Data / Rankings / Population / Cities in South Dakota

Cities in South Dakota by population

Sioux Falls, SD had the highest population of 14 cities in 2021, at 196,826. Harrisburg, SD had the lowest, at 7,643. The median was 14,880 and the figure for South Dakota was 896,303. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest196,826Sioux Falls, SD
Lowest7,643Harrisburg, SD
Median14,88014 cities
South Dakota896,303History

All cities, 2021

Sioux Falls, SD: 196,826 personsSioux Falls, SD196,826Rapid City, SD: 76,799 personsRapid City, SD76,799Aberdeen, SD: 28,314 personsAberdeen, SD28,314Brookings, SD: 23,535 personsBrookings, SD23,535Watertown, SD: 22,798 personsWatertown, SD22,798Mitchell, SD: 15,628 personsMitchell, SD15,628Yankton, SD: 15,483 personsYankton, SD15,483Huron, SD: 14,276 personsHuron, SD14,276Pierre, SD: 14,065 personsPierre, SD14,065Spearfish, SD: 12,386 personsSpearfish, SD12,386Box Elder, SD: 12,345 personsBox Elder, SD12,345Vermillion, SD: 11,856 personsVermillion, SD11,856Brandon, SD: 11,009 personsBrandon, SD11,009Harrisburg, SD: 7,643 personsHarrisburg, SD7,643Sioux Falls, SD: 196,826 personsSioux Falls, SD196,826Rapid City, SD: 76,799 personsRapid City, SD76,799Aberdeen, SD: 28,314 personsAberdeen, SD28,314Brookings, SD: 23,535 personsBrookings, SD23,535Watertown, SD: 22,798 personsWatertown, SD22,798Mitchell, SD: 15,628 personsMitchell, SD15,628Yankton, SD: 15,483 personsYankton, SD15,483Huron, SD: 14,276 personsHuron, SD14,276Pierre, SD: 14,065 personsPierre, SD14,065Spearfish, SD: 12,386 personsSpearfish, SD12,386Box Elder, SD: 12,345 personsBox Elder, SD12,345Vermillion, SD: 11,856 personsVermillion, SD11,856Brandon, SD: 11,009 personsBrandon, SD11,009Harrisburg, SD: 7,643 personsHarrisburg, SD7,643
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

RankCities2021
persons		Change on 2020
1Sioux Falls, SD196,826+1.7%
2Rapid City, SD76,799+2.5%
3Aberdeen, SD28,314-0.4%
4Brookings, SD23,535+0.7%
5Watertown, SD22,798+0.5%
6Mitchell, SD15,628-0.3%
7Yankton, SD15,483+0.4%
8Huron, SD14,276+0.1%
9Pierre, SD14,0650%
10Spearfish, SD12,386+1.2%
11Box Elder, SD12,345+3.3%
12Vermillion, SD11,856+1.1%
13Brandon, SD11,009-0.3%
14Harrisburg, SD7,643+11.7%

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, 2021) [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, 2021. 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=2021. 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, 2021. 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=2021.

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, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/south-dakota-cities?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_south_dakota_2021,
  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, 2021}},
  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=2021. 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, 2021
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=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/south-dakota-cities?period=2021.
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 196,826 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which city has the lowest population?

Harrisburg, SD, with 7,643 in 2021.

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