Counties in South Dakota by employer firm births

Minnehaha County had the highest employer firm births of 61 counties in 1997, at 287. Corson County had the lowest, at 0. The median was 9 and the figure for South Dakota was 1,509. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Median961 counties
South Dakota1,509History

Map of counties, 1997

Aurora County: 7 countBeadle County: 24 countBennett County: 5 countBon Homme County: 6 countBrookings County: 48 countBrown County: 68 countBrule County: 8 countButte County: 25 countCampbell County: 3 countCharles Mix County: 26 countClark County: 11 countClay County: 22 countCodington County: 80 countCorson County: 0 countCuster County: 15 countDavison County: 49 countDay County: 10 countDeuel County: 7 countDewey County: 5 countDouglas County: 4 countEdmunds County: 9 countFall River County: 19 countFaulk County: 5 countGrant County: 22 countGregory County: 12 countHaakon County: 7 countHamlin County: 9 countHand County: 6 countHanson County: 6 countHughes County: 37 countHutchinson County: 8 countHyde County: 3 countJerauld County: 5 countKingsbury County: 13 countLake County: 23 countLawrence County: 70 countLincoln County: 44 countLyman County: 3 countMcCook County: 12 countMcPherson County: 5 countMarshall County: 6 countMeade County: 44 countMellette County: 5 countMiner County: 4 countMinnehaha County: 287 countMoody County: 13 countOglala Lakota County: 5 countPennington County: 233 countPerkins County: 4 countPotter County: 9 countRoberts County: 10 countSanborn County: 5 countSpink County: 9 countStanley County: 6 countSully County: 3 countTodd County: 3 countTripp County: 10 countTurner County: 21 countUnion County: 33 countWalworth County: 9 countYankton County: 47 count
  • Under 5
  • 5 to 6
  • 6 to 9
  • 9 to 15
  • 15 to 37
  • 37 and over
  • No data
count, 1997. Hatched areas have no value for this period. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 1997

Minnehaha County: 287 countMinnehaha County287Pennington County: 233 countPennington County233Codington County: 80 countCodington County80Lawrence County: 70 countLawrence County70Brown County: 68 countBrown County68Davison County: 49 countDavison County49Brookings County: 48 countBrookings County48Yankton County: 47 countYankton County47Lincoln County: 44 countLincoln County44Meade County: 44 countMeade County44Hughes County: 37 countHughes County37Union County: 33 countUnion County33Charles Mix County: 26 countCharles Mix County26Butte County: 25 countButte County25Beadle County: 24 countBeadle County24Lake County: 23 countLake County23Clay County: 22 countClay County22Grant County: 22 countGrant County22Turner County: 21 countTurner County21Fall River County: 19 countFall River County19Custer County: 15 countCuster County15Kingsbury County: 13 countKingsbury County13Moody County: 13 countMoody County13Gregory County: 12 countGregory County12McCook County: 12 countMcCook County12Clark County: 11 countClark County11Day County: 10 countDay County10Roberts County: 10 countRoberts County10Tripp County: 10 countTripp County10Edmunds County: 9 countEdmunds County9Hamlin County: 9 countHamlin County9Potter County: 9 countPotter County9Spink County: 9 countSpink County9Walworth County: 9 countWalworth County9Brule County: 8 countBrule County8Hutchinson County: 8 countHutchinson County8Aurora County: 7 countAurora County7Deuel County: 7 countDeuel County7Haakon County: 7 countHaakon County7Bon Homme County: 6 countBon Homme County6Minnehaha County: 287 countMinnehaha County287Pennington County: 233 countPennington County233Codington County: 80 countCodington County80Lawrence County: 70 countLawrence County70Brown County: 68 countBrown County68Davison County: 49 countDavison County49Brookings County: 48 countBrookings County48Yankton County: 47 countYankton County47Lincoln County: 44 countLincoln County44Meade County: 44 countMeade County44Hughes County: 37 countHughes County37Union County: 33 countUnion County33Charles Mix County: 26 countCharles Mix County26Butte County: 25 countButte County25Beadle County: 24 countBeadle County24Lake County: 23 countLake County23Clay County: 22 countClay County22Grant County: 22 countGrant County22Turner County: 21 countTurner County21Fall River County: 19 countFall River County19Custer County: 15 countCuster County15Kingsbury County: 13 countKingsbury County13Moody County: 13 countMoody County13Gregory County: 12 countGregory County12McCook County: 12 countMcCook County12Clark County: 11 countClark County11Day County: 10 countDay County10Roberts County: 10 countRoberts County10Tripp County: 10 countTripp County10Edmunds County: 9 countEdmunds County9Hamlin County: 9 countHamlin County9Potter County: 9 countPotter County9Spink County: 9 countSpink County9Walworth County: 9 countWalworth County9Brule County: 8 countBrule County8Hutchinson County: 8 countHutchinson County8Aurora County: 7 countAurora County7Deuel County: 7 countDeuel County7Haakon County: 7 countHaakon County7Bon Homme County: 6 countBon Homme County6
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978. Retrieved 2026-10-22.

Full ranking

RankCounties1997
count
Change on 1996
1Minnehaha County287-8.6%
2Pennington County233+20.7%
3Codington County80+45.5%
4Lawrence County70-7.9%
5Brown County68-13.9%
6Davison County49-10.9%
7Brookings County48+11.6%
8Yankton County47+17.5%
9Lincoln County44-21.4%
9Meade County44-32.3%
11Hughes County37-9.8%
12Union County33+22.2%
13Charles Mix County26+18.2%
14Butte County25+31.6%
15Beadle County24-35.1%
16Lake County23-25.8%
17Clay County22+10%
17Grant County22+46.7%
19Turner County21+40%
20Fall River County19+5.6%
21Custer County15-11.8%
22Kingsbury County13-7.1%
22Moody County13-13.3%
24Gregory County12-7.7%
24McCook County12+71.4%
26Clark County11+57.1%
27Day County10-33.3%
27Roberts County10-23.1%
27Tripp County10-44.4%
30Edmunds County9+50%
30Hamlin County9-18.2%
30Potter County9+80%
30Spink County9+12.5%
30Walworth County9-43.8%
35Brule County8-42.9%
35Hutchinson County8-27.3%
37Aurora County7+40%
37Deuel County7-12.5%
37Haakon County7+75%
40Bon Homme County6-45.5%
40Hand County6+20%
40Hanson County6+20%
40Marshall County6-33.3%
40Stanley County6-33.3%
45Bennett County5+25%
45Dewey County5+66.7%
45Faulk County50%
45Jerauld County5n/a
45McPherson County5-16.7%
45Mellette County50%
45Oglala Lakota County5-28.6%
45Sanborn County5n/a
53Douglas County4-63.6%
53Miner County4+33.3%
53Perkins County4-60%
56Campbell County3-25%
56Hyde County3-25%
56Lyman County3-50%
56Sully County3n/a
56Todd County3-57.1%
61Corson County0n/a

Other periods

About this ranking

New employer firms: firms of age zero in March of the year, meaning that every establishment of the firm had its first employees during the previous twelve months. United States: Census Bureau Business Dynamics Statistics, which calls these firms startups.

A firm counts only when it has employees, so a business without staff is not a birth, and a new branch, merger or change of ownership of an existing firm is not a birth either. Not the same as business_applications (requests for an employer number) or enterprise_births (European business demography). The year is the twelve months to March: 2023 compares March 2022 with March 2023.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. 5 counties with data in other periods have no value for 1997 and are left out rather than filled from another source. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-22.

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. Census Bureau. (2025). Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978 (Counties in South Dakota by employer firm births, 1997) [Data set]. Retrieved October 22, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv

MLA 9

Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978, Counties in South Dakota by employer firm births, 1997. U.S. Census Bureau, 25 Sept. 2025, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/south-dakota-counties?period=1997. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2025. Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978. Counties in South Dakota by employer firm births, 1997. Dataset. Accessed October 22, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/south-dakota-counties?period=1997.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978, Counties in South Dakota by employer firm births, 1997 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/south-dakota-counties?period=1997 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_south_dakota_1997,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978: Counties in South Dakota by employer firm births, 1997}},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-22},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/south-dakota-counties?period=1997. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023\_st\_cty\_fac.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-22.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978: Counties in South Dakota by employer firm births, 1997
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/09/25
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/south-dakota-counties?period=1997
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/south-dakota-counties?period=1997.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-22.
ER  - 
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Questions

Which county has the highest employer firm births?

Minnehaha County, with 287 in 1997, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Corson County, with 0 in 1997.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978. Retrieved 2026-10-22. 5 counties have no value for 1997 and are not ranked.

Employer firm births: other rankings

Counties in South Dakota: more rankings