• county
  • FIPS 46065
  • Largest town: Pierre

Hughes County, South Dakota

Hughes County had 17,526 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 741.5 square miles of land. It ranks 12th of 66 in South Dakota by population and 43rd by land area.

Population
17,526
#12 of 66 in South Dakota · #1,955 in US
Area
741.5 sq mi
#43 of 66 in South Dakota · #1,191 in US
Density
24 / sq mi
#11 of 66 in South Dakota · #2,102 in US
Median household income
$75,885
#7 of 66 in South Dakota · #630 in US

Census Vintage 2024 estimates · SAIPE 2023 income · 2024 Gazetteer land area

Hughes County within South Dakota. Pin: Pierre.

Measure from here

Tools and pages that start from Hughes County

Hughes County population, land area and income

Hughes County had 17,526 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 741.5 square miles of land. It ranks 12th of 66 in South Dakota by population and 43rd by land area. That works out to 23.6 people per square mile, below the US average of 96.3, and below the national county median.

The median county-equivalent in South Dakota has 5,296 residents, so Hughes County is 3.3 times that size.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $75,885 is in the top quarter among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

National rank among 3,144

Population

17,526

3144th1st

1955th of 3,144 (US)

Land area

742 sq mi

3144th1st

1191st of 3,144 (US)

Density

23.6 / sq mi

3144th1st

2102nd of 3,144 (US)

Median household income

$75,885

3143rd1st

630th of 3,143 (US)

Rank within South Dakota (66)

Population

17,526

66th1st

12th of 66 (SD)

Land area

742 sq mi

66th1st

43rd of 66 (SD)

Density

23.6 / sq mi

66th1st

11th of 66 (SD)

Median household income

$75,885

66th1st

7th of 66 (SD)

How Hughes County's population changed since 2020

Hughes County lost 215 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 1.2%. That ranks 50th 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, Hughes County recorded 906 births and 811 deaths, a natural change of +95. Net international migration added -6 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to -337. The largest single component was domestic migration, which removed 337 people.

17.7k202017.8k202117.7k202217.6k202317.5k2024
Census Vintage 2024 county estimates for July 1 of each year. The axis starts above zero so year-to-year changes are visible.

Components of change, April 2020 to July 2024

Births
906
Deaths
811
Net international migration
-6
Net domestic migration
-337
Change, July 2023 to July 2024
-91

Where Hughes County is

The Census internal point of Hughes County is at 44.384500, -99.975700. 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 Hughes County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Davison County: -0.2%Minnehaha County: +5.5%Bennett County: -3.0%Clark County: +3.2%Hamlin County: +7.1%Jerauld County: +2.8%Brule County: +0.2%Aurora County: +0.4%Turner County: +4.6%Beadle County: +1.5%Hand County: -1.6%Kingsbury County: +1.0%McCook County: +1.7%Miner County: -0.0%Lyman County: +0.5%Codington County: +3.3%Deuel County: +0.8%Sully County: +1.1%Oglala Lakota County: -2.1%Edmunds County: +0.8%Sanborn County: +2.7%Spink County: -3.7%Lake County: -0.1%Hyde County: -3.0%Potter County: -2.9%Perkins County: -0.6%Faulk County: +0.5%Day County: -0.5%Clay County: +1.6%Hanson County: +0.5%Fall River County: +5.5%Brookings County: +5.9%Yankton County: +1.0%Hutchinson County: -0.1%Butte County: +5.8%Custer County: +11.8%Lawrence County: +11.5%Hughes County: -1.2%Grant County: +1.0%Brown County: -1.9%Gregory County: +2.8%Campbell County: -2.8%Bon Homme County: +1.4%McPherson County: -4.0%Lincoln County: +14.6%Stanley County: +1.5%Walworth County: -0.5%Harding County: +1.3%Marshall County: +2.3%Union County: +3.2%Pennington County: +5.8%Buffalo County: -5.8%Moody County: +3.0%Tripp County: +2.0%Roberts County: +0.2%Charles Mix County: -0.3%Meade County: +3.4%Haakon County: -1.8%Jones County: -5.3%Douglas County: +0.5%Dewey County: +1.9%Corson County: -3.6%Mellette County: -4.6%Todd County: -1.6%Jackson County: -2.4%Ziebach County: +1.0%
Change 2020 to 2024
  1. < -1.8%
  2. < +0.2%
  3. < +1.3%
  4. < +3.2%
  5. ≥ +3.2%
no data

Orange pin: Hughes County internal point. Dark pin: Pierre.

Internal point

Decimal
44.384500, -99.975700
DMS
44°23'4.20"N 99°58'32.52"W
UTM
14N 422281.0E 4915042.7N
Geohash
9zbukzzym
Plus code
86P292MF+RP

Towns in Hughes County

One incorporated place of 1,000+ people has residents in Hughes County, 13,788 people together, or 79% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Hughes County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Pierre with 13,788.

  1. 01Pierre13,788
Census Vintage 2024 subcounty estimates, county parts of incorporated places (SUMLEV 157).

Counties bordering Hughes County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 4 neighbors for Hughes County. The most populous is Lyman County, SD, with 3,721 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

Distance to Pierre and the nearest big city

Pierre is 18.3 miles W of Hughes County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Sioux Falls, SD (population 209,289), 171.5 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Pierre, SD (population 13,788), 17.0 miles away.

Hughes County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Hughes County is 46065: state code 46 for South Dakota plus county code 065. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $75,885.

Questions people ask

What is the population of Hughes County, South Dakota?

The Census Vintage 2024 estimate for July 1, 2024 is 17,526. That is down 215 people (1.2%) from the July 2020 estimate of 17,741.

What is the FIPS code of Hughes County?

46065. The first two digits (46) are South Dakota; the last three (065) identify the county.

What is the largest town in Hughes County?

Pierre, with 13,788 residents inside Hughes County in 2024.

Which counties border Hughes County?

4 county-equivalents border it in the Census 2024 adjacency file: Lyman County, SD; Stanley County, SD; Sully County, SD; Hyde County, SD.

Sources and data as of

Data as of: Census Vintage 2024 population estimates, 2024 Gazetteer land area and internal points, SAIPE 2023 median household income.

  1. 01Census Vintage 2024 county population estimates
  2. 02Census 2024 Gazetteer, counties
  3. 03Census SAIPE 2023 state and county estimates
  4. 04Census Vintage 2024 subcounty population estimates
  5. 05Census 2024 county adjacency file
  6. 06Census 2024 cartographic boundary file, counties (1:5,000,000)

How every number is computed: methodology. Spotted a wrong figure? Report an error.