Counties in South Dakota by population

Minnehaha County had the highest population of 66 counties in 2023, at 206,220. Jones County had the lowest, at 866. The median was 5,355 and the figure for South Dakota was 917,739. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest206,220Minnehaha County
Lowest866Jones County
Median5,35566 counties
South Dakota917,739History

Top 40 counties, 2023

CSVChart (SVG)

Minnehaha CountyMinnehaha County: 206,220 persons206,220Pennington CountyPennington County: 115,867 persons115,867Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 72,813 persons72,813Brown CountyBrown County: 37,679 persons37,679Brookings CountyBrookings County: 35,827 persons35,827Meade CountyMeade County: 30,923 persons30,923Codington CountyCodington County: 28,958 persons28,958Lawrence CountyLawrence County: 28,037 persons28,037Yankton CountyYankton County: 23,505 persons23,505Davison CountyDavison County: 19,969 persons19,969Beadle CountyBeadle County: 19,294 persons19,294Hughes CountyHughes County: 17,633 persons17,633Union CountyUnion County: 17,149 persons17,149Clay CountyClay County: 15,342 persons15,342Oglala Lakota CountyOglala Lakota County: 13,423 persons13,423Lake CountyLake County: 11,059 persons11,059Butte CountyButte County: 10,850 persons10,850Roberts CountyRoberts County: 10,189 persons10,189Charles Mix CountyCharles Mix County: 9,222 persons9,222Turner CountyTurner County: 9,184 persons9,184Custer CountyCuster County: 9,108 persons9,108Todd CountyTodd County: 8,977 persons8,977Grant CountyGrant County: 7,556 persons7,556Hutchinson CountyHutchinson County: 7,397 persons7,397Fall River CountyFall River County: 7,374 persons7,374Bon Homme CountyBon Homme County: 7,105 persons7,105Hamlin CountyHamlin County: 6,479 persons6,479Moody CountyMoody County: 6,463 persons6,463Spink CountySpink County: 6,164 persons6,164McCook CountyMcCook County: 5,840 persons5,840Tripp CountyTripp County: 5,697 persons5,697Day CountyDay County: 5,429 persons5,429Dewey CountyDewey County: 5,387 persons5,387Brule CountyBrule County: 5,323 persons5,323Kingsbury CountyKingsbury County: 5,259 persons5,259Walworth CountyWalworth County: 5,256 persons5,256Marshall CountyMarshall County: 4,388 persons4,388Deuel CountyDeuel County: 4,365 persons4,365Edmunds CountyEdmunds County: 4,041 persons4,041Gregory CountyGregory County: 4,008 persons4,008
persons. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2023
persons
Change on 2022
1Minnehaha County206,220+1.3%
2Pennington County115,867+1.4%
3Lincoln County72,813+2.6%
4Brown County37,679-0.7%
5Brookings County35,827+1.2%
6Meade County30,923+0.8%
7Codington County28,958+0.7%
8Lawrence County28,037+3%
9Yankton County23,505+0.4%
10Davison County19,969-0.3%
11Beadle County19,294+0.1%
12Hughes County17,633-0.2%
13Union County17,149+0.4%
14Clay County15,342+0.5%
15Oglala Lakota County13,423-0.4%
16Lake County11,059+1%
17Butte County10,850+0.6%
18Roberts County10,189+0.5%
19Charles Mix County9,2220%
20Turner County9,184+2.9%
21Custer County9,108+1.1%
22Todd County8,977-2.1%
23Grant County7,556+0.3%
24Hutchinson County7,397+0.3%
25Fall River County7,374-0%
26Bon Homme County7,105+0.2%
27Hamlin County6,479+1%
28Moody County6,463+1.3%
29Spink County6,164-1.2%
30McCook County5,840+0.7%
31Tripp County5,697+2.2%
32Day County5,429-0.9%
33Dewey County5,387+5.8%
34Brule County5,323-0.1%
35Kingsbury County5,259-0.2%
36Walworth County5,256-0.1%
37Marshall County4,388+0.5%
38Deuel County4,365+0.2%
39Edmunds County4,041-1.1%
40Gregory County4,008+0.6%
41Clark County3,951+0.1%
42Corson County3,776-0.9%
43Lyman County3,670-0.6%
44Hanson County3,477+0.4%
45Bennett County3,314-0.7%
46Hand County3,121+0.1%
47Stanley County3,026+0.5%
48Douglas County2,844+1.8%
49Perkins County2,813+0.8%
50Aurora County2,780+0.8%
51Jackson County2,755-2.6%
52Potter County2,405-1.6%
53Sanborn County2,396-0.5%
54Ziebach County2,355-1%
55McPherson County2,340-2.5%
56Miner County2,289+0.2%
57Faulk County2,149+1.6%
58Mellette County1,914+2.6%
59Buffalo County1,870+2.2%
60Haakon County1,856+1.5%
61Jerauld County1,686+1.9%
62Sully County1,485+0.6%
63Campbell County1,346-1.5%
64Harding County1,313-0.9%
65Hyde County1,183-0.6%
66Jones County866-0.7%

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 206,220 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest population?

Jones County, with 866 in 2023.

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