South Dakota Counties by Population (2026)

2026 Pop.

20K

40K

60K

80K

100K

120K

140K

160K

180K

200K

Top 5 Most Populous Counties

66 Counties

County
2026 Pop. ↓
Area (mi²)
Density
Change (2020)
Minnehaha County212,9898072647.72%
Pennington County116,2692.8K426.11%
Lincoln County79,44857713821.02%
Brookings County37,253792478.45%
Brown County37,1851.7K22-2.71%
Meade County30,8923.5K93.31%
Lawrence County30,2158003816.89%
Codington County29,930688445.55%
Yankton County23,509521450.96%
Davison County19,77543645-0.9%
Beadle County19,6171.3K162.35%
Union County17,834461395.8%
Hughes County17,34474223-2.24%
Clay County14,93941236-0.43%
Oglala Lakota County13,2662.1K6-2.8%
Lake County10,95256319-0.58%
Butte County10,9372.3K56.28%
Roberts County10,4051.1K91.39%
Custer County9,7561.6K616.95%
Charles Mix County9,4871.1K91.26%
Todd County9,1661.4K7-1.66%
Turner County9,157617155.42%
Grant County7,712681112.29%
Hutchinson County7,4028139-0.31%
Fall River County7,3391.7K45.25%
Bon Homme County7,037564120.93%
Hamlin County6,8885071411.8%
Moody County6,699519135.68%
Spink County6,0261.5K4-4.98%
Tripp County5,9371.6K45.89%
McCook County5,695574100.37%
Dewey County5,6082.3K27.33%
Day County5,3341K5-1.88%
Walworth County5,2827077-0.23%
Kingsbury County5,25983261%
Brule County5,1318176-2.27%
Marshall County4,46983853.98%
Deuel County4,31562370.3%
Gregory County4,2841K47.1%
Clark County4,03295844.7%
Edmunds County3,9471.1K4-1.25%
Corson County3,7292.5K2-4.09%
Lyman County3,7231.6K20.59%
Hanson County3,51743581.65%
Bennett County3,2431.2K3-4.39%
Hand County3,0631.4K2-2.67%
Stanley County2,9651.4K2-0.17%
Douglas County2,85943270.88%
Perkins County2,8502.9K10.04%
Jackson County2,6671.9K1-4.85%
Aurora County2,6647084-2.77%
Ziebach County2,6102K19.07%
Potter County2,3748613-4.04%
Sanborn County2,36256941.37%
Miner County2,32357040.82%
McPherson County2,2511.1K2-6.33%
Faulk County2,13898220.56%
Mellette County1,8161.3K1-5.52%
Haakon County1,7921.8K1-4.07%
Jerauld County1,76752637.55%
Buffalo County1,7074714-11.92%
Sully County1,4341K1-1.24%
Harding County1,3472.7K12.98%
Campbell County1,3127342-4.93%
Hyde County1,26586111.04%
Jones County8989701-2.71%

Overview of South Dakota Counties

There are 66 counties in South Dakota.

Minnehaha County is the largest county in the state, with a population of 212,989. The most recent census shows that its population has increased by 0.08% since the previous census.

A number of other South Dakota counties also boast relatively large populations for their state, though not able to match the density of Minnehaha County:

South Dakota Counties with the Fewest Residents

The smallest county in South Dakota is Jones County , with a population of just 898. This total represents a decrease of 0.0% since the last census count was performed.

Other small counties include:

South Dakota Counties with Rapid Growth

Lincoln County , with its current population of 79,448, has shown the largest population growth, with an increase of 0.2% since the last census.

On the other hand, Buffalo County has had the largest decrease in population, with its 1,707 current residents totalling 0.1% less than the previous census.

Sources

  1. US Census State Population Estimates - Most recent state estimates from the Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program
  2. US Census County Population Estimates - Most recent county estimates from the Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program
  3. American Community Survey (2009 - 2013)
  4. Census QuickFacts
  5. Historical Populations of States and Counties (1790 - 1990)

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