RANKING · 2020 CENSUS · 19 SHOWN OF 19

Most sparsely populated, South Dakota cities · 2020

South Dakota cities with the fewest residents per square mile (2020). This list covers the 19 cities in South Dakota that qualify, ranked against each other statewide. The median across all 19 is 1,359.

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South DakotaAll statesPop > 5KAll rankings

SAME RANKING BYCounties States Metros

YEAR1990 2000 2010 2020 2025

RANKPLACESTATEPOPPOPULATION DENSITYVS 2000

01Belle Fourche, SDSD5,791634+23%

02Spearfish, SDSD14,154707+42%

03Box Elder, SDSD13,936796+313%

04Pierre, SDSD13,8481,082+2%

05Sturgis, SDSD6,9221,093+9%

06Watertown, SDSD23,7361,229+12%

07Rapid Valley, SDSD6,9751,252+15%

08Madison, SDSD6,0651,341−5%

09Rapid City, SDSD80,5891,357+25%

10Mitchell, SDSD15,7561,359+8%

11Harrisburg, SDSD10,4051,412+603%

12Huron, SDSD14,6071,468+20%

13Tea, SDSD8,0191,478+221%

14Brookings, SDSD25,3551,675+26%

15Aberdeen, SDSD27,9611,725+16%

16Yankton, SDSD15,8161,772+14%

17Brandon, SDSD11,3061,931+94%

18Sioux Falls, SDSD213,7482,329+55%

19Vermillion, SDSD11,7202,509+20%

SHOWING 1–19 OF 19

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UPDATED 2026-09-11 · DATA: US CENSUS BUREAU DECENNIAL CENSUS