| County | Rank | Change (2020) ↓ | 2025 Pop. | 2020 Pop. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln County | 1 | 17.82% | 77,346 | 65,648 |
| Custer County | 2 | 14.4% | 9,543 | 8,342 |
| Lawrence County | 3 | 14.17% | 29,512 | 25,849 |
| Hamlin County | 4 | 9.43% | 6,742 | 6,161 |
| Brookings County | 5 | 7.15% | 36,806 | 34,349 |
| Minnehaha County | 6 | 6.62% | 210,814 | 197,718 |
| Butte County | 7 | 6.05% | 10,914 | 10,291 |
| Pennington County | 8 | 5.98% | 116,124 | 109,573 |
| Fall River County | 9 | 5.39% | 7,349 | 6,973 |
| Jerauld County | 10 | 5.17% | 1,728 | 1,643 |
| Ziebach County | 11 | 5.06% | 2,514 | 2,393 |
| Turner County | 12 | 5.02% | 9,122 | 8,686 |
| Gregory County | 13 | 4.93% | 4,197 | 4,000 |
| Dewey County | 14 | 4.59% | 5,465 | 5,225 |
| Union County | 15 | 4.51% | 17,618 | 16,857 |
| Codington County | 16 | 4.4% | 29,604 | 28,355 |
| Moody County | 17 | 4.34% | 6,614 | 6,339 |
| Clark County | 18 | 3.95% | 4,003 | 3,851 |
| Tripp County | 19 | 3.92% | 5,827 | 5,607 |
| Meade County | 20 | 3.35% | 30,905 | 29,903 |
| Marshall County | 21 | 3.12% | 4,432 | 4,298 |
| Harding County | 22 | 2.14% | 1,336 | 1,308 |
| Sanborn County | 23 | 2.02% | 2,377 | 2,330 |
| Beadle County | 24 | 1.94% | 19,538 | 19,166 |
| Grant County | 25 | 1.67% | 7,665 | 7,539 |
| Bon Homme County | 26 | 1.18% | 7,054 | 6,972 |
| Hanson County | 27 | 1.07% | 3,497 | 3,460 |
| McCook County | 28 | 1.04% | 5,733 | 5,674 |
| Kingsbury County | 29 | 1.02% | 5,260 | 5,207 |
| Yankton County | 30 | 0.96% | 23,509 | 23,286 |
| Roberts County | 31 | 0.8% | 10,344 | 10,262 |
| Douglas County | 32 | 0.71% | 2,854 | 2,834 |
| Stanley County | 33 | 0.67% | 2,990 | 2,970 |
| Clay County | 34 | 0.59% | 15,092 | 15,003 |
| Lyman County | 35 | 0.57% | 3,722 | 3,701 |
| Deuel County | 36 | 0.53% | 4,325 | 4,302 |
| Faulk County | 37 | 0.52% | 2,137 | 2,126 |
| Charles Mix County | 38 | 0.49% | 9,415 | 9,369 |
| Miner County | 39 | 0.39% | 2,313 | 2,304 |
| Sully County | 40 | -0.07% | 1,451 | 1,452 |
| Hutchinson County | 41 | -0.22% | 7,409 | 7,425 |
| Edmunds County | 42 | -0.25% | 3,987 | 3,997 |
| Perkins County | 43 | -0.28% | 2,841 | 2,849 |
| Lake County | 44 | -0.34% | 10,979 | 11,016 |
| Walworth County | 45 | -0.34% | 5,276 | 5,294 |
| Davison County | 46 | -0.57% | 19,841 | 19,954 |
| Hyde County | 47 | -0.96% | 1,240 | 1,252 |
| Brule County | 48 | -1.03% | 5,196 | 5,250 |
| Aurora County | 49 | -1.17% | 2,708 | 2,740 |
| Day County | 50 | -1.2% | 5,371 | 5,436 |
| Todd County | 51 | -1.63% | 9,169 | 9,321 |
| Hughes County | 52 | -1.72% | 17,435 | 17,741 |
| Hand County | 53 | -2.13% | 3,080 | 3,147 |
| Brown County | 54 | -2.3% | 37,340 | 38,219 |
| Oglala Lakota County | 55 | -2.45% | 13,313 | 13,648 |
| Haakon County | 56 | -2.94% | 1,813 | 1,868 |
| Potter County | 57 | -3.48% | 2,388 | 2,474 |
| Jackson County | 58 | -3.6% | 2,702 | 2,803 |
| Bennett County | 59 | -3.71% | 3,266 | 3,392 |
| Campbell County | 60 | -3.84% | 1,327 | 1,380 |
| Corson County | 61 | -3.86% | 3,738 | 3,888 |
| Jones County | 62 | -4.01% | 886 | 923 |
| Spink County | 63 | -4.34% | 6,067 | 6,342 |
| Mellette County | 64 | -5.05% | 1,825 | 1,922 |
| McPherson County | 65 | -5.16% | 2,279 | 2,403 |
| Buffalo County | 66 | -8.88% | 1,766 | 1,938 |
South Dakota's counties show varied growth patterns from 2020 to 2025. Lincoln County leads with 17.82% annualized growth, followed by Custer County (14.4%) and Lawrence County (14.17%). The largest counties are Minnehaha County (210,814), Pennington County (116,124), and Lincoln County (77,346). Of the 66 counties in South Dakota, 39 are growing while 27 have experienced population decline. Overall, counties averaged 1.4% annualized growth, with total population growing by 4.85% annually.
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