Data / Rankings / Population / Cities in South Dakota

Cities in South Dakota by population

Sioux Falls, SD had the highest population of 14 cities in 2020, at 193,453. Harrisburg, SD had the lowest, at 6,845. The median was 14,844 and the figure for South Dakota was 887,808. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest193,453Sioux Falls, SD
Lowest6,845Harrisburg, SD
Median14,84414 cities
South Dakota887,808History

All cities, 2020

Sioux Falls, SD: 193,453 personsSioux Falls, SD193,453Rapid City, SD: 74,947 personsRapid City, SD74,947Aberdeen, SD: 28,424 personsAberdeen, SD28,424Brookings, SD: 23,370 personsBrookings, SD23,370Watertown, SD: 22,676 personsWatertown, SD22,676Mitchell, SD: 15,677 personsMitchell, SD15,677Yankton, SD: 15,425 personsYankton, SD15,425Huron, SD: 14,263 personsHuron, SD14,263Pierre, SD: 14,061 personsPierre, SD14,061Spearfish, SD: 12,239 personsSpearfish, SD12,239Box Elder, SD: 11,948 personsBox Elder, SD11,948Vermillion, SD: 11,723 personsVermillion, SD11,723Brandon, SD: 11,041 personsBrandon, SD11,041Harrisburg, SD: 6,845 personsHarrisburg, SD6,845Sioux Falls, SD: 193,453 personsSioux Falls, SD193,453Rapid City, SD: 74,947 personsRapid City, SD74,947Aberdeen, SD: 28,424 personsAberdeen, SD28,424Brookings, SD: 23,370 personsBrookings, SD23,370Watertown, SD: 22,676 personsWatertown, SD22,676Mitchell, SD: 15,677 personsMitchell, SD15,677Yankton, SD: 15,425 personsYankton, SD15,425Huron, SD: 14,263 personsHuron, SD14,263Pierre, SD: 14,061 personsPierre, SD14,061Spearfish, SD: 12,239 personsSpearfish, SD12,239Box Elder, SD: 11,948 personsBox Elder, SD11,948Vermillion, SD: 11,723 personsVermillion, SD11,723Brandon, SD: 11,041 personsBrandon, SD11,041Harrisburg, SD: 6,845 personsHarrisburg, SD6,845
persons. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2020
persons
1Sioux Falls, SD193,453
2Rapid City, SD74,947
3Aberdeen, SD28,424
4Brookings, SD23,370
5Watertown, SD22,676
6Mitchell, SD15,677
7Yankton, SD15,425
8Huron, SD14,263
9Pierre, SD14,061
10Spearfish, SD12,239
11Box Elder, SD11,948
12Vermillion, SD11,723
13Brandon, SD11,041
14Harrisburg, SD6,845

Other periods

About this ranking

Resident population.

More on how it is measured
  • Spain and the EU: 1 January, with Spanish figures from the official municipal register (Padrón).
  • Norway: Statistics Norway, 1 January.
  • Iceland and its municipalities: Statistics Iceland, 1 January.
  • United States: Census Bureau population estimates for 1 July.
  • United Kingdom regions and local authorities: Office for National Statistics estimates for 30 June.
  • Other countries and the World: World Bank mid-year estimates, which count all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.
  • UN World Population Prospects estimates for 1 July cover the years before 1960 and the areas the World Bank does not publish, such as Taiwan.

The World Bank series exists for every country, so use it (through compare) to rank countries on one basis.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the cities are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

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. (2026). Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals) (Cities in South Dakota by population, 2020) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/

MLA 9

Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals), Cities in South Dakota by population, 2020. U.S. Census Bureau, 14 May 2026, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/south-dakota-cities?period=2020. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). Cities in South Dakota by population, 2020. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/south-dakota-cities?period=2020.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals), Cities in South Dakota by population, 2020 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/south-dakota-cities?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_south_dakota_2020,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals): Cities in South Dakota by population, 2020}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/south-dakota-cities?period=2020. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals): Cities in South Dakota by population, 2020
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/14
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/south-dakota-cities?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/south-dakota-cities?period=2020.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which city has the highest population?

Sioux Falls, SD, with 193,453 in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which city has the lowest population?

Harrisburg, SD, with 6,845 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, Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Population: other rankings

Cities in South Dakota: more rankings