List of counties in South Dakota

There are 66 counties in the U.S. state of South Dakota with FIPS codes, and includes an outline map of the state and a map showing the population density of the counties.

Todd County and Shannon County are two counties in South Dakota that do not have their own county seat. Hot Springs in Fall River County serves as the administrative center of Shannon County. Winner in Tripp County serves as the administrative center of Todd County.^[1] It is also one of five South Dakota counties that lie entirely within an Indian reservation. (The others are Corson County, Dewey County, Shannon County, and Ziebach County.)

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

1 Table of counties
2 Former counties
3 Population density map
4 See also
5 References

Table of counties

County	FIPS code ^[2]	County seat ^[3]	Established ^[3]	Formed from	Etymology	Population ^[4]	Area ^[3]
Aurora County	003	Plankinton	1881	Cragin and Wetmore counties	Aurora, Roman goddess of dawn	&100000000000027100000002,710	&10000000000000708000000708 sq mi (&100000000000018340000001,834 km²)
Beadle County	005	Huron	1879	Buchard, Clark, Kingsbury, and Spink counties	William Henry Harrison Beadle, chief surveyor of Dakota Territory	&1000000000001739800000017,398	&100000000000012590000001,259 sq mi (&100000000000032610000003,261 km²)
Bennett County	007	Martin	1909	Lugenbeel, Shannon, Washabaugh, and Washington counties	Granville G. Bennett, justice of the Supreme Court for the Dakota Territory	&100000000000034310000003,431	&100000000000011850000001,185 sq mi (&100000000000030690000003,069 km²)
Bon Homme County	009	Tyndall	1862	Unorganized territory	French word meaning "good man"	&100000000000070700000007,070	&10000000000000563000000563 sq mi (&100000000000014580000001,458 km²)
Brookings County	011	Brookings	1862	Unorganized territory	Wilmot Brookings, Dakota Territory Supreme Court justice	&1000000000003196500000031,965	&10000000000000794000000794 sq mi (&100000000000020560000002,056 km²)
Brown County	013	Aberdeen	1879	Beadle County	Alfred Brown, territorial legislator	&1000000000003653100000036,531	&100000000000017130000001,713 sq mi (&100000000000044370000004,437 km²)
Brule County	015	Chamberlain	1875	Charles Mix County	Brulé Sioux Native Americans	&100000000000052550000005,255	&10000000000000819000000819 sq mi (&100000000000021210000002,121 km²)
Buffalo County	017	Gann Valley	1873	Unorganized territory	American Bison	&100000000000019120000001,912	&10000000000000471000000471 sq mi (&100000000000012200000001,220 km²)
Butte County	019	Belle Fourche	1883	Harding	Buttes in the region	&1000000000001011000000010,110	&100000000000022490000002,249 sq mi (&100000000000058250000005,825 km²)
Campbell County	021	Mound City	1873	Buffalo	Newton B. Campbell, territorial legislator	&100000000000014660000001,466	&10000000000000736000000736 sq mi (&100000000000019060000001,906 km²)
Charles Mix County	023	Lake Andes	1862	Unorganized territory	Charles Eli Mix, commisioner of Indian Affairs	&100000000000091290000009,129	&100000000000010980000001,098 sq mi (&100000000000028440000002,844 km²)
Clark County	025	Clark	1873	Hanson	Newton Clark, territorial legislator	&100000000000036910000003,691	&10000000000000958000000958 sq mi (&100000000000024810000002,481 km²)
Clay County	027	Vermillion	1862	Unorganized territory	Henry Clay, U.S. Senator from Kentucky and prominent 19th Century political figure	&1000000000001386400000013,864	&10000000000000412000000412 sq mi (&100000000000010670000001,067 km²)
Codington County	029	Watertown	1877	Indian lands	Reverend G.S. Codington, territorial legislator	&1000000000002722700000027,227	&10000000000000688000000688 sq mi (&100000000000017820000001,782 km²)
Corson County	031	McIntosh	1909	Indian lands	Dighton Corson, a Justice of the South Dakota Supreme Court	&100000000000040500000004,050	&100000000000024730000002,473 sq mi (&100000000000064050000006,405 km²)
Custer County	033	Custer	1875	Indian lands	General George Armstrong Custer, key figure in the Indian Wars	&100000000000082160000008,216	&100000000000015580000001,558 sq mi (&100000000000040350000004,035 km²)
Davison County	035	Mitchell	1873	Hanson	Henry C. Davison, prominent merchant and early settler	&1000000000001950400000019,504	&10000000000000436000000436 sq mi (&100000000000011290000001,129 km²)
Day County	037	Webster	1879	Clark	Merrit H. Day, territorial legislator	&100000000000057100000005,710	&100000000000010290000001,029 sq mi (&100000000000026650000002,665 km²)
Deuel County	039	Clear Lake	1862	Brookings	Jacob S. Deuel, territorial legislator	&100000000000043640000004,364	&10000000000000624000000624 sq mi (&100000000000016160000001,616 km²)
Dewey County	041	Timber Lake	1873	Armstrong County and Indian lands	William P. Dewey, territorial surveyor-general	&100000000000053010000005,301	&100000000000023030000002,303 sq mi (&100000000000059650000005,965 km²)
Douglas County	043	Armour	1873	Charles Mix	Stephen A. Douglas, U.S. Senator from Illinois and advocate of popular sovereignty as a middle ground in the slavery debate	&100000000000030020000003,002	&10000000000000434000000434 sq mi (&100000000000011240000001,124 km²)
Edmunds County	045	Ipswich	1873	Buffalo	Newton Edmunds, Governor of Dakota Territory	&100000000000040710000004,071	&100000000000011460000001,146 sq mi (&100000000000029680000002,968 km²)
Fall River County	047	Hot Springs	1883	Custer	Fall River	&100000000000070940000007,094	&100000000000017400000001,740 sq mi (&100000000000045070000004,507 km²)
Faulk County	049	Faulkton	1873	Unorganized lands	Andrew Jackson Faulk, Governor of Dakota Territory	&100000000000023640000002,364	&100000000000010000000001,000 sq mi (&100000000000025900000002,590 km²)
Grant County	051	Milbank	1873	Codington and Deuel counties	Ulysses S. Grant, U.S. President and American Civil War general	&100000000000073560000007,356	&10000000000000682000000682 sq mi (&100000000000017660000001,766 km²)
Gregory County	053	Burke	1862	Unorganized territory	John Shaw Gregory, territorial legislator	&100000000000042710000004,271	&100000000000010160000001,016 sq mi (&100000000000026310000002,631 km²)
Haakon County	055	Philip	1914	Stanley County	King Haakon VII of Norway	&100000000000019370000001,937	&100000000000018130000001,813 sq mi (&100000000000046960000004,696 km²)
Hamlin County	057	Hayti	1873	Deuel County	Hannibal Hamlin, Vice-President and United States Senator from Maine	&100000000000059030000005,903	&10000000000000511000000511 sq mi (&100000000000013230000001,323 km²)
Hand County	059	Miller	1873	Buffalo County	George H. Hand, territorial legislator	&100000000000034310000003,431	&100000000000014370000001,437 sq mi (&100000000000037220000003,722 km²)
Hanson County	061	Alexandria	1873	Buffalo and Deuel counties	Joseph R. Hanson, army major in the Indian Wars and early settler	&100000000000033310000003,331	&10000000000000435000000435 sq mi (&100000000000011270000001,127 km²)
Harding County	063	Buffalo	1909	Unorganized lands	J.A. Harding, Speaker of the House for Dakota Territory	&100000000000012550000001,255	&100000000000026710000002,671 sq mi (&100000000000069180000006,918 km²)
Hughes County	065	Pierre	1880	Buffalo County	Alexander Hughes, territorial legislator	&1000000000001702200000017,022	&10000000000000741000000741 sq mi (&100000000000019190000001,919 km²)
Hutchinson County	067	Olivet	1862	Unorganized territory	John Hutchinson, territorial legislator	&100000000000073430000007,343	&10000000000000813000000813 sq mi (&100000000000021060000002,106 km²)
Hyde County	069	Highmore	1873	Buffalo County	James Hyde, territorial legislator	&100000000000014200000001,420	&10000000000000861000000861 sq mi (&100000000000022300000002,230 km²)
Jackson County	071	Kadoka	1914	Stanley County	J.R. Jackson, territorial legislator	&100000000000030310000003,031	&100000000000018690000001,869 sq mi (&100000000000048410000004,841 km²)
Jerauld County	073	Wessington Springs	1883	Aurora County	H.A. Jerauld, territorial legislator	&100000000000020700000002,070	&10000000000000530000000530 sq mi (&100000000000013730000001,373 km²)
Jones County	075	Murdo	1916	Lyman County	George W. Jones, territorial legislator	&100000000000010060000001,006	&10000000000000971000000971 sq mi (&100000000000025150000002,515 km²)
Kingsbury County	077	De Smet	1873	Hanson County	George W. Kingsbury and T.A. Kingsbury, brothers and territorial legislators	&100000000000051480000005,148	&10000000000000838000000838 sq mi (&100000000000021700000002,170 km²)
Lake County	079	Madison	1873	Brookings and Hanson counties	Lakes within the county	&1000000000001120000000011,200	&10000000000000563000000563 sq mi (&100000000000014580000001,458 km²)
Lawrence County	081	Deadwood	1875	Unorganized territory	John Lawrence, territorial legislator	&1000000000002409700000024,097	&10000000000000800000000800 sq mi (&100000000000020720000002,072 km²)
Lincoln County	083	Canton	1867	Unorganized territory	Lincoln County, Maine	&1000000000004482800000044,828	&10000000000000578000000578 sq mi (&100000000000014970000001,497 km²)
Lyman County	085	Kennebec	1873	Unorganized territory	W.P. Lyman, territorial legislator	&100000000000037550000003,755	&100000000000016400000001,640 sq mi (&100000000000042480000004,248 km²)
Marshall County	091	Britton	1885	Day County	Marshall Vincent, Day County Commissioner	&100000000000046560000004,656	&10000000000000839000000839 sq mi (&100000000000021730000002,173 km²)
McCook County	087	Salem	1873	Hanson County	Edwin McCook, Secretary of Dakota Territory	&100000000000056180000005,618	&10000000000000575000000575 sq mi (&100000000000014890000001,489 km²)
McPherson County	089	Leola	1873	Buffalo County	James B. McPherson, Civil War general	&100000000000024590000002,459	&100000000000011370000001,137 sq mi (&100000000000029450000002,945 km²)
Meade County	093	Sturgis	1889	Lawrence County	George Meade, Civil War general	&1000000000002543400000025,434	&100000000000034710000003,471 sq mi (&100000000000089900000008,990 km²)
Mellette County	095	White River	1909	Lyman County	Arthur C. Mellette, first Governor of South Dakota	&100000000000020480000002,048	&100000000000013070000001,307 sq mi (&100000000000033850000003,385 km²)
Miner County	097	Howard	1873	Hanson County	Nelson Miner and Ephriam Miner, brothers and territorial legislators	&100000000000023890000002,389	&10000000000000570000000570 sq mi (&100000000000014760000001,476 km²)
Minnehaha County	099	Sioux Falls	1862	Unorganized territory	Sioux term for waterfall	&10000000000169468000000169,468	&10000000000000809000000809 sq mi (&100000000000020950000002,095 km²)
Moody County	101	Flandreau	1873	Brookings and Minnehaha counties	Gideon C. Moody, Speaker of the House for Dakota Territory	&100000000000064860000006,486	&10000000000000520000000520 sq mi (&100000000000013470000001,347 km²)
Pennington County	103	Rapid City	1875	Unorganized territory	John L. Pennington, Governor of Dakota Territory	&10000000000100948000000100,948	&100000000000027760000002,776 sq mi (&100000000000071900000007,190 km²)
Perkins County	105	Bison	1909	Butte and Harding counties	Henry E. Perkins, state senator	&100000000000029820000002,982	&100000000000028720000002,872 sq mi (&100000000000074380000007,438 km²)
Potter County	107	Gettysburg	1875	Buffalo County	Joel A. Potter, territorial legislator	&100000000000023290000002,329	&10000000000000866000000866 sq mi (&100000000000022430000002,243 km²)
Roberts County	109	Sisseton	1883	Grant County	S.G. Roberts, territorial legislator	&1000000000001014900000010,149	&100000000000011010000001,101 sq mi (&100000000000028520000002,852 km²)
Sanborn County	111	Woonsocket	1883	Miner County	George W. Sanborn, president of the Milwaukee Railroad	&100000000000023550000002,355	&10000000000000569000000569 sq mi (&100000000000014740000001,474 km²)
Shannon County	113	Hot Springs	1875	Fall River County	Peter Shannon, territorial legislator	&1000000000001358600000013,586	&100000000000020940000002,094 sq mi (&100000000000054230000005,423 km²)
Spink County	115	Redfield	1873	Hanson County	S.L. Spink, Secretary of Dakota Territory	&100000000000064510000006,451	&100000000000015040000001,504 sq mi (&100000000000038950000003,895 km²)
Stanley County	117	Fort Pierre	1873	Unorganized territory	David S. Stanley, commander of Fort Sully	&100000000000029660000002,966	&100000000000014430000001,443 sq mi (&100000000000037370000003,737 km²)
Sully County	119	Onida	1873	Potter County	Fort Sully, itself named after General Alfred Sully	&100000000000013730000001,373	&100000000000010070000001,007 sq mi (&100000000000026080000002,608 km²)
Todd County	121	Winner	1909	Meyer and Tripp counties	John Blair Smith Todd, territorial delegate to Congress	&100000000000096120000009,612	&100000000000013880000001,388 sq mi (&100000000000035950000003,595 km²)
Tripp County	123	Winner	1873	Unorganized territory	Bartlett Tripp, Chief Justice of the Dakota Territorial Supreme Court	&100000000000056440000005,644	&100000000000016140000001,614 sq mi (&100000000000041800000004,180 km²)
Turner County	125	Parker	1871	Lincoln County	John W. Turner, territorial legislator	&100000000000083470000008,347	&10000000000000617000000617 sq mi (&100000000000015980000001,598 km²)
Union County	127	Elk Point	1862	Unorganized territory	The union of the American states	&1000000000001439900000014,399	&10000000000000460000000460 sq mi (&100000000000011910000001,191 km²)
Walworth County	129	Selby	1873	Buffalo County	Walworth County, Wisconsin	&100000000000054380000005,438	&10000000000000708000000708 sq mi (&100000000000018340000001,834 km²)
Yankton County	135	Yankton	1862	Unorganized territory	Yankton Sioux Native Americans	&1000000000002243800000022,438	&10000000000000522000000522 sq mi (&100000000000013520000001,352 km²)
Ziebach County	137	Dupree	1911	Armstrong, Schnasse, and Sterling counties	Frank M. Ziebach, publisher and army major during the Indian Wars	&100000000000028010000002,801	&100000000000019620000001,962 sq mi (&100000000000050820000005,082 km²)

Former counties

Armstrong County (1883–1952): Created by Dakota Territory as Pyatt County in 1883 from Cheyenne, Rusk (Dewey), and Stanely Counties. Renamed Armstrong in 1895. Dissolved into Dewey in 1952.
Boreman County (1873–1909): Created by Dakota Territory from unorganized lands in 1873. Lost territory to North Dakota when South Dakota became a state in 1889. Abolished in 1909 when it became part of Corson 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.
Nowlin County (1883–1898): Created by Dakota Territory in 1883 from Cheyenne and White River Counties. Abolished in 1898 when it became part of Lyman and Stanley Counties.
Pyatt County (1883–1895): Created by Dakota Territory from unorganized lands in 1883. Renamed Armstrong in 1895.
Schnasse County (1883–1911): Created by Dakota Territory from unorganized lands and part of Boreman County in 1883. Lost territory to North Dakota when South Dakota became a state. Abolished in 1911 when it became part of Ziebach County.
Sterling County (1883–1911): Created by Dakota Territory from Cheyenne County. Abolished in 1911 when it became part of Ziebach County.
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 merged into Jackson, Pennington and Shannon Counties.

Population density map

Darker colors indicate heavier density.

References

^ [1], accessed February 5, 2006.
^ "EPA County FIPS Code Listing". EPA.gov. http://www.epa.gov/enviro/html/codes/sd.html. Retrieved 2008-05-01.
^ ^a ^b ^c National Association of Counties. "NACo - Find a county". http://www.naco.org/Template.cfm?Section=Find_a_County&Template=/cffiles/counties/state.cfm&state.cfm&statecode=SD. Retrieved 2008-05-01.
^ "South Dakota". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/census/profile/sd. Retrieved 2011-04-02.

Long, John H. (2006). "Dakota Territory, South Dakota, and North Dakota: Individual County Chronologies". Dakota Territory Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. http://historical-county.newberry.org/website/North_Dakota/documents/DAKs_Individual_County_Chronologies.htm.
Long, John H. (2006). "South Dakota: Consolidated Chronology of State and County Boundaries". South Dakota Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. http://historical-county.newberry.org/website/South_Dakota/documents/SD_Consolidated_Chronology.htm.

State of South Dakota

Pierre (capital)

Topics	Delegations Famous South Dakotans Geography Government History Transportation Symbols Universities Visitor Attractions

Society	Culture Crime Demographics Economy Education Politics

Regions	Badlands Black Hills Coteau des Prairies Coteau du Missouri Dissected Till Plains East River Pine Ridge Siouxland West River

Larger cities pop. over 5,000	Aberdeen Belle Fourche Box Elder Brandon Brookings Huron Madison Mitchell Pierre Rapid City Sioux Falls Spearfish Sturgis Vermillion Watertown Yankton

Smaller cities pop. over 1,000	Baltic Beresford Britton Canton Chamberlain Clark Clear Lake Crooks Custer De Smet Deadwood Dell Rapids Eagle Butte Elk Point Flandreau Fort Pierre Freeman Garretson Gettysburg Gregory Groton Harrisburg Hartford Hot Springs Lead Lemmon Lennox Martin Milbank Miller Mission Mobridge North Sioux City Parker Parkston Platte Redfield Salem Sisseton Springfield Summerset Tea Tyndall Volga Wagner Webster Winner

Largest CDPs pop. over 1,000	Blackhawk Colonial Pine Hills Dakota Dunes Fort Thompson North Eagle Butte North Spearfish Oglala Pine Ridge Porcupine Rapid Valley Rosebud

Counties	Aurora Beadle Bennett Bon Homme Brookings Brown Brule Buffalo Butte Campbell Charles Mix Clark Clay Codington Corson Custer Davison Day Deuel Dewey Douglas Edmunds Fall River Faulk Grant Gregory Haakon Hamlin Hand Hanson Harding Hughes Hutchinson Hyde Jackson Jerauld Jones Kingsbury Lake Lawrence Lincoln Lyman Marshall McCook McPherson Meade Mellette Miner Minnehaha Moody Pennington Perkins Potter Roberts Sanborn Shannon Spink Stanley Sully Todd Tripp Turner Union Walworth Yankton Ziebach

List of U.S. counties and county-equivalents
by political division (state / federal district)

List of counties in South Dakota

Contents

Table of counties

Former counties

Population density map

See also

References