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 Pennington Perkins Potter Robts San Spink Stanley Sully Todd Tripp Turn Un Wal Yank Ziebach
Location	State of South Dakota
Number	66
Populations	1,006 (Jones) – 169,468 (Minnehaha)
Areas	412 square miles (1,070 km^2) (Clay) – 3,471 square miles (8,990 km^2) (Meade)
Government	County government
Subdivisions	cities, towns, townships, unincorporated territories, unorganized territories, census designated place

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] It is also one of five counties in South Dakota which is entirely within an Indian reservation. (The other four counties are Corson, Dewey, Oglala Lakota, and Ziebach.)

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

Table of counties

County	FIPS County Code [2]	County seat [3]	Established [3]	Formed from	Etymology	Population [4]	Area [3]	Map
Aurora County	003	Plankinton	1881	Cragin and Wetmore counties	Aurora, Roman goddess of dawn	2,710	708 sq mi (1,834 km^2)
Beadle County	005	Huron	1879	Buchard, Clark, Kingsbury, and Spink counties	William Henry Harrison Beadle, chief surveyor of Dakota Territory	17,398	1,259 sq mi (3,261 km^2)
Bennett County	007	Martin	1909	Lugenbeel, Oglala Lakota, Washabaugh, and Washington counties	Granville G. Bennett, justice of the Supreme Court for the Dakota Territory	3,431	1,185 sq mi (3,069 km^2)
Bon Homme County	009	Tyndall	1862	Unorganized territory	French phrase meaning "good man"	7,070	563 sq mi (1,458 km^2)
Brookings County	011	Brookings	1862	Unorganized territory	Wilmot Brookings (1830 - 1905), Dakota Territory Supreme Court justice	31,965	794 sq mi (2,056 km^2)
Brown County	013	Aberdeen	1879	Beadle County	Alfred Brown, territorial legislator	36,531	1,713 sq mi (4,437 km^2)
Brule County	015	Chamberlain	1875	Charles Mix County	Brulé Sioux Native Americans	5,255	819 sq mi (2,121 km^2)
Buffalo County	017	Gann Valley	1873	Unorganized territory	American Bison	1,912	471 sq mi (1,220 km^2)
Butte County	019	Belle Fourche	1883	Harding	Buttes in the region	10,110	2,249 sq mi (5,825 km^2)
Campbell County	021	Mound City	1873	Buffalo	Newton B. Campbell, territorial legislator	1,466	736 sq mi (1,906 km^2)
Charles Mix County	023	Lake Andes	1862	Unorganized territory	Charles Eli Mix, commissioner of Indian Affairs	9,129	1,098 sq mi (2,844 km^2)
Clark County	025	Clark	1873	Hanson	Newton Clark, territorial legislator	3,691	958 sq mi (2,481 km^2)
Clay County	027	Vermillion	1862	Unorganized territory	Henry Clay (1777 - 1852), U.S. Senator from Kentucky and prominent 19th Century political figure	13,864	412 sq mi (1,067 km^2)
Codington County	029	Watertown	1877	Indian lands	Reverend G.S. Codington, territorial legislator	27,227	688 sq mi (1,782 km^2)
Corson County	031	McIntosh	1909	Indian lands	Dighton Corson, a Justice of the South Dakota Supreme Court	4,050	2,473 sq mi (6,405 km^2)
Custer County	033	Custer	1875	Indian lands	General George Armstrong Custer (1839 - 1876), key figure in the Indian Wars	8,216	1,558 sq mi (4,035 km^2)
Davison County	035	Mitchell	1873	Hanson	Henry C. Davison, prominent merchant and early settler	19,504	436 sq mi (1,129 km^2)
Day County	037	Webster	1879	Clark	Merrit H. Day, territorial legislator	5,710	1,029 sq mi (2,665 km^2)
Deuel County	039	Clear Lake	1862	Brookings	Jacob S. Deuel, territorial legislator	4,364	624 sq mi (1,616 km^2)
Dewey County	041	Timber Lake	1873	Armstrong County and Indian lands	William P. Dewey, territorial surveyor-general	5,301	2,303 sq mi (5,965 km^2)
Douglas County	043	Armour	1873	Charles Mix	Stephen A. Douglas (1813 - 1861), U.S. Senator from Illinois and advocate of popular sovereignty as a middle ground in the slavery debate	3,002	434 sq mi (1,124 km^2)
Edmunds County	045	Ipswich	1873	Buffalo	Newton Edmunds, Governor of Dakota Territory	4,071	1,146 sq mi (2,968 km^2)
Fall River County	047	Hot Springs	1883	Custer	Fall River	7,094	1,740 sq mi (4,507 km^2)
Faulk County	049	Faulkton	1873	Unorganized lands	Andrew Jackson Faulk, Governor of Dakota Territory	2,364	1,000 sq mi (2,590 km^2)
Grant County	051	Milbank	1873	Codington and Deuel counties	Ulysses S. Grant (1822 - 1885), U.S. President and American Civil War general	7,356	682 sq mi (1,766 km^2)
Gregory County	053	Burke	1862	Unorganized territory	John Shaw Gregory, territorial legislator	4,271	1,016 sq mi (2,631 km^2)
Haakon County	055	Philip	1914	Stanley County	King Haakon VII of Norway	1,937	1,813 sq mi (4,696 km^2)
Hamlin County	057	Hayti	1873	Deuel County	Hannibal Hamlin, Vice-President and United States Senator from Maine	5,903	511 sq mi (1,323 km^2)
Hand County	059	Miller	1873	Buffalo County	George H. Hand, territorial legislator	3,431	1,437 sq mi (3,722 km^2)
Hanson County	061	Alexandria	1873	Buffalo and Deuel counties	Joseph R. Hanson, army major in the Indian Wars and early settler	3,331	435 sq mi (1,127 km^2)
Harding County	063	Buffalo	1909	Unorganized lands	J.A. Harding, Speaker of the House for Dakota Territory	1,255	2,671 sq mi (6,918 km^2)
Hughes County	065	Pierre	1880	Buffalo County	Alexander Hughes, territorial legislator	17,022	741 sq mi (1,919 km^2)
Hutchinson County	067	Olivet	1862	Unorganized territory	John Hutchinson, territorial legislator	7,343	813 sq mi (2,106 km^2)
Hyde County	069	Highmore	1873	Buffalo County	James Hyde, territorial legislator	1,420	861 sq mi (2,230 km^2)
Jackson County	071	Kadoka	1914	Stanley County	J.R. Jackson, territorial legislator	3,031	1,869 sq mi (4,841 km^2)
Jerauld County	073	Wessington Springs	1883	Aurora County	H.A. Jerauld, territorial legislator	2,070	530 sq mi (1,373 km^2)
Jones County	075	Murdo	1916	Lyman County	George W. Jones, territorial legislator	1,006	971 sq mi (2,515 km^2)
Kingsbury County	077	De Smet	1873	Hanson County	George W. Kingsbury and T.A. Kingsbury, brothers and territorial legislators	5,148	838 sq mi (2,170 km^2)
Lake County	079	Madison	1873	Brookings and Hanson counties	Lakes within the county	11,200	563 sq mi (1,458 km^2)
Lawrence County	081	Deadwood	1875	Unorganized territory	John Lawrence (1839 - 1889), territorial legislator	24,097	800 sq mi (2,072 km^2)
Lincoln County	083	Canton	1867	Unorganized territory	Lincoln County, Maine	44,828	578 sq mi (1,497 km^2)
Lyman County	085	Kennebec	1873	Unorganized territory	W.P. Lyman, territorial legislator	3,755	1,640 sq mi (4,248 km^2)
Marshall County	091	Britton	1885	Day County	Marshall Vincent, Day County Commissioner	4,656	839 sq mi (2,173 km^2)
McCook County	087	Salem	1873	Hanson County	Edwin McCook, Secretary of Dakota Territory	5,618	575 sq mi (1,489 km^2)
McPherson County	089	Leola	1873	Buffalo County	James B. McPherson (1828 - 1864), Civil War general	2,459	1,137 sq mi (2,945 km^2)
Meade County	093	Sturgis	1889	Lawrence County	George Meade (1815 - 1872), Civil War general	25,434	3,471 sq mi (8,990 km^2)
Mellette County	095	White River	1909	Lyman County	Arthur C. Mellette, first Governor of South Dakota	2,048	1,307 sq mi (3,385 km^2)
Miner County	097	Howard	1873	Hanson County	Nelson Miner and Ephriam Miner, brothers and territorial legislators	2,389	570 sq mi (1,476 km^2)
Minnehaha County	099	Sioux Falls	1862	Unorganized territory	Sioux term for waterfall	169,468	809 sq mi (2,095 km^2)
Moody County	101	Flandreau	1873	Brookings and Minnehaha counties	Gideon C. Moody, Speaker of the House for Dakota Territory	6,486	520 sq mi (1,347 km^2)
Oglala Lakota County	102		1875	Fall River County	Oglala Lakota tribe	13,586	2,094 sq mi (5,423 km^2)
Pennington County	103	Rapid City	1875	Unorganized territory	John L. Pennington (1829 - 1900), Governor of Dakota Territory	100,948	2,776 sq mi (7,190 km^2)
Perkins County	105	Bison	1909	Butte and Harding counties	Henry E. Perkins, state senator	2,982	2,872 sq mi (7,438 km^2)
Potter County	107	Gettysburg	1875	Buffalo County	Joel A. Potter, territorial legislator	2,329	866 sq mi (2,243 km^2)
Roberts County	109	Sisseton	1883	Grant County	S.G. Roberts, territorial legislator	10,149	1,101 sq mi (2,852 km^2)
Sanborn County	111	Woonsocket	1883	Miner County	George W. Sanborn, president of the Milwaukee Railroad	2,355	569 sq mi (1,474 km^2)
Spink County	115	Redfield	1873	Hanson County	S.L. Spink, Secretary of Dakota Territory	6,451	1,504 sq mi (3,895 km^2)
Stanley County	117	Fort Pierre	1873	Unorganized territory	David S. Stanley, commander of Fort Sully	2,966	1,443 sq mi (3,737 km^2)
Sully County	119	Onida	1873	Potter County	Fort Sully, itself named after General Alfred Sully	1,373	1,007 sq mi (2,608 km^2)
Todd County	121		1909	Meyer and Tripp counties	John Blair Smith Todd, territorial delegate to Congress	9,612	1,388 sq mi (3,595 km^2)
Tripp County	123	Winner	1873	Unorganized territory	Bartlett Tripp, Chief Justice of the Dakota Territorial Supreme Court	5,644	1,614 sq mi (4,180 km^2)
Turner County	125	Parker	1871	Lincoln County	John W. Turner, territorial legislator	8,347	617 sq mi (1,598 km^2)
Union County	127	Elk Point	1862	Unorganized territory	The union of the American states	14,399	460 sq mi (1,191 km^2)
Walworth County	129	Selby	1873	Buffalo County	Walworth County, Wisconsin	5,438	708 sq mi (1,834 km^2)
Yankton County	135	Yankton	1862	Unorganized territory	Yankton Sioux Native Americans	22,438	522 sq mi (1,352 km^2)
Ziebach County	137	Dupree	1911	Armstrong, Schnasse, and Sterling counties	Frank M. Ziebach, publisher and army major during the Indian Wars	2,801	1,962 sq mi (5,082 km^2)

Former names

• Shannon County: renamed Oglala Lakota County in 2015

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. 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
• 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.
• Bramble County
• Bruguier County
• Burchard County
• Burdick County
• Cheyenne County
• Choteau County
• Cole County
• Cragin County
• Delano 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.
• Mandan County
• Martin County
• 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 Lyman and Stanley Counties.
• Pratt County
• Presho County
• Pyatt County (1883–1895): Created by Dakota Territory from unorganized lands in 1883. Renamed Armstrong in 1895.
• Rinehart County
• Rusk County
• 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.
• Scobey County
• Sterling County (1883–1911): Created by Dakota Territory from Cheyenne County. Abolished in 1911 when it became part of Ziebach County.
• Stone County
• Thompson County
• Wagner 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 diverged into Jackson, 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

Darker colors indicate heavier density.

See also

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. Retrieved May 1, 2008.
3. "NACo - Find a county". National Association of Counties. Retrieved May 1, 2008.
4. "South Dakota". USA Today. Retrieved April 2, 2011.

• Long, John H. (2006). "Dakota Territory, South Dakota, and North Dakota: Individual County Chronologies". Dakota Territory Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library.
• Long, John H. (2006). "South Dakota: Consolidated Chronology of State and County Boundaries". South Dakota Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library.