List of counties in South Dakota

Counties of South Dakota
Aur Beadle Bennett Bon Brook Brown Brule Buff Butte Camp Chas Mix Clark Cla Cod Corson Custer Dav Day Deu Dewey Doug Edmunds Fall River Faulk Grant Greg Haakon Ham Hand Ha Harding Hughes Hutch Hy Jackson Jer Jones Kings Lak Law Lin Lyman Marsh McC McPher Meade Mellette Miner Minne Moo Oglala Lakota Pennington Perkins Potter Robts San Spink Stanley Sully Todd Tripp Turn Un Wal Yank Ziebach
Location	State of South Dakota
Number	66
Populations	874 (Jones) – 208,639 (Minnehaha)
Areas	412 square miles (1,070 km2) (Clay) – 3,471 square miles (8,990 km2) (Meade)
Government	County government
Subdivisions	Cities, towns, townships, unincorporated territories, unorganized territories, census-designated places

There are 66 counties in the U.S. state of South Dakota with FIPS codes.

Todd County and Oglala Lakota County are the only counties in South Dakota which do not have their own county seats. Hot Springs in Fall River County serves as the administrative center for Oglala Lakota County. Winner in Tripp County serves as the administrative center for Todd County. ^[1] These are two of six counties in South Dakota which are entirely within an Indian reservation. (The other four counties are Bennett, Corson, Dewey, and Ziebach.)

South Dakota's postal abbreviation is SD and its FIPS state code is 46.

Table of counties

County	FIPS code [2]	County seat [3]	Est. [3]	Formed from	Etymology	Population [4]	Area [3]	Map
AuroraCounty	003	Plankinton	1881	Cragin and Wetmore Counties	Aurora, Roman goddess of dawn	2,752	708 sq mi (1,834 km2)
BeadleCounty	005	Huron	1879	Buchard, Clark, Kingsbury, and Spink Counties	William Henry Harrison Beadle, chief surveyor of Dakota Territory	19,459	1,259 sq mi (3,261 km2)
BennettCounty	007	Martin	1909	Lugenbeel, Oglala Lakota, Washabaugh, and Washington Counties	Granville G. Bennett, justice of the Supreme Court for the Dakota Territory	3,289	1,185 sq mi (3,069 km2)
Bon HommeCounty	009	Tyndall	1862	Unorganized territory	French phrase meaning "good man"	7,071	563 sq mi (1,458 km2)
BrookingsCounty	011	Brookings	1862	Unorganized territory	Wilmot Brookings (1830 - 1905), Dakota Territory Supreme Court justice	36,359	794 sq mi (2,056 km2)
BrownCounty	013	Aberdeen	1879	Beadle County	Alfred Brown, territorial legislator	37,495	1,713 sq mi (4,437 km2)
BruleCounty	015	Chamberlain	1875	Charles Mix County	Brulé Sioux Native Americans	5,261	819 sq mi (2,121 km2)
BuffaloCounty	017	Gann Valley	1873	Unorganized territory	American Bison	1,825	471 sq mi (1,220 km2)
ButteCounty	019	Belle Fourche	1883	Harding County	Buttes in the region	10,891	2,249 sq mi (5,825 km2)
CampbellCounty	021	Mound City	1873	Buffalo County	Norman B. Campbell, territorial legislator	1,342	736 sq mi (1,906 km2)
Charles MixCounty	023	Lake Andes	1862	Unorganized territory	Charles Eli Mix, commissioner of Indian Affairs	9,343	1,098 sq mi (2,844 km2)
ClarkCounty	025	Clark	1873	Hanson County	Newton Clark (1838-1918), territorial legislator	3,974	958 sq mi (2,481 km2)
ClayCounty	027	Vermillion	1862	Unorganized territory	Henry Clay (1777 - 1852), U.S. Senator from Kentucky and prominent 19th Century political figure	15,245	412 sq mi (1,067 km2)
CodingtonCounty	029	Watertown	1877	Indian lands	George S. S. Codington, territorial legislator	29,278	688 sq mi (1,782 km2)
CorsonCounty	031	McIntosh	1909	Indian lands	Dighton Corson, a Justice of the South Dakota Supreme Court	3,747	2,473 sq mi (6,405 km2)
CusterCounty	033	Custer	1875	Indian lands	General George Armstrong Custer (1839 - 1876), key figure in the Indian Wars	9,330	1,558 sq mi (4,035 km2)
DavisonCounty	035	Mitchell	1873	Hanson County	Henry C. Davison (1840-1880), prominent merchant and early settler	19,907	436 sq mi (1,129 km2)
DayCounty	037	Webster	1879	Clark County	Merritt H. Day, territorial legislator	5,408	1,029 sq mi (2,665 km2)
DeuelCounty	039	Clear Lake	1862	Brookings County	Jacob S. Deuel, territorial legislator	4,335	624 sq mi (1,616 km2)
DeweyCounty	041	Timber Lake	1873	Armstrong County and Indian lands	William P. Dewey (1833-1905), territorial surveyor-general	5,322	2,303 sq mi (5,965 km2)
DouglasCounty	043	Armour	1873	Charles Mix County	Stephen A. Douglas (1813 - 1861), U.S. Senator from Illinois and advocate of popular sovereignty as a middle ground in the slavery debate	2,849	434 sq mi (1,124 km2)
EdmundsCounty	045	Ipswich	1873	Buffalo County	Newton Edmunds, Governor of Dakota Territory	4,027	1,146 sq mi (2,968 km2)
Fall RiverCounty	047	Hot Springs	1883	Custer County	Fall River	7,359	1,740 sq mi (4,507 km2)
FaulkCounty	049	Faulkton	1873	Unorganized territory	Andrew Jackson Faulk, Governor of Dakota Territory	2,136	1,000 sq mi (2,590 km2)
GrantCounty	051	Milbank	1873	Codington and Deuel Counties	Ulysses S. Grant (1822 - 1885), U.S. President and American Civil War general	7,618	682 sq mi (1,766 km2)
GregoryCounty	053	Burke	1862	Unorganized territory	John Shaw Gregory (1829-1881), territorial legislator	4,110	1,016 sq mi (2,631 km2)
HaakonCounty	055	Philip	1914	Stanley County	King Haakon VII of Norway	1,851	1,834 sq mi (4,750 km2)
HamlinCounty	057	Hayti	1873	Deuel County	Hannibal Hamlin, Vice-President and United States Senator from Maine	6,596	511 sq mi (1,323 km2)
HandCounty	059	Miller	1873	Buffalo County	George H. Hand (1837-1891), territorial legislator	3,097	1,437 sq mi (3,722 km2)
HansonCounty	061	Alexandria	1873	Buffalo and Deuel Counties	Joseph R. Hanson (1836-1917), army major in the Indian Wars and early settler	3,477	435 sq mi (1,127 km2)
HardingCounty	063	Buffalo	1909	Unorganized territory	John A. Harding (1832-1902), Speaker of the House for Dakota Territory	1,325	2,671 sq mi (6,918 km2)
HughesCounty	065	Pierre	1880	Buffalo County	Alexander Hughes (1846-1907), territorial legislator	17,526	741 sq mi (1,919 km2)
HutchinsonCounty	067	Olivet	1862	Unorganized territory	John Hutchinson (1830-1887) territorial legislator	7,416	813 sq mi (2,106 km2)
HydeCounty	069	Highmore	1873	Buffalo County	James Hyde (1842–1902), territorial legislator	1,215	861 sq mi (2,230 km2)
JacksonCounty	071	Kadoka	1914	Stanley County	J.R. Jackson, territorial legislator	2,737	1,869 sq mi (4,841 km2)
JerauldCounty	073	Wessington Springs	1883	Aurora County	H.J. Jerauld, territorial legislator	1,689	530 sq mi (1,373 km2)
JonesCounty	075	Murdo	1916	Lyman County	George Wallace Jones, territorial legislator	874	971 sq mi (2,515 km2)
KingsburyCounty	077	De Smet	1873	Hanson County	George W. Kingsbury (1837-1925) and Theodore A. Kingsbury (1844-1889), brothers and territorial legislators	5,261	838 sq mi (2,170 km2)
LakeCounty	079	Madison	1873	Brookings and Hanson counties	Lakes within the county	11,006	563 sq mi (1,458 km2)
LawrenceCounty	081	Deadwood	1875	Unorganized territory	John Lawrence (1839 -1889), territorial legislator	28,809	800 sq mi (2,072 km2)
LincolnCounty	083	Canton	1867	Unorganized territory	Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, [5] or, possibly, Lincoln County, Maine.	75,244	578 sq mi (1,497 km2)
LymanCounty	085	Kennebec	1873	Unorganized territory	W.P. Lyman, territorial legislator	3,721	1,640 sq mi (4,248 km2)
MarshallCounty	091	Britton	1885	Day County	Marshall Vincent, Day County Commissioner	4,395	839 sq mi (2,173 km2)
McCookCounty	087	Salem	1873	Hanson County	Edwin McCook, Secretary of Dakota Territory	5,771	575 sq mi (1,489 km2)
McPhersonCounty	089	Leola	1873	Buffalo County	James B. McPherson (1828 - 1864), Civil War general	2,307	1,137 sq mi (2,945 km2)
MeadeCounty	093	Sturgis	1889	Lawrence County	George Meade (1815 - 1872), Civil War general	30,918	3,471 sq mi (8,990 km2)
MelletteCounty	095	White River	1909	Lyman County	Arthur C. Mellette, first Governor of South Dakota	1,834	1,307 sq mi (3,385 km2)
MinerCounty	097	Howard	1873	Hanson County	Nelson Miner (1827-1879) and Ephriam Miner (1833-1912), brothers and territorial legislators	2,303	570 sq mi (1,476 km2)
MinnehahaCounty	099	Sioux Falls	1862	Unorganized territory	Sioux term for waterfall	208,639	809 sq mi (2,095 km2)
MoodyCounty	101	Flandreau	1873	Brookings and Minnehaha Counties	Gideon C. Moody, Speaker of the House for Dakota Territory	6,529	520 sq mi (1,347 km2)
Oglala LakotaCounty	102		1875	Fall River County	Oglala Lakota tribe	13,360	2,094 sq mi (5,423 km2)
PenningtonCounty	103	Rapid City	1875	Unorganized territory	John L. Pennington (1829 - 1900), Governor of Dakota Territory	115,979	2,776 sq mi (7,190 km2)
PerkinsCounty	105	Bison	1909	Butte and Harding Counties	Henry E. Perkins (1864-1937), state senator	2,832	2,872 sq mi (7,438 km2)
PotterCounty	107	Gettysburg	1875	Buffalo County	Joel A. Potter (1830-1895), territorial legislator	2,402	866 sq mi (2,243 km2)
RobertsCounty	109	Sisseton	1883	Grant County	Samuel G. Roberts (b.1843), territorial legislator	10,283	1,101 sq mi (2,852 km2)
SanbornCounty	111	Woonsocket	1883	Miner County	George W. Sanborn (1832-1905), president of the Milwaukee Railroad	2,392	569 sq mi (1,474 km2)
SpinkCounty	115	Redfield	1873	Hanson County	Solomon Spink, Secretary of Dakota Territory	6,108	1,504 sq mi (3,895 km2)
StanleyCounty	117	Fort Pierre	1873	Unorganized territory	David S. Stanley, commander of Fort Sully	3,015	1,443 sq mi (3,737 km2)
SullyCounty	119	Onida	1873	Potter County	Fort Sully, itself named after General Alfred Sully	1,468	1,007 sq mi (2,608 km2)
ToddCounty	121		1909	Meyer and Tripp Counties	John Blair Smith Todd, territorial delegate to Congress	9,172	1,388 sq mi (3,595 km2)
TrippCounty	123	Winner	1873	Unorganized territory	Bartlett Tripp, Chief Justice of the Dakota Territorial Supreme Court	5,717	1,614 sq mi (4,180 km2)
TurnerCounty	125	Parker	1871	Lincoln County	John W. Turner, territorial legislator	9,087	617 sq mi (1,598 km2)
UnionCounty	127	Elk Point	1862	Unorganized territory	The union of the American states	17,402	460 sq mi (1,191 km2)
WalworthCounty	129	Selby	1873	Buffalo County	Walworth County, Wisconsin, itself named for Reuben Walworth	5,270	708 sq mi (1,834 km2)
YanktonCounty	135	Yankton	1862	Unorganized territory	Yankton Sioux Native Americans	23,509	522 sq mi (1,352 km2)
ZiebachCounty	137	Dupree	1911	Armstrong, Schnasse, and Sterling Counties	Frank M. Ziebach, publisher and army major during the Indian Wars	2,418	1,962 sq mi (5,082 km2)

Former names

• Shannon County: renamed Oglala Lakota County in 2015
• Boreman County: Renamed Corson County in 1909
• Mandan County: Renamed Lawrence County

Former counties

• Armstrong County (1883–1952): Created by Dakota Territory as Pyatt County in 1883 from Cheyenne, Rusk (Dewey), and Stanley Counties. Renamed Armstrong in 1895. The western half was annexed to form part of the second Ziebach County, in 1911. The remainder was annexed into Dewey in 1952.
• Ashmore County
• Big Sioux County
• Bramble County
• Bruguier County
• Burchard County
• Burdick County
• Cheyenne County
• Choteau County: Abolished when it merged into Perkins County along with Martin, Rinehart and Wagner Counties.
• Cole County: organized in 1862, was named for Austin Cole, who was a member of the first Territorial Legislature. Two years later, the boundaries were rearranged and the name changed to Union because of sentiment for the Union side of the civil war.
• Cragin County
• Delano County: Absorbed by Meade County
• Ewing County (1889–1890): Created upon statehood. Abolished one year later, when it became the northern half of Harding County.
• Forsythe County
• Greely County, South Dakota
• Jayne County
• Lugenbeel County (1875–1909): Created by Dakota Territory from unorganized lands and Meyer and Pratt Counties in 1875. Abolished in 1909 when it became part of Bennett and Todd Counties.
• Martin County: Abolished when it merged into Perkins County along with Choteau, Rinehart and Wagner Counties.
• Meyer County
• Midway County
• Mills County
• Nowlin County (1883–1898): Created by Dakota Territory in 1883 from Cheyenne and White River Counties. Abolished in 1898 when it became part of Haakon County.
• Presho County: Absorbed by Lyman County
• Pyatt County (1883–1895): Created by Dakota Territory from unorganized lands in 1883. Renamed Armstrong in 1895. Later divided between the revived Ziebach County and Dewey County.
• Rinehart County: Abolished when it merged into Perkins County along with Choteau, Martin, and Wagner Counties.
• Rusk County
• Schnasse County (1883–1911): Created by Dakota Territory from unorganized lands and part of Boreman County in 1883. Later absorbed into Boreman and the revived Ziebach Counties
• Scobey County: Absorbed by Meade County
• Sterling County (1883–1911): Created by Dakota Territory from Cheyenne County. Abolished in 1911 when it became part of Haakon and Ziebach Counties
• Stone County
• Thompson County
• Wagner County: Abolished when it merged into Perkins County along with Choteau, Martin, and Rinehart Counties.
• Washabaugh County (1883–1983): South Dakota's most recent county to be eliminated. Created by Dakota Territory in 1883. Abolished in 1983 when it was merged with Jackson County.
• Washington County (1888–1943): Abolished in 1943 when it was divided between Pennington and Shannon Counties.
• Wetmore County
• White River County
• Wood County
• Ziebach County (1889–1890): Created in 1889, upon statehood. Abolished in 1890, becoming the eastern portion of Pennington County. The name was revived in 1911, when a second Ziebach County was created from parts of Sterling, Schnasse and Pyatt Counties.

Population density map

Map showing the density of South Dakota's counties

Darker colors indicate heavier density.

See also

• List of US counties

References

1. "South Dakota Counties, Regions, Tourism and State Index". Global Index. Archived from the original on January 2, 2006. Retrieved February 5, 2006.
2. "EPA County FIPS Code Listing". Environmental Protection Agency. Archived from the original on August 1, 2012. Retrieved May 1, 2008.
3. "NACo - Find a county". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on April 10, 2005. Retrieved May 1, 2008.
4. "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: South Dakota" . Retrieved March 14, 2025.
5. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. US Government Printing Office. p.  187.

• Long, John H. (2006). "Dakota Territory, South Dakota, and North Dakota: Individual County Chronologies". Dakota Territory Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. Archived from the original on November 11, 2007.
• Long, John H. (2006). "South Dakota: Consolidated Chronology of State and County Boundaries". South Dakota Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. Archived from the original on July 27, 2010.

Further reading

• writer, Statf (2022). "South Dakota County Government Overview" (PDF). ce.naco.org. National Association of Counties (NACo). Retrieved January 3, 2025.