South Dakota Counties by Population (2024)

There are 66 counties in South Dakota. There are two counties in South Dakota with populations over 100,000. Minnehaha County, the most populous county in the state, has a population of 192,876 residents, about 21.86% of South Dakota’s population. The second-most populous county in South Dakota, Pennington County, has 111,729 residents, about 12.66% of the population. Lincoln County, located just below Minnehaha, has the third-highest population of 58,807.

South Dakota Counties with the Fewest Residents

Of South Dakota’s 66 counties, the one with the lowest population is Jones County, which has 628 residents. The population in Jones County only makes up 0.11% of South Dakota’s total population and has a population density of 0.96 persons per square kilometer. The second-least populous county in South Dakota is Harding County, which has 1,249 residents. Its population density is even less than Jones County at 0.47 persons per square kilometer. Following Harding County is Sully County with 1,392 residents. While Jones County has experienced a population loss of 8.21% since the 2010 Census, both Harding County and Sully County have experienced a small population growth of 0.24% and 1.09% respectively.

South Dakota Counties with Rapid Growth

Several counties in South Dakota have experienced relatively rapid population growth since 2010. Lincoln County has experienced the most significant growth of 30.14%, followed by Lake County with 15.76% and Minnehaha County with 13.49%. Other states with double-digit growth include Meade (11.01%), Pennington (10.36%), Marshall (10.12%), and Brookings (10.12%).

Several counties have experienced population loss since 2010. The counties that have experienced the most significant population loss are Hyde (9.85%), Jones (8.21%), Miner (6.78%), and Campbell (6.39%).