• county
  • FIPS 46093
  • Largest town: Sturgis

Meade County, South Dakota

Meade County had 30,918 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 3,470.9 square miles of land. It is the largest by land of South Dakota's 66 county-equivalents.

Population
30,918
#6 of 66 in South Dakota · #1,415 in US
Area
3,470.9 sq mi
#1 of 66 in South Dakota · #144 in US
Density
8.9 / sq mi
#23 of 66 in South Dakota · #2,605 in US
Median household income
$74,577
#12 of 66 in South Dakota · #693 in US

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

Meade County within South Dakota. Pin: Pierre.

Measure from here

Tools and pages that start from Meade County

Meade County population, land area and income

Meade County had 30,918 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 3,470.9 square miles of land. It is the largest by land of South Dakota's 66 county-equivalents. That works out to 8.9 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 Meade County is 5.8 times that size.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $74,577 is in the top quarter among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

National rank among 3,144

Population

30,918

3144th1st

1415th of 3,144 (US)

Land area

3,471 sq mi

3144th1st

144th of 3,144 (US)

Density

8.9 / sq mi

3144th1st

2605th of 3,144 (US)

Median household income

$74,577

3143rd1st

693rd of 3,143 (US)

Rank within South Dakota (66)

Population

30,918

66th1st

6th of 66 (SD)

Land area

3,471 sq mi

66th1st

1st of 66 (SD)

Density

8.9 / sq mi

66th1st

23rd of 66 (SD)

Median household income

$74,577

66th1st

12th of 66 (SD)

How Meade County's population changed since 2020

Meade County gained 1,015 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a rise of 3.4%. That ranks 11th 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, Meade County recorded 1,193 births and 1,083 deaths, a natural change of +110. Net international migration added +25 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to +903. The largest single component was domestic migration, which added 903 people.

29.9k202030.3k202130.7k202230.9k202330.9k2024
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
1,193
Deaths
1,083
Net international migration
+25
Net domestic migration
+903
Change, July 2023 to July 2024
-13

Where Meade County is

The Census internal point of Meade County is at 44.605300, -102.714200. 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 Meade 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: Meade County internal point. Dark pin: Pierre.

Internal point

Decimal
44.605300, -102.714200
DMS
44°36'19.08"N 102°42'51.12"W
UTM
13N 681389.3E 4941647.2N
Geohash
9xyvy8ju9
Plus code
85PVJ74P+48

Towns in Meade County

4 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Meade County, 16,088 people together, or 52% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Meade County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Sturgis with 7,014.

  1. 01Sturgis7,014
  2. 02Box Elder (part)5,059
  3. 03Summerset3,013
  4. 04Piedmont1,002
Census Vintage 2024 subcounty estimates, county parts of incorporated places (SUMLEV 157).

Counties bordering Meade County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 6 neighbors for Meade County. The most populous is Pennington County, SD, with 115,979 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

Distance to Pierre and the nearest big city

Pierre is 117.9 miles E of Meade County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Billings, MT (population 121,483), 295.7 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Box Elder, SD (population 13,887), 38.6 miles away.

Meade County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Meade County is 46093: state code 46 for South Dakota plus county code 093. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $74,577.

Questions people ask

What is the population of Meade County, South Dakota?

The Census Vintage 2024 estimate for July 1, 2024 is 30,918. That is up 1,015 people (3.4%) from the July 2020 estimate of 29,903.

What is the FIPS code of Meade County?

46093. The first two digits (46) are South Dakota; the last three (093) identify the county.

What is the largest town in Meade County?

Sturgis, with 7,014 residents inside Meade County in 2024.

Which counties border Meade County?

6 county-equivalents border it in the Census 2024 adjacency file: Pennington County, SD; Lawrence County, SD; Butte County, SD; Perkins County, SD; Ziebach County, SD; Haakon 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.