County473Butte County: 460 countButte County460Clay County: 457 countClay County457Custer County: 417 countCuster County417Charles Mix County: 382 countCharles Mix County382Grant County: 374 countGrant County374Fall River County: 333 countFall River County333Turner County: 332 countTurner County332Roberts County: 315 countRoberts County315Hutchinson County: 298 countHutchinson County298Spink County: 276 countSpink County276Hamlin County: 270 countHamlin County270Kingsbury County: 265 countKingsbury County265Tripp County: 260 countTripp County260Brule County: 256 countBrule County256Day County: 253 countDay County253Walworth County: 252 countWalworth County252Bon Homme County: 239 countBon Homme County239McCook County: 238 countMcCook County238Gregory County: 230 countGregory County230Moody County: 217 countMoody County217Marshall County: 206 countMarshall County206Deuel County: 195 countDeuel County195Clark County: 185 countClark County185Edmunds County: 183 countEdmunds County183Hand County: 173 countHand County173Stanley County: 156 countStanley County156
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

RankCounties2023
count
Change on 2022
1Minnehaha County9,789+3.8%
2Pennington County5,755+1.4%
3Lincoln County2,447+2.7%
4Lawrence County1,583+2.8%
5Brown County1,527+1.2%
6Codington County1,407+2.5%
7Brookings County1,343+5.1%
8Meade County1,028+4.8%
9Hughes County945+2.6%
10Union County868+2.7%
11Yankton County860+0.6%
12Davison County822+1.1%
13Beadle County695+2.2%
14Lake County473+0.2%
15Butte County460+2.9%
16Clay County457+1.3%
17Custer County417+4%
18Charles Mix County382+2.4%
19Grant County374+1.6%
20Fall River County333+4.7%
21Turner County332+0.3%
22Roberts County315+1.9%
23Hutchinson County298+2.4%
24Spink County276-0.7%
25Hamlin County270+2.3%
26Kingsbury County265+1.9%
27Tripp County260+0.8%
28Brule County256+1.6%
29Day County253+2.8%
30Walworth County252-1.2%
31Bon Homme County239+2.6%
32McCook County238-0.8%
33Gregory County230-3.4%
34Moody County217+4.8%
35Marshall County206+2%
36Deuel County195+1.6%
37Clark County185+2.8%
38Edmunds County183+5.2%
39Hand County1730%
40Stanley County156-1.3%
41Dewey County150+2.7%
42Potter County144+2.9%
43Lyman County139-2.1%
44Perkins County138-4.8%
45Oglala Lakota County132+2.3%
46Douglas County129+4%
47Faulk County122+10.9%
48Haakon County117+0.9%
49Todd County109+3.8%
50Miner County108+2.9%
51Aurora County105-0.9%
51Hanson County105-5.4%
51Jerauld County105+1.9%
54Bennett County97+2.1%
55Sully County95+2.2%
56McPherson County94+6.8%
57Sanborn County890%
58Jackson County83-2.4%
59Campbell County72+1.4%
60Harding County71-2.7%
61Corson County680%
62Hyde County67+4.7%
63Jones County64-5.9%
64Mellette County45-2.2%
65Buffalo County29-3.3%
66Ziebach County280%

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/2023/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), 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2023/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), 2023. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2023/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties?period=2023. 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), 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2023/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties?period=2023.

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), 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2023/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties?period=2023 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_south_dakota_2023,
  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), 2023}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2023/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties?period=2023. 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/2023/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), 2023
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2023/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties?period=2023
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties?period=2023.
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/2023/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 9,789 in 2023, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest business establishments (QCEW)?

Ziebach County, with 28 in 2023.

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