Counties in South Dakota by population

Minnehaha County had the highest population of 66 counties in 2024, at 209,416. Jones County had the lowest, at 898. The median was 5,340 and the figure for South Dakota was 927,110. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest209,416Minnehaha County
Lowest898Jones County
Median5,34066 counties
South Dakota927,110History

Top 40 counties, 2024

CSVChart (SVG)

Minnehaha CountyMinnehaha County: 209,416 persons209,416Pennington CountyPennington County: 116,312 persons116,312Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 75,123 persons75,123Brown CountyBrown County: 37,621 persons37,621Brookings CountyBrookings County: 36,814 persons36,814Meade CountyMeade County: 30,875 persons30,875Codington CountyCodington County: 29,270 persons29,270Lawrence CountyLawrence County: 28,709 persons28,709Yankton CountyYankton County: 23,577 persons23,577Davison CountyDavison County: 19,990 persons19,990Beadle CountyBeadle County: 19,522 persons19,522Hughes CountyHughes County: 17,557 persons17,557Union CountyUnion County: 17,373 persons17,373Clay CountyClay County: 15,190 persons15,190Oglala Lakota CountyOglala Lakota County: 13,416 persons13,416Lake CountyLake County: 11,044 persons11,044Butte CountyButte County: 10,885 persons10,885Roberts CountyRoberts County: 10,278 persons10,278Custer CountyCuster County: 9,324 persons9,324Charles Mix CountyCharles Mix County: 9,276 persons9,276Turner CountyTurner County: 9,237 persons9,237Todd CountyTodd County: 8,913 persons8,913Grant CountyGrant County: 7,613 persons7,613Fall River CountyFall River County: 7,413 persons7,413Hutchinson CountyHutchinson County: 7,401 persons7,401Bon Homme CountyBon Homme County: 7,151 persons7,151Hamlin CountyHamlin County: 6,730 persons6,730Moody CountyMoody County: 6,599 persons6,599Spink CountySpink County: 6,154 persons6,154McCook CountyMcCook County: 5,881 persons5,881Tripp CountyTripp County: 5,738 persons5,738Day CountyDay County: 5,447 persons5,447Dewey CountyDewey County: 5,382 persons5,382Brule CountyBrule County: 5,297 persons5,297Kingsbury CountyKingsbury County: 5,280 persons5,280Walworth CountyWalworth County: 5,244 persons5,244Marshall CountyMarshall County: 4,435 persons4,435Deuel CountyDeuel County: 4,376 persons4,376Gregory CountyGregory County: 4,071 persons4,071Edmunds CountyEdmunds County: 4,031 persons4,031
persons. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2024
persons
Change on 2023
1Minnehaha County209,416+1.5%
2Pennington County116,312+0.4%
3Lincoln County75,123+3.2%
4Brown County37,621-0.2%
5Brookings County36,814+2.8%
6Meade County30,875-0.2%
7Codington County29,270+1.1%
8Lawrence County28,709+2.4%
9Yankton County23,577+0.3%
10Davison County19,990+0.1%
11Beadle County19,522+1.2%
12Hughes County17,557-0.4%
13Union County17,373+1.3%
14Clay County15,190-1%
15Oglala Lakota County13,416-0.1%
16Lake County11,044-0.1%
17Butte County10,885+0.3%
18Roberts County10,278+0.9%
19Custer County9,324+2.4%
20Charles Mix County9,276+0.6%
21Turner County9,237+0.6%
22Todd County8,913-0.7%
23Grant County7,613+0.8%
24Fall River County7,413+0.5%
25Hutchinson County7,401+0.1%
26Bon Homme County7,151+0.6%
27Hamlin County6,730+3.9%
28Moody County6,599+2.1%
29Spink County6,154-0.2%
30McCook County5,881+0.7%
31Tripp County5,738+0.7%
32Day County5,447+0.3%
33Dewey County5,382-0.1%
34Brule County5,297-0.5%
35Kingsbury County5,280+0.4%
36Walworth County5,244-0.2%
37Marshall County4,435+1.1%
38Deuel County4,376+0.3%
39Gregory County4,071+1.6%
40Edmunds County4,031-0.2%
41Clark County4,000+1.2%
42Corson County3,7770%
43Lyman County3,692+0.6%
44Hanson County3,501+0.7%
45Bennett County3,306-0.2%
46Hand County3,118-0.1%
47Stanley County3,001-0.8%
48Douglas County2,868+0.8%
49Perkins County2,833+0.7%
50Aurora County2,791+0.4%
51Jackson County2,716-1.4%
52Potter County2,401-0.2%
53Ziebach County2,381+1.1%
54Sanborn County2,377-0.8%
55McPherson County2,332-0.3%
56Miner County2,279-0.4%
57Faulk County2,180+1.4%
58Mellette County2,049+7.1%
59Haakon County1,824-1.7%
60Buffalo County1,809-3.3%
61Jerauld County1,675-0.7%
62Sully County1,473-0.8%
63Campbell County1,343-0.2%
64Harding County1,312-0.1%
65Hyde County1,209+2.2%
66Jones County898+3.7%

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 209,416 in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest population?

Jones County, with 898 in 2024.

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