Sanborn County, South Dakota

Sanborn County population, land area and income

Sanborn County had 2,392 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 569.2 square miles of land. It ranks 54th of 66 in South Dakota by population and 54th by land area. That works out to 4.2 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 Sanborn County has 45% of the typical county's population.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $67,523 is above the national county median among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Sanborn County's population changed since 2020

Sanborn County gained 62 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a rise of 2.7%. That ranks 18th 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, Sanborn County recorded 138 births and 131 deaths, a natural change of +7. Net international migration added +24 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to +28. The largest single component was domestic migration, which added 28 people.

Where Sanborn County is

The Census internal point of Sanborn County is at 44.018900, -98.091700. 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 Sanborn County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in Sanborn County

No incorporated place of 1,000 or more people has residents in Sanborn County. Its 2,392 residents live in smaller towns, census-designated places, or unincorporated land, which the subcounty estimates do not list at this size.

Counties bordering Sanborn County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 7 neighbors for Sanborn County. The most populous is Davison County, SD, with 19,907 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

• Davison County

  19,907 people

  24 mi S

• Beadle County

  19,459 people

  29 mi NNW

• Kingsbury County

  5,261 people

  38 mi NE

• Hanson County

  3,477 people

  28 mi SSE

• Aurora County

  2,752 people

  32 mi SW

• Miner County

  2,303 people

  24 mi E

• Jerauld County

  1,689 people

  27 mi W

Distance to Pierre and the nearest big city

Pierre is 114.2 miles WNW of Sanborn County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Sioux Falls, SD (population 209,289), 75.4 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Mitchell, SD (population 15,621), 20.3 miles away.

Sanborn County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Sanborn County is 46111: state code 46 for South Dakota plus county code 111. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $67,523.