Lawrence County, South Dakota

Lawrence County population, land area and income

Lawrence County had 28,809 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 800.1 square miles of land. It ranks 8th of 66 in South Dakota by population and 41st by land area. That works out to 36.0 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 Lawrence County is 5.4 times that size.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $69,088 is above the national county median among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Lawrence County's population changed since 2020

Lawrence County gained 2,960 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a rise of 11.5%. That ranks 3rd 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, Lawrence County recorded 929 births and 1,164 deaths, a natural change of -235. Net international migration added +131 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to +3,043. The largest single component was domestic migration, which added 3,043 people.

Where Lawrence County is

The Census internal point of Lawrence County is at 44.348500, -103.806400. It sits in UTM zone 13N. The map shades South Dakota's 66 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Lawrence County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in Lawrence County

3 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Lawrence County, 18,188 people together, or 63% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Lawrence County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Spearfish with 13,803.

Counties bordering Lawrence County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 5 neighbors for Lawrence County, including 2 across a state line. The most populous is Pennington County, SD, with 115,979 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

• Pennington County

  115,979 people

  54 mi ESE

• Meade County

  30,918 people

  57 mi ENE

• Butte County

  10,891 people

  41 mi NNE

• WY

  Crook County, WY

  7,775 people

  41 mi WNW

• WY

  Weston County, WY

  6,866 people

  51 mi SW

Distance to Pierre and the nearest big city

Pierre is 170.9 miles E of Lawrence County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Billings, MT (population 121,483), 252.0 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Spearfish, SD (population 13,803), 9.9 miles away.

Lawrence County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Lawrence County is 46081: state code 46 for South Dakota plus county code 081. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $69,088.