Counties in South Dakota by population density

Minnehaha County had the highest population density of 66 counties in 2020, at 94.6 inhabitants per km². Harding County had the lowest, at 0.2 inhabitants per km². The median was 2.1 inhabitants per km² and the figure for South Dakota was 4.5 inhabitants per km². Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest94.6Minnehaha County
Median2.166 counties
South Dakota4.5History

Top 40 counties, 2020

CSVChart (SVG)

Minnehaha CountyMinnehaha County: 94.6 inhabitants per km²94.6Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 43.9 inhabitants per km²43.9Davison CountyDavison County: 17.7 inhabitants per km²17.7Yankton CountyYankton County: 17.3 inhabitants per km²17.3Brookings CountyBrookings County: 16.7 inhabitants per km²16.7Codington CountyCodington County: 15.9 inhabitants per km²15.9Pennington CountyPennington County: 15.2 inhabitants per km²15.2Union CountyUnion County: 14.1 inhabitants per km²14.1Clay CountyClay County: 14.1 inhabitants per km²14.1Lawrence CountyLawrence County: 12.5 inhabitants per km²12.5Hughes CountyHughes County: 9.2 inhabitants per km²9.2Brown CountyBrown County: 8.6 inhabitants per km²8.6Lake CountyLake County: 7.6 inhabitants per km²7.6Beadle CountyBeadle County: 5.9 inhabitants per km²5.9Turner CountyTurner County: 5.4 inhabitants per km²5.4Bon Homme CountyBon Homme County: 4.8 inhabitants per km²4.8Moody CountyMoody County: 4.7 inhabitants per km²4.7Hamlin CountyHamlin County: 4.7 inhabitants per km²4.7Grant CountyGrant County: 4.3 inhabitants per km²4.3McCook CountyMcCook County: 3.8 inhabitants per km²3.8Roberts CountyRoberts County: 3.6 inhabitants per km²3.6Hutchinson CountyHutchinson County: 3.5 inhabitants per km²3.5Meade CountyMeade County: 3.3 inhabitants per km²3.3Charles Mix CountyCharles Mix County: 3.3 inhabitants per km²3.3Hanson CountyHanson County: 3.1 inhabitants per km²3.1Walworth CountyWalworth County: 2.9 inhabitants per km²2.9Deuel CountyDeuel County: 2.7 inhabitants per km²2.7Todd CountyTodd County: 2.6 inhabitants per km²2.6Douglas CountyDouglas County: 2.5 inhabitants per km²2.5Oglala Lakota CountyOglala Lakota County: 2.5 inhabitants per km²2.5Brule CountyBrule County: 2.5 inhabitants per km²2.5Kingsbury CountyKingsbury County: 2.4 inhabitants per km²2.4Custer CountyCuster County: 2.1 inhabitants per km²2.1Day CountyDay County: 2 inhabitants per km²2Marshall CountyMarshall County: 2 inhabitants per km²2Butte CountyButte County: 1.8 inhabitants per km²1.8Spink CountySpink County: 1.6 inhabitants per km²1.6Buffalo CountyBuffalo County: 1.6 inhabitants per km²1.6Sanborn CountySanborn County: 1.6 inhabitants per km²1.6Miner CountyMiner County: 1.6 inhabitants per km²1.6
inhabitants per km². Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

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.

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 population density using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"population_density","level":"province","within":"South Dakota","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=population_density&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 population density?

Minnehaha County, with 94.6 inhabitants per km² in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest population density?

Harding County, with 0.2 inhabitants per km² 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, 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.

Population density: other rankings

Counties in South Dakota: more rankings