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Most sparsely populated, South Dakota counties

South Dakota counties with the fewest residents per square mile (2023). This list covers the 66 counties in South Dakota that qualify, ranked against each other statewide.

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SAME RANKING BYCities States Metros

RELATEDLargest by population Fastest growing Fastest shrinking Most densely populated Best broadband access Worst broadband access

YEAR1990 2000 2010 2020 2025

RANKPLACESTATEPOPPOPULATION DENSITYVS 2000

01Harding County, SDSD1,3310−2%

02Jones County, SDSD9131−23%

03Perkins County, SDSD2,8531−15%

04Haakon County, SDSD1,8021−18%

05Ziebach County, SDSD2,3891−5%

06Hyde County, SDSD1,1911−29%

07Jackson County, SDSD2,6661−9%

08Sully County, SDSD1,4791−5%

09Corson County, SDSD3,7812−10%

10Mellette County, SDSD2,1372+3%

11Campbell County, SDSD1,3772−23%

12McPherson County, SDSD2,3472−19%

13Stanley County, SDSD3,0182+9%

14Hand County, SDSD3,1212−17%

15Faulk County, SDSD2,1782−18%

16Lyman County, SDSD3,6942−5%

17Dewey County, SDSD5,4192−9%

18Potter County, SDSD2,3773−12%

19Bennett County, SDSD3,3073−7%

20Jerauld County, SDSD1,6543−28%

21Tripp County, SDSD5,7084−11%

22Edmunds County, SDSD4,0224−8%

23Buffalo County, SDSD1,8024−11%

24Aurora County, SDSD2,8014−8%

25Gregory County, SDSD4,0374−16%

26Miner County, SDSD2,2814−21%

27Spink County, SDSD6,1554−17%

28Sanborn County, SDSD2,3884−11%

29Clark County, SDSD4,0314−3%

30Fall River County, SDSD7,4674+0%

31Butte County, SDSD10,8565+19%

32Marshall County, SDSD4,4265−3%

33Day County, SDSD5,4845−12%

34Custer County, SDSD9,4316+30%

35Kingsbury County, SDSD5,2846−9%

36Oglala Lakota County, SDSD13,3386–

37Todd County, SDSD8,8636−2%

38Brule County, SDSD5,2786−2%

39Douglas County, SDSD2,8887−16%

40Deuel County, SDSD4,4087−2%

41Walworth County, SDSD5,2177−13%

42Hanson County, SDSD3,4568+10%

43Charles Mix County, SDSD9,3038−1%

44Meade County, SDSD30,7119+27%

45Hutchinson County, SDSD7,4139−8%

46Roberts County, SDSD10,2559+2%

47McCook County, SDSD5,96410+2%

48Grant County, SDSD7,53411−4%

49Moody County, SDSD6,63213+1%

50Bon Homme County, SDSD7,24413−0%

51Hamlin County, SDSD6,90014+25%

52Turner County, SDSD9,31415+5%

53Beadle County, SDSD19,62416+15%

54Lake County, SDSD10,99320−3%

55Brown County, SDSD37,56122+6%

56Hughes County, SDSD17,57024+7%

57Clay County, SDSD15,03136+11%

58Lawrence County, SDSD29,45937+35%

59Union County, SDSD17,40238+38%

60Pennington County, SDSD116,79242+32%

61Codington County, SDSD29,56243+14%

62Yankton County, SDSD23,63545+9%

63Davison County, SDSD20,06946+7%

64Brookings County, SDSD37,63548+33%

65Lincoln County, SDSD77,145134+220%

66Minnehaha County, SDSD212,691264+43%

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UPDATED 2026-06-02 · DATA: US CENSUS BUREAU ACS 5-YEAR ESTIMATES