Counties in South Dakota by population density, 2025

Name: Counties in South Dakota by population density, 2025
Creator: U.S. Census Bureau
License: Public domain (US federal government work, citation requested)

Minnehaha County had the highest population density of 66 counties in 2025, at 101.8 inhabitants per km². Harding County had the lowest, at 0.2 inhabitants per km². The median was 2.2 inhabitants per km² and the figure for South Dakota was 4.8 inhabitants per km². Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest101.8Minnehaha County

Lowest0.2Harding County

Median2.266 counties

South Dakota4.8History

Top 40 counties, 2025

CSV Chart (SVG)

inhabitants per km². Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

Rank	Counties	2025 inhabitants per km²	Change on 2024
1	Minnehaha County	101.8	+1.6%
2	Lincoln County	51.6	+2.7%
3	Brookings County	18.3	+2.2%
4	Davison County	17.8	+0.4%
5	Yankton County	17.5	+0.2%
6	Codington County	16.6	+1%
7	Pennington County	16.2	+0.4%
8	Union County	14.5	+0.2%
9	Lawrence County	14.2	+2.6%
10	Clay County	14.1	-1%
11	Hughes County	9.1	+0.1%
12	Brown County	8.5	-0.2%
13	Lake County	7.5	-0.5%
14	Beadle County	6	+0.5%
15	Turner County	5.8	+0.8%
16	Hamlin County	5.3	+2.5%
17	Bon Homme County	5	+1.3%
18	Moody County	4.9	+0.5%
19	Grant County	4.3	-1%
20	McCook County	4	+1.4%
21	Roberts County	3.6	-0.2%
22	Hutchinson County	3.5	+0.1%
23	Meade County	3.4	-0.5%
24	Charles Mix County	3.3	+0.3%
25	Hanson County	3.1	-1.3%
26	Walworth County	2.8	-0.5%
27	Deuel County	2.7	+0.7%
28	Douglas County	2.6	+0.7%
29	Brule County	2.5	-0.4%
30	Todd County	2.5	-0.6%
31	Oglala Lakota County	2.5	-0.6%
32	Kingsbury County	2.5	0%
33	Custer County	2.3	+1.2%
34	Day County	2.1	+0.7%
35	Marshall County	2	-0.2%
36	Butte County	1.9	-0.3%
37	Fall River County	1.7	+0.7%
38	Clark County	1.6	+0.7%
39	Sanborn County	1.6	+0.5%
40	Spink County	1.6	+0.1%
41	Miner County	1.5	+0.1%
42	Gregory County	1.5	-0.8%
43	Aurora County	1.5	+0.4%
44	Buffalo County	1.5	-0.4%
45	Edmunds County	1.4	-0.2%
46	Tripp County	1.4	-0.5%
47	Jerauld County	1.2	-1.2%
48	Bennett County	1.1	0%
49	Potter County	1.1	-1%
50	Dewey County	0.9	+0.7%
51	Lyman County	0.9	0%
52	Faulk County	0.9	0%
53	Hand County	0.8	+0.1%
54	Stanley County	0.8	+0.6%
55	McPherson County	0.8	+0.6%
56	Campbell County	0.7	+2.5%
57	Mellette County	0.6	+4.3%
58	Corson County	0.6	+0.2%
59	Sully County	0.6	+0.4%
60	Jackson County	0.6	-2%
61	Hyde County	0.5	-1.5%
62	Ziebach County	0.5	+0.2%
63	Haakon County	0.4	-1.3%
63	Perkins County	0.4	+0.8%
65	Jones County	0.4	+1.7%
66	Harding County	0.2	+1.1%

Other periods

About this ranking

Resident population divided by land area in km². World Bank figures use mid-year population and land area excluding inland water.

United States: Census Bureau population estimates for 1 July divided by land area (water excluded) from the latest Census Gazetteer files. US tables often give people per square mile; multiply persons per km² by 2.59 to compare.

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. Population Estimates Program resident population on 1 July divided by land area from the latest Census Gazetteer files, persons per km². https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

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Questions

Which county has the highest population density?

Minnehaha County, with 101.8 inhabitants per km² in 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest population density?

Harding County, with 0.2 inhabitants per km² in 2025.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program resident population on 1 July divided by land area from the latest Census Gazetteer files, persons per km². Retrieved 2026-10-09.