2025

Counties in South Dakota ranked by Pacific Islander Population

This list ranks the 64 counties in South Dakota based on their Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander (NHPI) population, as estimated by the United States Census Bureau. It also highlights population changes in these counties over the past five years.
Updated Feb 10, 2025

Top 5 counties with the largest Pacific Islander population in South Dakota

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  • 1
    Minnehaha County
    Pacific Islander population in Minnehaha County is 367
    0.17% of Minnehaha County population is Pacific Islander
  • 2
    Beadle County
    Pacific Islander population in Beadle County is 284
    1.37% of Beadle County population is Pacific Islander
  • 3
    Meade County
    Pacific Islander population in Meade County is 202
    0.62% of Meade County population is Pacific Islander
  • 4
    Pennington County
    Pacific Islander population in Pennington County is 156
    0.13% of Pennington County population is Pacific Islander
  • 5
    Lawrence County
    Pacific Islander population in Lawrence County is 144
    0.52% of Lawrence County population is Pacific Islander

List of 64 counties in South Dakota by Pacific Islander Population

View Methodology
Rank by Pacific Islander Population
County
Pacific Islander Population
% of Total County Population
% of Total South Dakota Pacific Islander Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Minnehaha County 367 0.17% 21.66%
2 Beadle County 284 1.37% 16.77%
3 Meade County 202 0.62% 11.92%
4 Pennington County 156 0.13% 9.21%
5 Lawrence County 144 0.52% 8.50%
6 Codington County 104 0.35% 6.14%
7 Fall River County 83 1.09% 4.90%
8 48 0.12% 2.83%
9 39 0.05% 2.30%
10 34 0.22% 2.01%
11 31 0.57% 1.83%
12 28 0.26% 1.65%
13 23 0.13% 1.36%
14 16 0.34% 0.94%
15 14 0.40% 0.83%
16 13 0.18% 0.77%
16 13 0.31% 0.77%
17 11 0.10% 0.65%
17 11 0.12% 0.65%
17 11 0.11% 0.65%
18 10 0.18% 0.59%
19 8 0.33% 0.47%
20 7 0.22% 0.41%
20 7 0.06% 0.41%
21 6 0.28% 0.35%
22 5 0.21% 0.30%
23 4 0.04% 0.24%
24 3 0.02% 0.18%
24 3 0.04% 0.18%
24 3 0.13% 0.18%
25 2 0.03% 0.12%
25 2 0.03% 0.12%
25 2 0.03% 0.12%

List of counties with no Pacific Islander Population in South Dakota

According to data from the United States Census Bureau, the following counties in South Dakota have no recorded Pacific Islander population*:
  • Sully County
  • Walworth County
  • Hanson County
  • Jerauld County
  • Deuel County
  • Douglas County
  • Campbell County
  • Sanborn County
  • Spink County
  • Brookings County
  • Kingsbury County
  • Jackson County
  • Edmunds County
  • Clark County
  • Hamlin County
  • Harding County
  • Custer County
  • Faulk County
  • Tripp County
  • Hutchinson County
  • Jones County
  • Davison County
  • Stanley County
  • Yankton County
  • Potter County
  • Hyde County
  • Lyman County
  • Corson County
  • Haakon County
  • Hand County
  • Aurora County
* These counties were not included in the ranking above, as they do not meet the population criteria. It is possible that a small population exists but was not reported or captured due to limitations or variations in Census data collection and reporting.

Methodology

This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks counties in South Dakota by their Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander (NHPI) population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census Defines Pacific Islander Population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their race, meaning individuals can choose one or more racial categories when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as Pacific Islander, whether alone or in combination with another race.
Here are a few important things to know about how race is reported:
  • Some people identify as Pacific Islander alone, while others identify as Pacific Islander along with another race (such as Pacific Islander and White).
  • Hispanic / Latino origin is reported separately from race, so someone can be both Hispanic and Pacific Islander .
  • We’ve used the “Pacific Islander alone or in combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Pacific Islander population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Pacific Islander alone or in combination in counties. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total County Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as Pacific Islander .
  2. % of Total South Dakota Pacific Islander Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Pacific Islander population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.

Things to Keep in Mind

Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
  • In places with very small Pacific Islander populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
  • Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
  • Counties that don’t have any reported Pacific Islander population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where Pacific Islander populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.