What are the fastest-growing counties in South Dakota?
Lincoln County is the fastest-growing county in South Dakota: its population grew 3.28% a year from 2020 to 2025, to 77,145 residents (Census PEP Vintage 2025). Lawrence County (2.65%) and Brookings County (1.85%) follow. South Dakota as a whole grew 1.04% a year to 935,094 residents.
Data as of 2026-09-23. Population, growth and migration: PEP Vintage 2025 · 2020–2025. Income migration: IRS SOI 2022–2023 (2-yr lag).
Top 10 counties in South Dakota by population growth, 2020 to 2025
| Rank | County | Population | Growth (% per year) | Net domestic migration | Net international migration | IRS net AGI migration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lincoln County | 77,145 | 3.28% | +9,205 | +343 | +$55.0M |
| 2 | Lawrence County | 29,459 | 2.65% | +3,700 | +229 | +$69.5M |
| 3 | Brookings County | 37,635 | 1.85% | +595 | +1,883 | -$4.3M |
| 4 | Minnehaha County | 212,691 | 1.47% | +4,624 | +4,891 | +$59.2M |
| 5 | Pennington County | 116,792 | 1.28% | +5,239 | +703 | +$78.2M |
| 6 | Butte County | 10,856 | 1.07% | +482 | -2 | +$7.3M |
| 7 | Codington County | 29,562 | 0.84% | +990 | +112 | +$11.3M |
| 8 | Union County | 17,402 | 0.64% | +148 | +155 | -$15.1M |
| 9 | Meade County | 30,711 | 0.54% | +650 | +26 | +$9.6M |
| 10 | Beadle County | 19,624 | 0.48% | -1,220 | +1,313 | -$4.1M |
Where are people moving in South Dakota?
Lincoln County gained the most people from elsewhere in the United States: net domestic migration of +9,205 from 2020 to 2025 (Census PEP Vintage 2025). The table ranks every South Dakota place with 10,000 or more residents by that figure; the IRS column shows net adjusted gross income migration for 2022 to 2023.
| Rank | County | Population | Growth (% per year) | Net domestic migration | Net international migration | IRS net AGI migration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lincoln County | 77,145 | 3.28% | +9,205 | +343 | +$55.0M |
| 2 | Pennington County | 116,792 | 1.28% | +5,239 | +703 | +$78.2M |
| 3 | Minnehaha County | 212,691 | 1.47% | +4,624 | +4,891 | +$59.2M |
| 4 | Lawrence County | 29,459 | 2.65% | +3,700 | +229 | +$69.5M |
| 5 | Codington County | 29,562 | 0.84% | +990 | +112 | +$11.3M |
| 6 | Meade County | 30,711 | 0.54% | +650 | +26 | +$9.6M |
| 7 | Brookings County | 37,635 | 1.85% | +595 | +1,883 | -$4.3M |
| 8 | Butte County | 10,856 | 1.07% | +482 | -2 | +$7.3M |
| 9 | Yankton County | 23,635 | 0.29% | +173 | +272 | +$5.2M |
| 10 | Union County | 17,402 | 0.64% | +148 | +155 | -$15.1M |
Go past the headline numbers
The interactive Demographics map layer and the full report for a single place are part of paid plans.
Get the Demographics Report for Lincoln CountyFrequently asked questions
- What are the fastest-growing counties in South Dakota?
- By population growth from 2020 to 2025, the fastest are Lincoln County (3.28% a year), Lawrence County (2.65% a year), Brookings County (1.85% a year), Minnehaha County (1.47% a year) and Pennington County (1.28% a year) (Census PEP Vintage 2025). Only places with 10,000 or more residents are ranked.
- Where are people moving in South Dakota?
- By net domestic migration from 2020 to 2025, the largest gains are Lincoln County (+9,205), Pennington County (+5,239) and Minnehaha County (+4,624) (Census PEP Vintage 2025).
- How fast is South Dakota growing overall?
- South Dakota grew 1.04% a year from 2020 to 2025, to 935,094 residents, with net migration of +35,737 people (Census PEP Vintage 2025).
- Where does this South Dakota data come from, and how current is it?
- Population, growth and migration come from the U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP Vintage 2025 · 2020–2025). Income migration comes from IRS Statistics of Income (IRS SOI 2022–2023 (2-yr lag)). Counties with fewer than 10,000 residents are not ranked (48 of 66 in South Dakota). Data last loaded 2026-09-23.
Data as of 2026-09-23: sources and periods
- Population, growth and migration
- U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program: PEP Vintage 2025 · 2020–2025. census.gov/programs-surveys/popest
- Income migration (net AGI)
- Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income migration data: IRS SOI 2022–2023 (2-yr lag). irs.gov/statistics/soi-tax-stats-migration-data
How to read the table
- Population is the Census July 1 estimate of the latest vintage.
- Growth is the compound annual rate over 2020 to 2025.
- Net domestic and international migration are cumulative people over 2020 to 2025.
- IRS net AGI migration is adjusted gross income that moved in, less what moved out, for 2022 to 2023. A plus sign means a net inflow.
- Places with fewer than 10,000 residents are left out of the rankings.