Ranking · South Dakota
Fastest-growing and fastest-shrinking places in South Dakota
Harrisburg has the highest population change, 2020 to 2025 of South Dakota's 73 ranked places (+54.5%); Custer has the lowest (−7.2%). Ranked: places with 1,000 or more residents in the 2020 Census that are incorporated (the Census Bureau estimates only those each year).
Which are the fastest-growing places?
Fastest-growing places in South Dakota, first to fifth: Harrisburg (+54.5%), Tea (+42.7%), Aurora (+22.6%), Deadwood (+18.4%) and Box Elder (+17.6%).
| Rank | Place | Population change, 2020 to 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harrisburg | +54.5% |
| 2 | Tea | +42.7% |
| 3 | Aurora | +22.6% |
| 4 | Deadwood | +18.4% |
| 5 | Box Elder | +17.6% |
| 6 | Volga | +16.8% |
| 7 | Spearfish | +15.9% |
| 8 | Parker | +12.7% |
| 9 | Sioux Falls | +10.9% |
| 10 | Medary Township | +10.2% |
| 11 | Lennox | +9.8% |
| 12 | Big Sioux Township | +9.8% |
| 13 | Jefferson Township, Union County | +9.3% |
| 14 | Hartford | +8.6% |
| 15 | Brookings | +8.5% |
| 16 | Baltic | +8.3% |
| 17 | Hot Springs | +8.2% |
| 18 | Rapid City | +7.8% |
| 19 | Tyndall | +5.8% |
| 20 | Watertown | +4.8% |
| 21 | Crooks | +3.9% |
| 22 | Clark | +3.2% |
| 23 | Delapre Township | +3.1% |
| 24 | Springdale Township, Lincoln County | +3.1% |
| 25 | Belle Fourche | +2.9% |
Source: Census Bureau population estimates, Vintage 2025 (SUB-EST2025) · Census population estimates
Which are the fastest-shrinking places?
Fastest-shrinking places in South Dakota, first to fifth: Custer (−7.2%), Gettysburg (−5.0%), Wagner (−4.7%), Platte (−4.6%) and Redfield (−4.5%).
| Rank | Place | Population change, 2020 to 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| 73 | Custer | −7.2% |
| 72 | Gettysburg | −5.0% |
| 71 | Wagner | −4.7% |
| 70 | Platte | −4.6% |
| 69 | Redfield | −4.5% |
| 68 | Mission | −4.5% |
| 67 | Garretson | −4.0% |
| 66 | Wall Lake Township | −3.7% |
| 65 | Mapleton Township | −3.6% |
| 64 | Split Rock Township | −3.5% |
| 63 | Groton | −3.5% |
| 62 | Beresford | −3.2% |
| 61 | Elk Point | −3.1% |
| 60 | Dell Rapids | −3.1% |
| 59 | Wayne Township, Minnehaha County | −3.1% |
| 58 | De Smet | −3.0% |
| 57 | Webster | −2.7% |
| 56 | Sisseton | −2.7% |
| 55 | Sturgis | −2.4% |
| 54 | Miller | −2.4% |
| 53 | Freeman | −2.2% |
| 52 | Canton | −2.2% |
| 51 | Mobridge | −2.2% |
| 50 | Madison | −2.1% |
| 49 | Aberdeen | −1.8% |
Source: Census Bureau population estimates, Vintage 2025 (SUB-EST2025) · Census population estimates
How is this ranking made?
Each place's population change, 2020 to 2025 is read from the Census Bureau's April 1, 2020 estimates base and its July 1, 2025 estimate. A place enters the ranking if it had 1,000 or more residents in the 2020 Census and is incorporated. Ties in the published figure share a rank. This is a measurement of one figure, not a judgment of a place.
Towns and townships are ranked beside cities, villages and census-designated places, and a census-designated place can lie inside a township, so one area can appear twice, once as each.
Source: PlainCities ranking method applied to the Census Bureau population estimates, Vintage 2025 (SUB-EST2025) · How ranks are computed
How these figures are made: methodology and release checks · reading a margin of error · every state · corrections