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What are the fastest-growing counties in South Dakota?

Lincoln County (+17.5%), Lawrence County (+14.0%) and Custer County (+13.2%) grew fastest in South Dakota between 2020 and 2025.

South Dakota as a whole grew 5.3% between 2020 and 2025, to 935,094 residents.

Data as of 2025 · updated

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All 66 South Dakota counties ranked

South Dakota counties by population growth
RankCountyResidents 2025Change 2020–25Net migration per 1,000, 2025New homes per 1,000, 2025
1Lincoln County77,145+17.5%20.33.0
2Lawrence County29,459+14.0%26.77.9
3Custer County9,431+13.2%12.927.6
4Hamlin County6,900+11.8%−1.410.3
5Mellette County2,137+11.5%−22.90.9
6Brookings County37,635+9.6%0.89.5
7Minnehaha County212,691+7.6%4.19.6
8Turner County9,314+7.3%−2.51.7
9Fall River County7,467+7.1%15.51.2
10Pennington County116,792+6.6%0.44.8
11Butte County10,856+5.5%−5.18.1
12McCook County5,964+5.2%1.83.2
13Clark County4,031+4.7%2.73.0
14Moody County6,632+4.5%−6.83.2
15Codington County29,562+4.3%9.44.8
16Bon Homme County7,244+3.8%9.82.6
17Dewey County5,419+3.8%−5.00.0
18Union County17,402+3.2%−6.615.9
19Marshall County4,426+2.9%−5.02.5
20Meade County30,711+2.7%−5.54.4
21Deuel County4,408+2.6%1.12.5
22Aurora County2,801+2.6%−2.11.1
23Sanborn County2,388+2.5%3.47.1
24Beadle County19,624+2.4%−13.51.1
25Faulk County2,178+2.3%−6.43.2
26Harding County1,331+2.1%8.30.8
27Sully County1,479+1.9%0.76.1
28Douglas County2,888+1.9%−6.22.4
29Tripp County5,708+1.8%−6.11.9
30Stanley County3,018+1.8%7.03.6
31Kingsbury County5,284+1.6%1.73.4
32Yankton County23,635+1.5%0.83.8
33Gregory County4,037+1.1%−4.74.7
34Edmunds County4,022+1.0%−6.20.0
35Perkins County2,853+0.8%7.70.0
36Day County5,484+0.8%7.75.5
37Jerauld County1,654+0.6%−4.83.0
38Davison County20,069+0.5%2.82.6
39Brule County5,278+0.5%−8.03.8
40Clay County15,031+0.2%−12.11.4
41Grant County7,534−0.0%−8.42.7
42Campbell County1,377−0.1%17.40.7
43Lyman County3,694−0.1%−8.41.9
44Ziebach County2,389−0.1%−0.4–
45Roberts County10,255−0.1%−7.12.8
46Hutchinson County7,413−0.1%1.23.2
47Lake County10,993−0.2%−5.17.8
48Hanson County3,456−0.3%−21.12.3
49Charles Mix County9,303−0.5%−0.22.1
50Hand County3,121−0.7%0.31.6
51Miner County2,281−0.8%4.81.8
52Hughes County17,570−0.9%−1.21.7
53Walworth County5,217−1.4%−5.91.3
54Brown County37,561−1.7%−3.14.5
55McPherson County2,347−2.2%8.93.0
56Oglala Lakota County13,338−2.3%−12.7–
57Bennett County3,307−2.6%−9.40.0
58Corson County3,781−2.8%−8.70.0
59Spink County6,155−3.0%−1.10.8
60Haakon County1,802−3.6%−8.91.7
61Potter County2,377−3.8%−7.65.9
62Hyde County1,191−4.6%−8.40.0
63Jackson County2,666−4.8%−22.50.0
64Todd County8,863−4.9%−4.70.0
65Buffalo County1,802−6.8%−6.7–
–Jones County913–––

Ranked by the change in Census Bureau population estimates, 2020–2025. 1 county is listed last and not ranked: fewer than 1,000 residents, or no estimate for the same years.

Statewide totals

More county rankings for South Dakota

Metro areas

Fastest-growing metro areas in South Dakota · Fastest-growing metro areas in the U.S. · Largest metro areas in South Dakota

Every U.S. metro and micro area

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Questions

Is South Dakota growing?

South Dakota as a whole grew 5.3% between 2020 and 2025, to 935,094 residents. Statewide figures add up its counties.

What is the fastest-growing county in South Dakota?

Lincoln County, which grew 17.5% between 2020 and 2025 to 77,145 residents (Census Bureau population estimates). Lawrence County (+14.0%) and Custer County (+13.2%) came next.

Which South Dakota counties are losing population?

25 of the 65 ranked counties had fewer residents in 2025 than in 2020. The steepest declines: Buffalo County (−6.8%), Todd County (−4.9%), Jackson County (−4.8%).

Where are people moving in South Dakota?

For their size, Lawrence County (26.7 per 1,000 residents), Lincoln County (20.3 per 1,000 residents) and Campbell County (17.4 per 1,000 residents) drew the most net domestic migration (people moving in from other U.S. counties minus people moving out) in 2025.

Fastest-growing counties in other states

Across the U.S.

Sources and method

Each number shows its own period. Changes compare the latest period with five years earlier (or the earliest period available). Beacon CRE last refreshed these figures on 2026-11-05. Figures come from public federal statistics and are informational only, not investment advice. Check the source before relying on a number. Methodology: how we compute every number. More on every layer: data sources and licences.