Counties in South Dakota by employer firms

Minnehaha County had the highest employer firms of 66 counties in 2022, at 4,607. Buffalo County had the lowest, at 9. The median was 144 and the figure for South Dakota was 20,851. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest4,607Minnehaha County
Median14466 counties
South Dakota20,851History

Map of counties, 2022

Aurora County: 62 countBeadle County: 470 countBennett County: 50 countBon Homme County: 147 countBrookings County: 804 countBrown County: 1,066 countBrule County: 191 countBuffalo County: 9 countButte County: 308 countCampbell County: 44 countCharles Mix County: 240 countClark County: 109 countClay County: 261 countCodington County: 984 countCorson County: 37 countCuster County: 247 countDavison County: 596 countDay County: 177 countDeuel County: 112 countDewey County: 92 countDouglas County: 81 countEdmunds County: 106 countFall River County: 180 countFaulk County: 58 countGrant County: 242 countGregory County: 156 countHaakon County: 67 countHamlin County: 165 countHand County: 107 countHanson County: 78 countHarding County: 41 countHughes County: 537 countHutchinson County: 204 countHyde County: 35 countJackson County: 45 countJerauld County: 62 countJones County: 38 countKingsbury County: 141 countLake County: 295 countLawrence County: 999 countLincoln County: 1,764 countLyman County: 64 countMcCook County: 163 countMcPherson County: 54 countMarshall County: 123 countMeade County: 683 countMellette County: 24 countMiner County: 60 countMinnehaha County: 4,607 countMoody County: 146 countOglala Lakota County: 70 countPennington County: 3,182 countPerkins County: 99 countPotter County: 85 countRoberts County: 188 countSanborn County: 52 countSpink County: 165 countStanley County: 102 countSully County: 58 countTodd County: 56 countTripp County: 163 countTurner County: 214 countUnion County: 467 countWalworth County: 178 countYankton County: 605 countZiebach County: 15 count
  • Under 50
  • 50 to 80
  • 80 to 140
  • 140 to 190
  • 190 to 480
  • 480 and over
count, 2022. 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, 2022

Minnehaha County: 4,607 countMinnehaha County4,607Pennington County: 3,182 countPennington County3,182Lincoln County: 1,764 countLincoln County1,764Brown County: 1,066 countBrown County1,066Lawrence County: 999 countLawrence County999Codington County: 984 countCodington County984Brookings County: 804 countBrookings County804Meade County: 683 countMeade County683Yankton County: 605 countYankton County605Davison County: 596 countDavison County596Hughes County: 537 countHughes County537Beadle County: 470 countBeadle County470Union County: 467 countUnion County467Butte County: 308 countButte County308Lake County: 295 countLake County295Clay County: 261 countClay County261Custer County: 247 countCuster County247Grant County: 242 countGrant County242Charles Mix County: 240 countCharles Mix County240Turner County: 214 countTurner County214Hutchinson County: 204 countHutchinson County204Brule County: 191 countBrule County191Roberts County: 188 countRoberts County188Fall River County: 180 countFall River County180Walworth County: 178 countWalworth County178Day County: 177 countDay County177Hamlin County: 165 countHamlin County165Spink County: 165 countSpink County165McCook County: 163 countMcCook County163Tripp County: 163 countTripp County163Gregory County: 156 countGregory County156Bon Homme County: 147 countBon Homme County147Moody County: 146 countMoody County146Kingsbury County: 141 countKingsbury County141Marshall County: 123 countMarshall County123Deuel County: 112 countDeuel County112Clark County: 109 countClark County109Hand County: 107 countHand County107Edmunds County: 106 countEdmunds County106Stanley County: 102 countStanley County102Minnehaha County: 4,607 countMinnehaha County4,607Pennington County: 3,182 countPennington County3,182Lincoln County: 1,764 countLincoln County1,764Brown County: 1,066 countBrown County1,066Lawrence County: 999 countLawrence County999Codington County: 984 countCodington County984Brookings County: 804 countBrookings County804Meade County: 683 countMeade County683Yankton County: 605 countYankton County605Davison County: 596 countDavison County596Hughes County: 537 countHughes County537Beadle County: 470 countBeadle County470Union County: 467 countUnion County467Butte County: 308 countButte County308Lake County: 295 countLake County295Clay County: 261 countClay County261Custer County: 247 countCuster County247Grant County: 242 countGrant County242Charles Mix County: 240 countCharles Mix County240Turner County: 214 countTurner County214Hutchinson County: 204 countHutchinson County204Brule County: 191 countBrule County191Roberts County: 188 countRoberts County188Fall River County: 180 countFall River County180Walworth County: 178 countWalworth County178Day County: 177 countDay County177Hamlin County: 165 countHamlin County165Spink County: 165 countSpink County165McCook County: 163 countMcCook County163Tripp County: 163 countTripp County163Gregory County: 156 countGregory County156Bon Homme County: 147 countBon Homme County147Moody County: 146 countMoody County146Kingsbury County: 141 countKingsbury County141Marshall County: 123 countMarshall County123Deuel County: 112 countDeuel County112Clark County: 109 countClark County109Hand County: 107 countHand County107Edmunds County: 106 countEdmunds County106Stanley County: 102 countStanley County102
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

RankCounties2022
count
Change on 2021
1Minnehaha County4,607+2.1%
2Pennington County3,182+3%
3Lincoln County1,764+4.9%
4Brown County1,066+1%
5Lawrence County999+2.4%
6Codington County984+2%
7Brookings County804+2%
8Meade County683+1.9%
9Yankton County605-1.6%
10Davison County596-1.5%
11Hughes County537+0.8%
12Beadle County470-0.8%
13Union County467+4.2%
14Butte County308+5.5%
15Lake County295-5.4%
16Clay County261-1.1%
17Custer County247+7.4%
18Grant County242-2.4%
19Charles Mix County240+2.6%
20Turner County214+1.4%
21Hutchinson County204+5.7%
22Brule County191+2.7%
23Roberts County188+1.6%
24Fall River County180-1.6%
25Walworth County178-0.6%
26Day County177+2.9%
27Hamlin County165+3.8%
27Spink County165+7.1%
29McCook County163+3.2%
29Tripp County163+1.2%
31Gregory County156+3.3%
32Bon Homme County147+8.9%
33Moody County146+2.8%
34Kingsbury County141+1.4%
35Marshall County1230%
36Deuel County112+3.7%
37Clark County109+0.9%
38Hand County1070%
39Edmunds County106+6%
40Stanley County102+4.1%
41Perkins County99+2.1%
42Dewey County92+13.6%
43Potter County85-2.3%
44Douglas County81-2.4%
45Hanson County78+2.6%
46Oglala Lakota County70+11.1%
47Haakon County67-2.9%
48Lyman County64+1.6%
49Aurora County62-4.6%
49Jerauld County62-6.1%
51Miner County60-7.7%
52Faulk County58+7.4%
52Sully County58+3.6%
54Todd County56+3.7%
55McPherson County54+1.9%
56Sanborn County52-1.9%
57Bennett County500%
58Jackson County45-4.3%
59Campbell County44-6.4%
60Harding County410%
61Jones County38-2.6%
62Corson County37-2.6%
63Hyde County350%
64Mellette County24+20%
65Ziebach County150%
66Buffalo County9+12.5%

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, 2022) [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, 2022. 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=2022. 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, 2022. 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=2022.

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, 2022 [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=2022 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_south_dakota_2022,
  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, 2022}},
  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=2022. 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, 2022
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=2022
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/south-dakota-counties?period=2022.
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 4,607 in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Buffalo County, with 9 in 2022.

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