Counties in South Dakota by employer firms, 2023

Minnehaha County had the highest employer firms of 66 counties in 2023, at 4,724. Buffalo County had the lowest, at 10. The median was 145 and the figure for South Dakota was 21,106. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest4,724Minnehaha County
Median14566 counties
South Dakota21,106History

Map of counties, 2023

Aurora County: 64 countBeadle County: 475 countBennett County: 53 countBon Homme County: 147 countBrookings County: 813 countBrown County: 1,052 countBrule County: 191 countBuffalo County: 10 countButte County: 323 countCampbell County: 45 countCharles Mix County: 245 countClark County: 108 countClay County: 261 countCodington County: 997 countCorson County: 35 countCuster County: 249 countDavison County: 610 countDay County: 175 countDeuel County: 115 countDewey County: 97 countDouglas County: 81 countEdmunds County: 103 countFall River County: 178 countFaulk County: 53 countGrant County: 239 countGregory County: 155 countHaakon County: 65 countHamlin County: 173 countHand County: 111 countHanson County: 77 countHarding County: 35 countHughes County: 540 countHutchinson County: 205 countHyde County: 36 countJackson County: 48 countJerauld County: 62 countJones County: 36 countKingsbury County: 149 countLake County: 289 countLawrence County: 1,040 countLincoln County: 1,846 countLyman County: 65 countMcCook County: 161 countMcPherson County: 56 countMarshall County: 120 countMeade County: 694 countMellette County: 22 countMiner County: 62 countMinnehaha County: 4,724 countMoody County: 143 countOglala Lakota County: 67 countPennington County: 3,201 countPerkins County: 94 countPotter County: 81 countRoberts County: 185 countSanborn County: 49 countSpink County: 169 countStanley County: 99 countSully County: 58 countTodd County: 52 countTripp County: 162 countTurner County: 208 countUnion County: 456 countWalworth County: 170 countYankton County: 599 countZiebach County: 15 count
  • Under 50
  • 50 to 80
  • 80 to 150
  • 150 to 190
  • 190 to 490
  • 490 and over
count, 2023. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2023

Minnehaha County: 4,724 countMinnehaha County4,724Pennington County: 3,201 countPennington County3,201Lincoln County: 1,846 countLincoln County1,846Brown County: 1,052 countBrown County1,052Lawrence County: 1,040 countLawrence County1,040Codington County: 997 countCodington County997Brookings County: 813 countBrookings County813Meade County: 694 countMeade County694Davison County: 610 countDavison County610Yankton County: 599 countYankton County599Hughes County: 540 countHughes County540Beadle County: 475 countBeadle County475Union County: 456 countUnion County456Butte County: 323 countButte County323Lake County: 289 countLake County289Clay County: 261 countClay County261Custer County: 249 countCuster County249Charles Mix County: 245 countCharles Mix County245Grant County: 239 countGrant County239Turner County: 208 countTurner County208Hutchinson County: 205 countHutchinson County205Brule County: 191 countBrule County191Roberts County: 185 countRoberts County185Fall River County: 178 countFall River County178Day County: 175 countDay County175Hamlin County: 173 countHamlin County173Walworth County: 170 countWalworth County170Spink County: 169 countSpink County169Tripp County: 162 countTripp County162McCook County: 161 countMcCook County161Gregory County: 155 countGregory County155Kingsbury County: 149 countKingsbury County149Bon Homme County: 147 countBon Homme County147Moody County: 143 countMoody County143Marshall County: 120 countMarshall County120Deuel County: 115 countDeuel County115Hand County: 111 countHand County111Clark County: 108 countClark County108Edmunds County: 103 countEdmunds County103Stanley County: 99 countStanley County99Minnehaha County: 4,724 countMinnehaha County4,724Pennington County: 3,201 countPennington County3,201Lincoln County: 1,846 countLincoln County1,846Brown County: 1,052 countBrown County1,052Lawrence County: 1,040 countLawrence County1,040Codington County: 997 countCodington County997Brookings County: 813 countBrookings County813Meade County: 694 countMeade County694Davison County: 610 countDavison County610Yankton County: 599 countYankton County599Hughes County: 540 countHughes County540Beadle County: 475 countBeadle County475Union County: 456 countUnion County456Butte County: 323 countButte County323Lake County: 289 countLake County289Clay County: 261 countClay County261Custer County: 249 countCuster County249Charles Mix County: 245 countCharles Mix County245Grant County: 239 countGrant County239Turner County: 208 countTurner County208Hutchinson County: 205 countHutchinson County205Brule County: 191 countBrule County191Roberts County: 185 countRoberts County185Fall River County: 178 countFall River County178Day County: 175 countDay County175Hamlin County: 173 countHamlin County173Walworth County: 170 countWalworth County170Spink County: 169 countSpink County169Tripp County: 162 countTripp County162McCook County: 161 countMcCook County161Gregory County: 155 countGregory County155Kingsbury County: 149 countKingsbury County149Bon Homme County: 147 countBon Homme County147Moody County: 143 countMoody County143Marshall County: 120 countMarshall County120Deuel County: 115 countDeuel County115Hand County: 111 countHand County111Clark County: 108 countClark County108Edmunds County: 103 countEdmunds County103Stanley County: 99 countStanley County99
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

RankCounties2023
count
Change on 2022
1Minnehaha County4,724+2.5%
2Pennington County3,201+0.6%
3Lincoln County1,846+4.6%
4Brown County1,052-1.3%
5Lawrence County1,040+4.1%
6Codington County997+1.3%
7Brookings County813+1.1%
8Meade County694+1.6%
9Davison County610+2.3%
10Yankton County599-1%
11Hughes County540+0.6%
12Beadle County475+1.1%
13Union County456-2.4%
14Butte County323+4.9%
15Lake County289-2%
16Clay County2610%
17Custer County249+0.8%
18Charles Mix County245+2.1%
19Grant County239-1.2%
20Turner County208-2.8%
21Hutchinson County205+0.5%
22Brule County1910%
23Roberts County185-1.6%
24Fall River County178-1.1%
25Day County175-1.1%
26Hamlin County173+4.8%
27Walworth County170-4.5%
28Spink County169+2.4%
29Tripp County162-0.6%
30McCook County161-1.2%
31Gregory County155-0.6%
32Kingsbury County149+5.7%
33Bon Homme County1470%
34Moody County143-2.1%
35Marshall County120-2.4%
36Deuel County115+2.7%
37Hand County111+3.7%
38Clark County108-0.9%
39Edmunds County103-2.8%
40Stanley County99-2.9%
41Dewey County97+5.4%
42Perkins County94-5.1%
43Douglas County810%
43Potter County81-4.7%
45Hanson County77-1.3%
46Oglala Lakota County67-4.3%
47Haakon County65-3%
47Lyman County65+1.6%
49Aurora County64+3.2%
50Jerauld County620%
50Miner County62+3.3%
52Sully County580%
53McPherson County56+3.7%
54Bennett County53+6%
54Faulk County53-8.6%
56Todd County52-7.1%
57Sanborn County49-5.8%
58Jackson County48+6.7%
59Campbell County45+2.3%
60Hyde County36+2.9%
60Jones County36-5.3%
62Corson County35-5.4%
62Harding County35-14.6%
64Mellette County22-8.3%
65Ziebach County150%
66Buffalo County10+11.1%

Other periods

About this ranking

Number of firms in the private nonfarm sectors covered by the US Census Bureau Business Dynamics Statistics. Establishments under common ownership form one firm.

Excludes nonemployer businesses. Differs from active_companies, the INE DIRCE count, which includes businesses without employees.

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. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

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: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties (Counties in South Dakota by employer firms, 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 11, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv

MLA 9

Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in South Dakota by employer firms, 2023. U.S. Census Bureau, 25 Sept. 2025, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/south-dakota-counties. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2025. Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Counties in South Dakota by employer firms, 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 11, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/south-dakota-counties.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in South Dakota by employer firms, 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/south-dakota-counties (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_south_dakota_2023,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in South Dakota by employer firms, 2023}},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-11},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/south-dakota-counties. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023\_st\_cty.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-11.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in South Dakota by employer firms, 2023
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.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/south-dakota-counties
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/south-dakota-counties.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
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 employer firms using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"employer_firms","level":"province","within":"South Dakota","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=employer_firms&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 employer firms?

Minnehaha County, with 4,724 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Buffalo County, with 10 in 2023.

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: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Employer firms: other rankings

Counties in South Dakota: more rankings