Most Densely Populated Cities in South Dakota: Ranked by People per Square Mile
The densest city in South Dakota in our data is Tea, SD, with about 3,121 people per square mile, followed by Vermillion, SD (2,391) and Sioux Falls, SD (2,349). This list ranks the top 19 places among the 19 South Dakota communities with at least 5,000 residents.
What are the top 19 in South Dakota?
| # | City | County | Per sq mi | Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tea, SD | Lincoln County | 3,121 | 6,031 |
| 2 | Vermillion, SD | Clay County | 2,391 | 10,926 |
| 3 | Sioux Falls, SD | Minnehaha County | 2,349 | 187,239 |
| 4 | Brandon, SD | Minnehaha County | 1,870 | 10,074 |
| 5 | Harrisburg, SD | Lincoln County | 1,831 | 6,710 |
| 6 | Brookings, SD | Brookings County | 1,813 | 24,887 |
| 7 | Aberdeen, SD | Brown County | 1,761 | 28,257 |
| 8 | Yankton, SD | Yankton County | 1,709 | 14,872 |
| 9 | Madison, SD | Lake County | 1,575 | 7,270 |
| 10 | Rapid City, SD | Pennington County | 1,414 | 92,664 |
| 11 | Rapid Valley, SD | Pennington County | 1,414 | 9,114 |
| 12 | Huron, SD | Beadle County | 1,406 | 13,427 |
| 13 | Mitchell, SD | Davison County | 1,365 | 15,679 |
| 14 | Watertown, SD | Codington County | 1,222 | 22,174 |
| 15 | Sturgis, SD | Meade County | 1,155 | 6,922 |
| 16 | Pierre, SD | Hughes County | 1,062 | 14,659 |
| 17 | Spearfish, SD | Lawrence County | 712 | 12,836 |
| 18 | Box Elder, SD | Pennington County | 686 | 10,228 |
| 19 | Belle Fourche, SD | Butte County | 642 | 5,702 |
How dense are the cities in South Dakota?
The densest place is about 2 times as dense as the median place in the state, which has about 1,414 people per square mile. At the other end, Belle Fourche, SD has about 642. Under our scale, 0 places are an urban core (over 5,000 per square mile), 16 are suburban, and the rest are small towns or rural. Pennington County contributes 3 of the top 19.
Which counties do the top 19 belong to?
The 19 places on this list are spread across 15 counties of South Dakota. Pennington County has 3 (Rapid City, Rapid Valley, Box Elder); Lincoln County has 2 (Tea, Harrisburg); Minnehaha County has 2 (Sioux Falls, Brandon). Counties with several entries are usually centers of a metropolitan area, where one large city is surrounded by many suburbs that each pass the 5,000-resident threshold.
How does South Dakota compare with the rest of the country?
The median South Dakota place with a page has about 12,836 residents, compared with about 13,459 nationwide, so the state's typical community is about the same size as the national typical place. The state has 382 communities in total, of which 19 reach 5,000 residents. See the national ranking of the largest cities for comparison.
Quick answers about South Dakota cities
- Which is the densest city in South Dakota? Tea (3,121 per square mile).
- How many South Dakota cities have more than 100,000 people? 1 in our data.
- How many have 25,000 to 100,000? 2.
- What is the typical size? About 12,836 residents for a place with a page.
How is this ranking made?
The data comes from the SimpleMaps US Cities Database, which gives each place an estimated population and a density in people per square kilometer. We convert density to people per square mile and rank the places with at least 5,000 residents. Boundaries matter: a city that includes large parks or farmland scores lower on density than a compact city of the same size, and population estimates can include areas that share a city's ZIP codes. Read why population figures differ and how density is calculated before you quote a number.
Where to go next
Rankings use dataset estimates, not official counts.