South Dakota counties by area
Official, comparable measurements for 66 counties and county equivalents.
- 412–570.2 mi²
- 574.2–806.9 mi²
- 813–1,097.1 mi²
- 1,101.1–1,642.3 mi²
- 1,713–3,470.9 mi²
- 0.5–2.2 per mi²
- 2.2–4.1 per mi²
- 4.2–7.1 per mi²
- 7.4–16 per mi²
- 20–264 per mi²
Understanding South Dakota’s county areas
The land-area range runs from Clay County at 412 mi² to Meade County at 3,470.9 mi². The largest has 8.4 times the land area of the smallest and accounts for 4.6% of the combined county land in South Dakota. Compare with every state’s largest county.
The median county-equivalent land area is 909.3 mi², above the national median of 604.5 mi². The median describes the middle of the county size distribution; it does not describe how people or development are distributed. A state with a few very large counties can have a much smaller median than its largest entry suggests.
Where water changes the picture
Dewey County has the most assigned water area, at 142.9 mi². Hughes County has the highest water share, with water making up 7.4% of its total area. Water area and water percentage answer different questions: the first measures an amount, while the second measures the mix of land and water.
Across all 66 entries, water accounts for 1.7% of the combined total area. This is calculated from the summed land and water measurements, rather than averaging county percentages, which would give each small and large county equal weight.
Where people live
An estimated 935,094 people lived in South Dakota on July 1, 2025 (+5.5% since 2020), or 0.3% of the national total in this dataset. Minnehaha County is the most populous county equivalent, with 212,691 residents — 22.7% of the state. The largest by land, Meade County, has 30,711.
Across the state there are 12 people per square mile of land. County densities range from 264 in Minnehaha County to 0.5 in Harding County; the median county equivalent has 5.7. Switch the map above to density to see where the state’s population concentrates.
Compare the largest and smallest county equivalents in South Dakota to see land, water, and total area on the same scale.
These calculations use the 2026 Census county records listed below. County-equivalent boundaries vary between states; area alone does not measure population, density, or usable land. See coverage and calculation rules.
Complete area table
Sorted from largest to smallest land area.
| # | County / equivalent | Land | Water | Water share | Population | Per mi² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meade CountyGEOID 46093 | 3,470.9 mi² | 11.9 mi² | 0.3% | 30,711 | 8.8 |
| 2 | Perkins CountyGEOID 46105 | 2,870.5 mi² | 19.5 mi² | 0.7% | 2,853 | 0.99 |
| 3 | Pennington CountyGEOID 46103 | 2,776.8 mi² | 7.7 mi² | 0.3% | 116,792 | 42 |
| 4 | Harding CountyGEOID 46063 | 2,671.6 mi² | 6.5 mi² | 0.2% | 1,331 | 0.5 |
| 5 | Corson CountyGEOID 46031 | 2,469.7 mi² | 60 mi² | 2.4% | 3,781 | 1.5 |
| 6 | Dewey CountyGEOID 46041 | 2,302.4 mi² | 142.9 mi² | 5.8% | 5,419 | 2.4 |
| 7 | Butte CountyGEOID 46019 | 2,250 mi² | 16.5 mi² | 0.7% | 10,856 | 4.8 |
| 8 | Oglala Lakota CountyGEOID 46102 | 2,093.6 mi² | 2.8 mi² | 0.1% | 13,338 | 6.4 |
| 9 | Ziebach CountyGEOID 46137 | 1,961.2 mi² | 9.3 mi² | 0.5% | 2,389 | 1.2 |
| 10 | Jackson CountyGEOID 46071 | 1,863.9 mi² | 7.4 mi² | 0.4% | 2,666 | 1.4 |
| 11 | Haakon CountyGEOID 46055 | 1,810.5 mi² | 16.4 mi² | 0.9% | 1,802 | 1 |
| 12 | Fall River CountyGEOID 46047 | 1,739.9 mi² | 9.3 mi² | 0.5% | 7,467 | 4.3 |
| 13 | Brown CountyGEOID 46013 | 1,713 mi² | 17.9 mi² | 1% | 37,561 | 22 |
| 14 | Lyman CountyGEOID 46085 | 1,642.3 mi² | 64.6 mi² | 3.8% | 3,694 | 2.2 |
| 15 | Tripp CountyGEOID 46123 | 1,612.3 mi² | 5.2 mi² | 0.3% | 5,708 | 3.5 |
| 16 | Custer CountyGEOID 46033 | 1,556.9 mi² | 2.1 mi² | 0.1% | 9,431 | 6.1 |
| 17 | Spink CountyGEOID 46115 | 1,503.5 mi² | 6.2 mi² | 0.4% | 6,155 | 4.1 |
| 18 | Stanley CountyGEOID 46117 | 1,444.4 mi² | 72.7 mi² | 4.8% | 3,018 | 2.1 |
| 19 | Hand CountyGEOID 46059 | 1,436.6 mi² | 3.6 mi² | 0.2% | 3,121 | 2.2 |
| 20 | Todd CountyGEOID 46121 | 1,388.6 mi² | 2.3 mi² | 0.2% | 8,863 | 6.4 |
| 21 | Mellette CountyGEOID 46095 | 1,307.3 mi² | 3.6 mi² | 0.3% | 2,137 | 1.6 |
| 22 | Beadle CountyGEOID 46005 | 1,258.7 mi² | 6.1 mi² | 0.5% | 19,624 | 16 |
| 23 | Bennett CountyGEOID 46007 | 1,184.6 mi² | 5.8 mi² | 0.5% | 3,307 | 2.8 |
| 24 | McPherson CountyGEOID 46089 | 1,136.7 mi² | 14.9 mi² | 1.3% | 2,347 | 2.1 |
| 25 | Edmunds CountyGEOID 46045 | 1,126 mi² | 25.1 mi² | 2.2% | 4,022 | 3.6 |
| 26 | Roberts CountyGEOID 46109 | 1,101.1 mi² | 34.7 mi² | 3.1% | 10,255 | 9.3 |
| 27 | Charles Mix CountyGEOID 46023 | 1,097.1 mi² | 53.1 mi² | 4.6% | 9,303 | 8.5 |
| 28 | Day CountyGEOID 46037 | 1,028.5 mi² | 62.6 mi² | 5.7% | 5,484 | 5.3 |
| 29 | Gregory CountyGEOID 46053 | 1,015 mi² | 38.6 mi² | 3.7% | 4,037 | 4 |
| 30 | Sully CountyGEOID 46119 | 1,006.7 mi² | 63.5 mi² | 5.9% | 1,479 | 1.5 |
| 31 | Faulk CountyGEOID 46049 | 981.7 mi² | 24.2 mi² | 2.4% | 2,178 | 2.2 |
| 32 | Jones CountyGEOID 46075 | 969.7 mi² | 1.2 mi² | 0.1% | 913 | 0.94 |
| 33 | Clark CountyGEOID 46025 | 957.5 mi² | 10 mi² | 1% | 4,031 | 4.2 |
| 34 | Potter CountyGEOID 46107 | 861.1 mi² | 37.5 mi² | 4.2% | 2,377 | 2.8 |
| 35 | Hyde CountyGEOID 46069 | 860.6 mi² | 5.6 mi² | 0.6% | 1,191 | 1.4 |
| 36 | Marshall CountyGEOID 46091 | 838.1 mi² | 48.1 mi² | 5.4% | 4,426 | 5.3 |
| 37 | Kingsbury CountyGEOID 46077 | 832.2 mi² | 31.5 mi² | 3.6% | 5,284 | 6.3 |
| 38 | Brule CountyGEOID 46015 | 817.2 mi² | 29.3 mi² | 3.5% | 5,278 | 6.5 |
| 39 | Hutchinson CountyGEOID 46067 | 813 mi² | 1.4 mi² | 0.2% | 7,413 | 9.1 |
| 40 | Minnehaha CountyGEOID 46099 | 806.9 mi² | 7 mi² | 0.9% | 212,691 | 264 |
| 41 | Lawrence CountyGEOID 46081 | 800.1 mi² | 0.3 mi² | 0% | 29,459 | 37 |
| 42 | Brookings CountyGEOID 46011 | 792.2 mi² | 12.7 mi² | 1.6% | 37,635 | 48 |
| 43 | Hughes CountyGEOID 46065 | 741.5 mi² | 59.2 mi² | 7.4% | 17,570 | 24 |
| 44 | Campbell CountyGEOID 46021 | 733.8 mi² | 37.1 mi² | 4.8% | 1,377 | 1.9 |
| 45 | Aurora CountyGEOID 46003 | 708.5 mi² | 4.3 mi² | 0.6% | 2,801 | 4 |
| 46 | Walworth CountyGEOID 46129 | 707.5 mi² | 37.2 mi² | 5% | 5,217 | 7.4 |
| 47 | Codington CountyGEOID 46029 | 687.6 mi² | 29.6 mi² | 4.1% | 29,562 | 43 |
| 48 | Grant CountyGEOID 46051 | 681.4 mi² | 6.1 mi² | 0.9% | 7,534 | 11 |
| 49 | Deuel CountyGEOID 46039 | 622.7 mi² | 13.9 mi² | 2.2% | 4,408 | 7.1 |
| 50 | Turner CountyGEOID 46125 | 617.1 mi² | 0.6 mi² | 0.1% | 9,314 | 15 |
| 51 | Lincoln CountyGEOID 46083 | 577.3 mi² | 0.5 mi² | 0.1% | 77,145 | 134 |
| 52 | McCook CountyGEOID 46087 | 574.2 mi² | 2.7 mi² | 0.5% | 5,964 | 10 |
| 53 | Miner CountyGEOID 46097 | 570.2 mi² | 1.8 mi² | 0.3% | 2,281 | 4 |
| 54 | Sanborn CountyGEOID 46111 | 569.2 mi² | 1.2 mi² | 0.2% | 2,388 | 4.2 |
| 55 | Bon Homme CountyGEOID 46009 | 563.5 mi² | 18.1 mi² | 3.1% | 7,244 | 13 |
| 56 | Lake CountyGEOID 46079 | 562.9 mi² | 12.3 mi² | 2.1% | 10,993 | 20 |
| 57 | Jerauld CountyGEOID 46073 | 526.1 mi² | 6.5 mi² | 1.2% | 1,654 | 3.1 |
| 58 | Yankton CountyGEOID 46135 | 521.2 mi² | 11.1 mi² | 2.1% | 23,635 | 45 |
| 59 | Moody CountyGEOID 46101 | 519.4 mi² | 1.4 mi² | 0.3% | 6,632 | 13 |
| 60 | Hamlin CountyGEOID 46057 | 507.1 mi² | 31 mi² | 5.8% | 6,900 | 14 |
| 61 | Buffalo CountyGEOID 46017 | 471.4 mi² | 16.4 mi² | 3.4% | 1,802 | 3.8 |
| 62 | Union CountyGEOID 46127 | 462 mi² | 5.2 mi² | 1.1% | 17,402 | 38 |
| 63 | Davison CountyGEOID 46035 | 435.6 mi² | 1.3 mi² | 0.3% | 20,069 | 46 |
| 64 | Hanson CountyGEOID 46061 | 434.6 mi² | 0.8 mi² | 0.2% | 3,456 | 8 |
| 65 | Douglas CountyGEOID 46043 | 431.8 mi² | 1.9 mi² | 0.4% | 2,888 | 6.7 |
| 66 | Clay CountyGEOID 46027 | 412 mi² | 5.4 mi² | 1.3% | 15,031 | 36 |