Counties in South Dakota by population, 2025

Minnehaha County had the highest population of 66 counties in 2025, at 212,691. Jones County had the lowest, at 913. The median was 5,352 and the figure for South Dakota was 935,094. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest212,691Minnehaha County
Lowest913Jones County
Median5,35266 counties
South Dakota935,094History

Top 40 counties, 2025

CSVChart (SVG)

Minnehaha CountyMinnehaha County: 212,691 persons212,691Pennington CountyPennington County: 116,792 persons116,792Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 77,145 persons77,145Brookings CountyBrookings County: 37,635 persons37,635Brown CountyBrown County: 37,561 persons37,561Meade CountyMeade County: 30,711 persons30,711Codington CountyCodington County: 29,562 persons29,562Lawrence CountyLawrence County: 29,459 persons29,459Yankton CountyYankton County: 23,635 persons23,635Davison CountyDavison County: 20,069 persons20,069Beadle CountyBeadle County: 19,624 persons19,624Hughes CountyHughes County: 17,570 persons17,570Union CountyUnion County: 17,402 persons17,402Clay CountyClay County: 15,031 persons15,031Oglala Lakota CountyOglala Lakota County: 13,338 persons13,338Lake CountyLake County: 10,993 persons10,993Butte CountyButte County: 10,856 persons10,856Roberts CountyRoberts County: 10,255 persons10,255Custer CountyCuster County: 9,431 persons9,431Turner CountyTurner County: 9,314 persons9,314Charles Mix CountyCharles Mix County: 9,303 persons9,303Todd CountyTodd County: 8,863 persons8,863Grant CountyGrant County: 7,534 persons7,534Fall River CountyFall River County: 7,467 persons7,467Hutchinson CountyHutchinson County: 7,413 persons7,413Bon Homme CountyBon Homme County: 7,244 persons7,244Hamlin CountyHamlin County: 6,900 persons6,900Moody CountyMoody County: 6,632 persons6,632Spink CountySpink County: 6,155 persons6,155McCook CountyMcCook County: 5,964 persons5,964Tripp CountyTripp County: 5,708 persons5,708Day CountyDay County: 5,484 persons5,484Dewey CountyDewey County: 5,419 persons5,419Kingsbury CountyKingsbury County: 5,284 persons5,284Brule CountyBrule County: 5,278 persons5,278Walworth CountyWalworth County: 5,217 persons5,217Marshall CountyMarshall County: 4,426 persons4,426Deuel CountyDeuel County: 4,408 persons4,408Gregory CountyGregory County: 4,037 persons4,037Clark CountyClark County: 4,031 persons4,031
persons. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2025
persons
Change on 2024
1Minnehaha County212,691+1.6%
2Pennington County116,792+0.4%
3Lincoln County77,145+2.7%
4Brookings County37,635+2.2%
5Brown County37,561-0.2%
6Meade County30,711-0.5%
7Codington County29,562+1%
8Lawrence County29,459+2.6%
9Yankton County23,635+0.2%
10Davison County20,069+0.4%
11Beadle County19,624+0.5%
12Hughes County17,570+0.1%
13Union County17,402+0.2%
14Clay County15,031-1%
15Oglala Lakota County13,338-0.6%
16Lake County10,993-0.5%
17Butte County10,856-0.3%
18Roberts County10,255-0.2%
19Custer County9,431+1.1%
20Turner County9,314+0.8%
21Charles Mix County9,303+0.3%
22Todd County8,863-0.6%
23Grant County7,534-1%
24Fall River County7,467+0.7%
25Hutchinson County7,413+0.2%
26Bon Homme County7,244+1.3%
27Hamlin County6,900+2.5%
28Moody County6,632+0.5%
29Spink County6,1550%
30McCook County5,964+1.4%
31Tripp County5,708-0.5%
32Day County5,484+0.7%
33Dewey County5,419+0.7%
34Kingsbury County5,284+0.1%
35Brule County5,278-0.4%
36Walworth County5,217-0.5%
37Marshall County4,426-0.2%
38Deuel County4,408+0.7%
39Gregory County4,037-0.8%
40Clark County4,031+0.8%
41Edmunds County4,022-0.2%
42Corson County3,781+0.1%
43Lyman County3,694+0.1%
44Hanson County3,456-1.3%
45Bennett County3,3070%
46Hand County3,121+0.1%
47Stanley County3,018+0.6%
48Douglas County2,888+0.7%
49Perkins County2,853+0.7%
50Aurora County2,801+0.4%
51Jackson County2,666-1.8%
52Ziebach County2,389+0.3%
53Sanborn County2,388+0.5%
54Potter County2,377-1%
55McPherson County2,347+0.6%
56Miner County2,281+0.1%
57Faulk County2,178-0.1%
58Mellette County2,137+4.3%
59Buffalo County1,802-0.4%
59Haakon County1,802-1.2%
61Jerauld County1,654-1.3%
62Sully County1,479+0.4%
63Campbell County1,377+2.5%
64Harding County1,331+1.4%
65Hyde County1,191-1.5%
66Jones County913+1.7%

Other periods

About this ranking

Resident population. Spain and the EU: 1 January, with Spanish figures from the official municipal register (PadrĂ³n). United States: Census Bureau population estimates for 1 July. Other countries and the World: World Bank mid-year estimates, which count all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.

For Denmark, Statistics Denmark counts the registered resident population on 1 January. Greenland and the Faroe Islands are excluded. The annual series selects the first-quarter reference date from FOLK1A. 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 counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Annual estimates of the resident population for the United States, states and counties, 1 July (Population Estimates Program). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

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Questions

Which county has the highest population?

Minnehaha County, with 212,691 in 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest population?

Jones County, with 913 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, Annual estimates of the resident population for the United States, states and counties, 1 July (Population Estimates Program). Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Population: other rankings

Counties in South Dakota: more rankings