Counties in South Dakota by employer firms

Minnehaha County had the highest employer firms of 66 counties in 2020, at 4,449. Buffalo County had the lowest, at 9. The median was 134 and the figure for South Dakota was 20,029. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest4,449Minnehaha County
Median13466 counties
South Dakota20,029History

Map of counties, 2020

Aurora County: 65 countBeadle County: 458 countBennett County: 46 countBon Homme County: 143 countBrookings County: 769 countBrown County: 1,083 countBrule County: 182 countBuffalo County: 9 countButte County: 286 countCampbell County: 46 countCharles Mix County: 229 countClark County: 105 countClay County: 265 countCodington County: 939 countCorson County: 35 countCuster County: 229 countDavison County: 609 countDay County: 171 countDeuel County: 105 countDewey County: 85 countDouglas County: 85 countEdmunds County: 106 countFall River County: 182 countFaulk County: 60 countGrant County: 251 countGregory County: 155 countHaakon County: 73 countHamlin County: 153 countHand County: 107 countHanson County: 77 countHarding County: 45 countHughes County: 542 countHutchinson County: 187 countHyde County: 40 countJackson County: 44 countJerauld County: 73 countJones County: 37 countKingsbury County: 132 countLake County: 314 countLawrence County: 955 countLincoln County: 1,594 countLyman County: 56 countMcCook County: 156 countMcPherson County: 56 countMarshall County: 127 countMeade County: 646 countMellette County: 19 countMiner County: 65 countMinnehaha County: 4,449 countMoody County: 136 countOglala Lakota County: 62 countPennington County: 3,016 countPerkins County: 92 countPotter County: 86 countRoberts County: 185 countSanborn County: 50 countSpink County: 148 countStanley County: 101 countSully County: 56 countTodd County: 53 countTripp County: 160 countTurner County: 199 countUnion County: 434 countWalworth County: 186 countYankton County: 599 countZiebach County: 16 count
  • Under 50
  • 50 to 80
  • 80 to 130
  • 130 to 190
  • 190 to 470
  • 470 and over
count, 2020. 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, 2020

Minnehaha County: 4,449 countMinnehaha County4,449Pennington County: 3,016 countPennington County3,016Lincoln County: 1,594 countLincoln County1,594Brown County: 1,083 countBrown County1,083Lawrence County: 955 countLawrence County955Codington County: 939 countCodington County939Brookings County: 769 countBrookings County769Meade County: 646 countMeade County646Davison County: 609 countDavison County609Yankton County: 599 countYankton County599Hughes County: 542 countHughes County542Beadle County: 458 countBeadle County458Union County: 434 countUnion County434Lake County: 314 countLake County314Butte County: 286 countButte County286Clay County: 265 countClay County265Grant County: 251 countGrant County251Charles Mix County: 229 countCharles Mix County229Custer County: 229 countCuster County229Turner County: 199 countTurner County199Hutchinson County: 187 countHutchinson County187Walworth County: 186 countWalworth County186Roberts County: 185 countRoberts County185Brule County: 182 countBrule County182Fall River County: 182 countFall River County182Day County: 171 countDay County171Tripp County: 160 countTripp County160McCook County: 156 countMcCook County156Gregory County: 155 countGregory County155Hamlin County: 153 countHamlin County153Spink County: 148 countSpink County148Bon Homme County: 143 countBon Homme County143Moody County: 136 countMoody County136Kingsbury County: 132 countKingsbury County132Marshall County: 127 countMarshall County127Hand County: 107 countHand County107Edmunds County: 106 countEdmunds County106Clark County: 105 countClark County105Deuel County: 105 countDeuel County105Stanley County: 101 countStanley County101Minnehaha County: 4,449 countMinnehaha County4,449Pennington County: 3,016 countPennington County3,016Lincoln County: 1,594 countLincoln County1,594Brown County: 1,083 countBrown County1,083Lawrence County: 955 countLawrence County955Codington County: 939 countCodington County939Brookings County: 769 countBrookings County769Meade County: 646 countMeade County646Davison County: 609 countDavison County609Yankton County: 599 countYankton County599Hughes County: 542 countHughes County542Beadle County: 458 countBeadle County458Union County: 434 countUnion County434Lake County: 314 countLake County314Butte County: 286 countButte County286Clay County: 265 countClay County265Grant County: 251 countGrant County251Charles Mix County: 229 countCharles Mix County229Custer County: 229 countCuster County229Turner County: 199 countTurner County199Hutchinson County: 187 countHutchinson County187Walworth County: 186 countWalworth County186Roberts County: 185 countRoberts County185Brule County: 182 countBrule County182Fall River County: 182 countFall River County182Day County: 171 countDay County171Tripp County: 160 countTripp County160McCook County: 156 countMcCook County156Gregory County: 155 countGregory County155Hamlin County: 153 countHamlin County153Spink County: 148 countSpink County148Bon Homme County: 143 countBon Homme County143Moody County: 136 countMoody County136Kingsbury County: 132 countKingsbury County132Marshall County: 127 countMarshall County127Hand County: 107 countHand County107Edmunds County: 106 countEdmunds County106Clark County: 105 countClark County105Deuel County: 105 countDeuel County105Stanley County: 101 countStanley County101
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

RankCounties2020
count
Change on 2019
1Minnehaha County4,449+1.1%
2Pennington County3,016+1.5%
3Lincoln County1,594+2.4%
4Brown County1,083-0.8%
5Lawrence County955+2.1%
6Codington County939+0.3%
7Brookings County769-0.1%
8Meade County646-0.2%
9Davison County609-1%
10Yankton County599-2.1%
11Hughes County542-1.5%
12Beadle County458-0.7%
13Union County434-0.9%
14Lake County314-0.3%
15Butte County286+4.4%
16Clay County265-2.2%
17Grant County251-0.8%
18Charles Mix County229-0.4%
18Custer County2290%
20Turner County199+1%
21Hutchinson County187-1.1%
22Walworth County186+1.1%
23Roberts County185-3.1%
24Brule County182-6.7%
24Fall River County182+0.6%
26Day County171+5.6%
27Tripp County160-7.5%
28McCook County156-0.6%
29Gregory County155-4.3%
30Hamlin County153-4.4%
31Spink County1480%
32Bon Homme County143+0.7%
33Moody County136-6.2%
34Kingsbury County132+0.8%
35Marshall County127-3.8%
36Hand County107+2.9%
37Edmunds County106-1.9%
38Clark County105-2.8%
38Deuel County105+1.9%
40Stanley County101+6.3%
41Perkins County92-7.1%
42Potter County86-3.4%
43Dewey County85+2.4%
43Douglas County85-3.4%
45Hanson County77+2.7%
46Haakon County73+7.4%
46Jerauld County73+5.8%
48Aurora County65-5.8%
48Miner County65-1.5%
50Oglala Lakota County62+1.6%
51Faulk County600%
52Lyman County56+3.7%
52McPherson County56-6.7%
52Sully County56-1.8%
55Todd County530%
56Sanborn County50+4.2%
57Bennett County46-6.1%
57Campbell County460%
59Harding County45+4.7%
60Jackson County44-4.3%
61Hyde County40-2.4%
62Jones County37-9.8%
63Corson County35+2.9%
64Mellette County19-9.5%
65Ziebach County16-15.8%
66Buffalo County90%

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, 2020) [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, 2020. 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?period=2020. 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, 2020. 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?period=2020.

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, 2020 [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?period=2020 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_south_dakota_2020,
  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, 2020}},
  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?period=2020. 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, 2020
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?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/south-dakota-counties?period=2020.
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  - 
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Questions

Which county has the highest employer firms?

Minnehaha County, with 4,449 in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Buffalo County, with 9 in 2020.

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