Counties in South Dakota by land in farms

Meade County had the highest land in farms of 66 counties in 2017, at 1,998,775 acres. Lawrence County had the lowest, at 165,012 acres. The median was 555,199 acres and the figure for South Dakota was 43,243,742 acres. Source: the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

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Highest1,998,775Meade County
Lowest165,012Lawrence County
Median555,19966 counties
South Dakota43,243,742History

Map of counties, 2017

Aurora County: 354,554 acresBeadle County: 810,623 acresBennett County: 636,917 acresBon Homme County: 304,914 acresBrookings County: 459,501 acresBrown County: 1,083,014 acresBrule County: 517,536 acresBuffalo County: 299,891 acresButte County: 1,155,068 acresCampbell County: 433,761 acresCharles Mix County: 685,988 acresClark County: 602,011 acresClay County: 238,940 acresCodington County: 383,166 acresCorson County: 1,287,507 acresCuster County: 611,805 acresDavison County: 270,256 acresDay County: 610,611 acresDeuel County: 335,322 acresDewey County: 1,136,564 acresDouglas County: 274,755 acresEdmunds County: 739,006 acresFall River County: 898,071 acresFaulk County: 627,164 acresGrant County: 425,627 acresGregory County: 562,085 acresHaakon County: 1,157,670 acresHamlin County: 310,025 acresHand County: 895,347 acresHanson County: 270,935 acresHarding County: 1,467,765 acresHughes County: 435,033 acresHutchinson County: 455,628 acresHyde County: 505,694 acresJackson County: 1,166,244 acresJerauld County: 341,627 acresJones County: 618,468 acresKingsbury County: 535,987 acresLake County: 272,529 acresLawrence County: 165,012 acresLincoln County: 294,694 acresLyman County: 950,795 acresMcCook County: 367,087 acresMcPherson County: 723,073 acresMarshall County: 525,474 acresMeade County: 1,998,775 acresMellette County: 752,566 acresMiner County: 351,356 acresMinnehaha County: 374,666 acresMoody County: 265,024 acresOglala Lakota County: 1,116,156 acresPennington County: 1,146,586 acresPerkins County: 1,639,705 acresPotter County: 548,312 acresRoberts County: 595,195 acresSanborn County: 363,599 acresSpink County: 961,154 acresStanley County: 812,145 acresSully County: 632,859 acresTodd County: 880,043 acresTripp County: 1,036,646 acresTurner County: 392,794 acresUnion County: 290,055 acresWalworth County: 453,301 acresYankton County: 329,607 acresZiebach County: 1,099,454 acres
  • Under 310K
  • 310K to 410K
  • 410K to 560K
  • 560K to 730K
  • 730K to 1.1M
  • 1.1M and over
acres, 2017. Source: USDA NASS, Census of Agriculture: land in farms, acres, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022) via Data Commons. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2017

Meade County: 1,998,775 acresMeade County1,998,775Perkins County: 1,639,705 acresPerkins County1,639,705Harding County: 1,467,765 acresHarding County1,467,765Corson County: 1,287,507 acresCorson County1,287,507Jackson County: 1,166,244 acresJackson County1,166,244Haakon County: 1,157,670 acresHaakon County1,157,670Butte County: 1,155,068 acresButte County1,155,068Pennington County: 1,146,586 acresPennington County1,146,586Dewey County: 1,136,564 acresDewey County1,136,564Oglala Lakota County: 1,116,156 acresOglala Lakota County1,116,156Ziebach County: 1,099,454 acresZiebach County1,099,454Brown County: 1,083,014 acresBrown County1,083,014Tripp County: 1,036,646 acresTripp County1,036,646Spink County: 961,154 acresSpink County961,154Lyman County: 950,795 acresLyman County950,795Fall River County: 898,071 acresFall River County898,071Hand County: 895,347 acresHand County895,347Todd County: 880,043 acresTodd County880,043Stanley County: 812,145 acresStanley County812,145Beadle County: 810,623 acresBeadle County810,623Mellette County: 752,566 acresMellette County752,566Edmunds County: 739,006 acresEdmunds County739,006McPherson County: 723,073 acresMcPherson County723,073Charles Mix County: 685,988 acresCharles Mix County685,988Bennett County: 636,917 acresBennett County636,917Sully County: 632,859 acresSully County632,859Faulk County: 627,164 acresFaulk County627,164Jones County: 618,468 acresJones County618,468Custer County: 611,805 acresCuster County611,805Day County: 610,611 acresDay County610,611Clark County: 602,011 acresClark County602,011Roberts County: 595,195 acresRoberts County595,195Gregory County: 562,085 acresGregory County562,085Potter County: 548,312 acresPotter County548,312Kingsbury County: 535,987 acresKingsbury County535,987Marshall County: 525,474 acresMarshall County525,474Brule County: 517,536 acresBrule County517,536Hyde County: 505,694 acresHyde County505,694Brookings County: 459,501 acresBrookings County459,501Hutchinson County: 455,628 acresHutchinson County455,628Meade County: 1,998,775 acresMeade County1,998,775Perkins County: 1,639,705 acresPerkins County1,639,705Harding County: 1,467,765 acresHarding County1,467,765Corson County: 1,287,507 acresCorson County1,287,507Jackson County: 1,166,244 acresJackson County1,166,244Haakon County: 1,157,670 acresHaakon County1,157,670Butte County: 1,155,068 acresButte County1,155,068Pennington County: 1,146,586 acresPennington County1,146,586Dewey County: 1,136,564 acresDewey County1,136,564Oglala Lakota County: 1,116,156 acresOglala Lakota County1,116,156Ziebach County: 1,099,454 acresZiebach County1,099,454Brown County: 1,083,014 acresBrown County1,083,014Tripp County: 1,036,646 acresTripp County1,036,646Spink County: 961,154 acresSpink County961,154Lyman County: 950,795 acresLyman County950,795Fall River County: 898,071 acresFall River County898,071Hand County: 895,347 acresHand County895,347Todd County: 880,043 acresTodd County880,043Stanley County: 812,145 acresStanley County812,145Beadle County: 810,623 acresBeadle County810,623Mellette County: 752,566 acresMellette County752,566Edmunds County: 739,006 acresEdmunds County739,006McPherson County: 723,073 acresMcPherson County723,073Charles Mix County: 685,988 acresCharles Mix County685,988Bennett County: 636,917 acresBennett County636,917Sully County: 632,859 acresSully County632,859Faulk County: 627,164 acresFaulk County627,164Jones County: 618,468 acresJones County618,468Custer County: 611,805 acresCuster County611,805Day County: 610,611 acresDay County610,611Clark County: 602,011 acresClark County602,011Roberts County: 595,195 acresRoberts County595,195Gregory County: 562,085 acresGregory County562,085Potter County: 548,312 acresPotter County548,312Kingsbury County: 535,987 acresKingsbury County535,987Marshall County: 525,474 acresMarshall County525,474Brule County: 517,536 acresBrule County517,536Hyde County: 505,694 acresHyde County505,694Brookings County: 459,501 acresBrookings County459,501Hutchinson County: 455,628 acresHutchinson County455,628
acres. Source: USDA NASS, Census of Agriculture: land in farms, acres, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022) via Data Commons. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

RankCounties2017
acres
1Meade County1,998,775
2Perkins County1,639,705
3Harding County1,467,765
4Corson County1,287,507
5Jackson County1,166,244
6Haakon County1,157,670
7Butte County1,155,068
8Pennington County1,146,586
9Dewey County1,136,564
10Oglala Lakota County1,116,156
11Ziebach County1,099,454
12Brown County1,083,014
13Tripp County1,036,646
14Spink County961,154
15Lyman County950,795
16Fall River County898,071
17Hand County895,347
18Todd County880,043
19Stanley County812,145
20Beadle County810,623
21Mellette County752,566
22Edmunds County739,006
23McPherson County723,073
24Charles Mix County685,988
25Bennett County636,917
26Sully County632,859
27Faulk County627,164
28Jones County618,468
29Custer County611,805
30Day County610,611
31Clark County602,011
32Roberts County595,195
33Gregory County562,085
34Potter County548,312
35Kingsbury County535,987
36Marshall County525,474
37Brule County517,536
38Hyde County505,694
39Brookings County459,501
40Hutchinson County455,628
41Walworth County453,301
42Hughes County435,033
43Campbell County433,761
44Grant County425,627
45Turner County392,794
46Codington County383,166
47Minnehaha County374,666
48McCook County367,087
49Sanborn County363,599
50Aurora County354,554
51Miner County351,356
52Jerauld County341,627
53Deuel County335,322
54Yankton County329,607
55Hamlin County310,025
56Bon Homme County304,914
57Buffalo County299,891
58Lincoln County294,694
59Union County290,055
60Douglas County274,755
61Lake County272,529
62Hanson County270,935
63Davison County270,256
64Moody County265,024
65Clay County238,940
66Lawrence County165,012

Other periods

About this ranking

Land operated by farms in the census year, in acres, including cropland, pasture, woodland and land under farm buildings, as counted by the USDA Census of Agriculture every five years.

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

Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, Census of Agriculture. Census of Agriculture: land in farms, acres, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022). Retrieved through Data Commons (datacommons.org). https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/. 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. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service. (2026). Census of Agriculture: land in farms, acres, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022) (Counties in South Dakota by land in farms, 2017) [Data set]. Data Commons. Retrieved October 11, 2026, from https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/

MLA 9

Census of Agriculture: land in farms, acres, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022), Counties in South Dakota by land in farms, 2017. U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service, 11 Oct. 2026, https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/. Data Commons, https://datacommons.org. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/land-in-farms/south-dakota-counties?period=2017. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service. 2026. Census of Agriculture: land in farms, acres, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022). Counties in South Dakota by land in farms, 2017. Dataset. Distributed by Data Commons. Accessed October 11, 2026. https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/land-in-farms/south-dakota-counties?period=2017.

Harvard

U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service (2026) Census of Agriculture: land in farms, acres, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022), Counties in South Dakota by land in farms, 2017 [Dataset]. Via Data Commons. Available at: https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/land-in-farms/south-dakota-counties?period=2017 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{department_counties_in_south_dakota_2017,
  author = {{U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service}},
  title = {{Census of Agriculture: land in farms, acres, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022): Counties in South Dakota by land in farms, 2017}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  publisher = {Data Commons},
  url = {https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/},
  urldate = {2026-10-11},
  note = {Retrieved through Data Commons (https://datacommons.org). Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/land-in-farms/south-dakota-counties?period=2017. Publisher attribution: Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, Census of Agriculture. Census of Agriculture: land in farms, acres, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022). Retrieved through Data Commons (datacommons.org). https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service
TI  - Census of Agriculture: land in farms, acres, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022): Counties in South Dakota by land in farms, 2017
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/11
PB  - Data Commons
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/land-in-farms/south-dakota-counties?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Retrieved through Data Commons (https://datacommons.org).
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/land-in-farms/south-dakota-counties?period=2017.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, Census of Agriculture. Census of Agriculture: land in farms, acres, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022). Retrieved through Data Commons (datacommons.org). https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
ER  - 
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Questions

Which county has the highest land in farms?

Meade County, with 1,998,775 acres in 2017, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Which county has the lowest land in farms?

Lawrence County, with 165,012 acres in 2017.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service, Census of Agriculture: land in farms, acres, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022). Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Land in farms: other rankings

Counties in South Dakota: more rankings