| County | Rank | Change (2020) ↓ | 2026 Pop. | 2020 Pop. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln County | 1 | 21.02% | 79,448 | 65,648 |
| Custer County | 2 | 16.95% | 9,756 | 8,342 |
| Lawrence County | 3 | 16.89% | 30,215 | 25,849 |
| Hamlin County | 4 | 11.8% | 6,888 | 6,161 |
| Ziebach County | 5 | 9.07% | 2,610 | 2,393 |
| Brookings County | 6 | 8.45% | 37,253 | 34,349 |
| Minnehaha County | 7 | 7.72% | 212,989 | 197,718 |
| Jerauld County | 8 | 7.55% | 1,767 | 1,643 |
| Dewey County | 9 | 7.33% | 5,608 | 5,225 |
| Gregory County | 10 | 7.1% | 4,284 | 4,000 |
| Butte County | 11 | 6.28% | 10,937 | 10,291 |
| Pennington County | 12 | 6.11% | 116,269 | 109,573 |
| Tripp County | 13 | 5.89% | 5,937 | 5,607 |
| Union County | 14 | 5.8% | 17,834 | 16,857 |
| Moody County | 15 | 5.68% | 6,699 | 6,339 |
| Codington County | 16 | 5.55% | 29,930 | 28,355 |
| Turner County | 17 | 5.42% | 9,157 | 8,686 |
| Fall River County | 18 | 5.25% | 7,339 | 6,973 |
| Clark County | 19 | 4.7% | 4,032 | 3,851 |
| Marshall County | 20 | 3.98% | 4,469 | 4,298 |
| Meade County | 21 | 3.31% | 30,892 | 29,903 |
| Harding County | 22 | 2.98% | 1,347 | 1,308 |
| Beadle County | 23 | 2.35% | 19,617 | 19,166 |
| Grant County | 24 | 2.29% | 7,712 | 7,539 |
| Hanson County | 25 | 1.65% | 3,517 | 3,460 |
| Roberts County | 26 | 1.39% | 10,405 | 10,262 |
| Sanborn County | 27 | 1.37% | 2,362 | 2,330 |
| Charles Mix County | 28 | 1.26% | 9,487 | 9,369 |
| Hyde County | 29 | 1.04% | 1,265 | 1,252 |
| Kingsbury County | 30 | 1% | 5,259 | 5,207 |
| Yankton County | 31 | 0.96% | 23,509 | 23,286 |
| Bon Homme County | 32 | 0.93% | 7,037 | 6,972 |
| Douglas County | 33 | 0.88% | 2,859 | 2,834 |
| Miner County | 34 | 0.82% | 2,323 | 2,304 |
| Lyman County | 35 | 0.59% | 3,723 | 3,701 |
| Faulk County | 36 | 0.56% | 2,138 | 2,126 |
| McCook County | 37 | 0.37% | 5,695 | 5,674 |
| Deuel County | 38 | 0.3% | 4,315 | 4,302 |
| Perkins County | 39 | 0.04% | 2,850 | 2,849 |
| Stanley County | 40 | -0.17% | 2,965 | 2,970 |
| Walworth County | 41 | -0.23% | 5,282 | 5,294 |
| Hutchinson County | 42 | -0.31% | 7,402 | 7,425 |
| Clay County | 43 | -0.43% | 14,939 | 15,003 |
| Lake County | 44 | -0.58% | 10,952 | 11,016 |
| Davison County | 45 | -0.9% | 19,775 | 19,954 |
| Sully County | 46 | -1.24% | 1,434 | 1,452 |
| Edmunds County | 47 | -1.25% | 3,947 | 3,997 |
| Todd County | 48 | -1.66% | 9,166 | 9,321 |
| Day County | 49 | -1.88% | 5,334 | 5,436 |
| Hughes County | 50 | -2.24% | 17,344 | 17,741 |
| Brule County | 51 | -2.27% | 5,131 | 5,250 |
| Hand County | 52 | -2.67% | 3,063 | 3,147 |
| Brown County | 53 | -2.71% | 37,185 | 38,219 |
| Jones County | 54 | -2.71% | 898 | 923 |
| Aurora County | 55 | -2.77% | 2,664 | 2,740 |
| Oglala Lakota County | 56 | -2.8% | 13,266 | 13,648 |
| Potter County | 57 | -4.04% | 2,374 | 2,474 |
| Haakon County | 58 | -4.07% | 1,792 | 1,868 |
| Corson County | 59 | -4.09% | 3,729 | 3,888 |
| Bennett County | 60 | -4.39% | 3,243 | 3,392 |
| Jackson County | 61 | -4.85% | 2,667 | 2,803 |
| Campbell County | 62 | -4.93% | 1,312 | 1,380 |
| Spink County | 63 | -4.98% | 6,026 | 6,342 |
| Mellette County | 64 | -5.52% | 1,816 | 1,922 |
| McPherson County | 65 | -6.33% | 2,251 | 2,403 |
| Buffalo County | 66 | -11.92% | 1,707 | 1,938 |
South Dakota's counties show varied growth patterns from 2020 to 2026. Lincoln County leads with 3.23% annualized growth, followed by Custer County (2.64%) and Lawrence County (2.64%). The largest counties are Minnehaha County (212,989), Pennington County (116,269), and Lincoln County (79,448). Of the 66 counties in South Dakota, 39 are growing while 27 have experienced population decline. Overall, counties averaged 0.26% annualized growth, with total population growing by 0.91% annually.
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