Data / Rankings / Population / Counties in South Dakota

Counties in South Dakota by population

Minnehaha County had the highest population of 66 counties in 2020, at 197,688. Jones County had the lowest, at 927. The median was 5,273 and the figure for South Dakota was 887,808. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest197,688Minnehaha County
Lowest927Jones County
Median5,27366 counties
South Dakota887,808History

Top 40 counties, 2020

CSVChart (SVG)

Minnehaha CountyMinnehaha County: 197,688 persons197,688Pennington CountyPennington County: 109,570 persons109,570Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 65,650 persons65,650Brown CountyBrown County: 38,230 persons38,230Brookings CountyBrookings County: 34,338 persons34,338Meade CountyMeade County: 29,897 persons29,897Codington CountyCodington County: 28,353 persons28,353Lawrence CountyLawrence County: 25,847 persons25,847Yankton CountyYankton County: 23,291 persons23,291Davison CountyDavison County: 19,960 persons19,960Beadle CountyBeadle County: 19,162 persons19,162Hughes CountyHughes County: 17,734 persons17,734Union CountyUnion County: 16,855 persons16,855Clay CountyClay County: 15,004 persons15,004Oglala Lakota CountyOglala Lakota County: 13,647 persons13,647Lake CountyLake County: 11,015 persons11,015Butte CountyButte County: 10,292 persons10,292Roberts CountyRoberts County: 10,266 persons10,266Charles Mix CountyCharles Mix County: 9,353 persons9,353Todd CountyTodd County: 9,316 persons9,316Turner CountyTurner County: 8,684 persons8,684Custer CountyCuster County: 8,333 persons8,333Grant CountyGrant County: 7,537 persons7,537Hutchinson CountyHutchinson County: 7,424 persons7,424Bon Homme CountyBon Homme County: 6,981 persons6,981Fall River CountyFall River County: 6,971 persons6,971Moody CountyMoody County: 6,346 persons6,346Spink CountySpink County: 6,343 persons6,343Hamlin CountyHamlin County: 6,169 persons6,169McCook CountyMcCook County: 5,671 persons5,671Tripp CountyTripp County: 5,606 persons5,606Day CountyDay County: 5,442 persons5,442Walworth CountyWalworth County: 5,291 persons5,291Brule CountyBrule County: 5,254 persons5,254Dewey CountyDewey County: 5,223 persons5,223Kingsbury CountyKingsbury County: 5,200 persons5,200Marshall CountyMarshall County: 4,301 persons4,301Deuel CountyDeuel County: 4,296 persons4,296Gregory CountyGregory County: 3,993 persons3,993Edmunds CountyEdmunds County: 3,982 persons3,982
persons. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2020
persons
1Minnehaha County197,688
2Pennington County109,570
3Lincoln County65,650
4Brown County38,230
5Brookings County34,338
6Meade County29,897
7Codington County28,353
8Lawrence County25,847
9Yankton County23,291
10Davison County19,960
11Beadle County19,162
12Hughes County17,734
13Union County16,855
14Clay County15,004
15Oglala Lakota County13,647
16Lake County11,015
17Butte County10,292
18Roberts County10,266
19Charles Mix County9,353
20Todd County9,316
21Turner County8,684
22Custer County8,333
23Grant County7,537
24Hutchinson County7,424
25Bon Homme County6,981
26Fall River County6,971
27Moody County6,346
28Spink County6,343
29Hamlin County6,169
30McCook County5,671
31Tripp County5,606
32Day County5,442
33Walworth County5,291
34Brule County5,254
35Dewey County5,223
36Kingsbury County5,200
37Marshall County4,301
38Deuel County4,296
39Gregory County3,993
40Edmunds County3,982
41Corson County3,891
42Clark County3,850
43Lyman County3,697
44Hanson County3,466
45Bennett County3,397
46Hand County3,144
47Stanley County2,966
48Douglas County2,834
49Perkins County2,829
50Jackson County2,799
51Aurora County2,730
52Potter County2,472
53McPherson County2,399
54Ziebach County2,391
55Sanborn County2,330
56Miner County2,300
57Faulk County2,128
58Buffalo County1,933
59Mellette County1,917
60Haakon County1,869
61Jerauld County1,644
62Sully County1,451
63Campbell County1,378
64Harding County1,303
65Hyde County1,248
66Jones County927

Other periods

About this ranking

Resident population. Spain and the EU: 1 January, with Spanish figures from the official municipal register (Padrón). 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 197,688 in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest population?

Jones County, with 927 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 the United States, states and counties, 1 July (Population Estimates Program). Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Population: other rankings

Counties in South Dakota: more rankings