Buffalo County, South Dakota

Buffalo County population, land area and income

Buffalo County had 1,825 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 471.4 square miles of land. It ranks 60th of 66 in South Dakota by population and 61st by land area. That works out to 3.9 people per square mile, below the US average of 96.3, and in the bottom quarter nationally.

The median county-equivalent in South Dakota has 5,296 residents, so Buffalo County has 34% of the typical county's population.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $32,803 is the 4th lowest among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Buffalo County's population changed since 2020

Buffalo County lost 113 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 5.8%. That ranks 66th of 66 in South Dakota for growth. The median South Dakota county changed by +0.8%, and the state as a whole by +4.1%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Buffalo County recorded 141 births and 155 deaths, a natural change of -14. Net international migration added +0 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to -105. The largest single component was domestic migration, which removed 105 people.

Where Buffalo County is

The Census internal point of Buffalo County is at 44.044300, -99.204000. It sits in UTM zone 14N. The map shades South Dakota's 66 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Buffalo County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in Buffalo County

No incorporated place of 1,000 or more people has residents in Buffalo County. Its 1,825 residents live in smaller towns, census-designated places, or unincorporated land, which the subcounty estimates do not list at this size.

Counties bordering Buffalo County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 5 neighbors for Buffalo County. The most populous is Brule County, SD, with 5,261 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

• Brule County

  5,261 people

  22 mi SSE

• Lyman County

  3,721 people

  33 mi WSW

• Hand County

  3,097 people

  36 mi NNE

• Jerauld County

  1,689 people

  29 mi E

• Hyde County

  1,215 people

  37 mi NNW

Distance to Pierre and the nearest big city

Pierre is 60.8 miles WNW of Buffalo County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Sioux Falls, SD (population 209,289), 128.1 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Huron, SD (population 14,515), 53.9 miles away.

Buffalo County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Buffalo County is 46017: state code 46 for South Dakota plus county code 017. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $32,803.