Mexican Population in South Dakota by County : 2025 Ranking & Insights

According to the latest U.S. Census estimates, South Dakota is home to 22,841 Mexican residents. Minnehaha County contains the largest Mexican community with 5,558 individuals, followed by Pennington County (4,249), Beadle County (1,220), and several other counties contributing to this statewide total. The remaining difference may reflect Mexican populations in lower-population counties not listed above or minor reporting adjustments in the census data. This demographic breakdown ranks all counties in South Dakota by their Mexican population, offering insights into community patterns across the state.

Top 5 counties with the largest Mexican population in South Dakota

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  • 1
    Minnehaha County
    Mexican population in Minnehaha County is 5,558
    2.77% of Minnehaha County population is Mexican
  • 2
    Pennington County
    Mexican population in Pennington County is 4,249
    3.79% of Pennington County population is Mexican
  • 3
    Beadle County
    Mexican population in Beadle County is 1,220
    6.33% of Beadle County population is Mexican
  • 4
    Lincoln County
    Mexican population in Lincoln County is 1,135
    1.66% of Lincoln County population is Mexican
  • 5
    Meade County
    Mexican population in Meade County is 942
    3.11% of Meade County population is Mexican

Overview of Mexican population in South Dakota

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey documents South Dakota with 22,841 Mexican residents (2.5% of 899,194 total state population), ranking the state at the 14th percentile nationally among U.S. jurisdictions for Mexican demographic representation.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: U.S. Census surveys show South Dakota's Mexican demographic representation of 2.5% remains below the national average of 11.3%, positioning the state below typical U.S. demographic distribution patterns.
  • Share of Total National Population: Official American Community Survey data indicates South Dakota contains 22,841 Mexican residents, representing less than 1% of the nation's total Mexican population of 37.4 million, constituting a minimal fraction of the national demographic community relative to the state's overall population size.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey data indicate South Dakota maintains fewer than 1 Mexican per square mile, compared to the national average of 10.6 per square mile, placing the state among jurisdictions with minimal demographic representation nationally.
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64 Counties in South Dakota Ranked by Mexican Population

View Methodology
American Community Survey data [1] show Mexican population in South Dakota distributed across multiple counties, led by Minnehaha County, Pennington County, Beadle County, and Lincoln County, while several other counties recorded no residents identified as Americans of full or partial Mexican descent. The table below provides broader statistics, including total population figures, density measures, and demographic distributions based on current ACS data for all counties included in this analysis*.
counties in South Dakota ranked by Mexican population count
Rank by Mexican Population
County
Mexican Population
% of Total County Population
% of Total South Dakota Mexican Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Minnehaha County 5,558 2.77% 24.33%
2 Pennington County 4,249 3.79% 18.60%
3 Beadle County 1,220 6.33% 5.34%
4 Lincoln County 1,135 1.66% 4.97%
5 Meade County 942 3.11% 4.12%
6 Davison County 924 4.63% 4.05%
7 Brown County 798 2.10% 3.49%
8 631 2.37% 2.76%
9 619 3.66% 2.71%
10 612 1.75% 2.68%
11 558 1.95% 2.44%
11 558 2.39% 2.44%
12 412 5.46% 1.80%
13 411 2.72% 1.80%
14 293 1.65% 1.28%
15 283 2.56% 1.24%
16 235 5.40% 1.03%
17 231 2.19% 1.01%
18 193 3.03% 0.85%
19 186 2.52% 0.81%
20 160 1.84% 0.70%
21 155 2.16% 0.68%
22 150 1.62% 0.66%
23 148 5.75% 0.65%
24 147 3.79% 0.64%
25 133 3.08% 0.58%
26 129 1.26% 0.56%
27 124 1.97% 0.54%
27 124 2.16% 0.54%
28 121 1.30% 0.53%
29 94 2.80% 0.41%
30 86 1.37% 0.38%
31 85 1.21% 0.37%
32 82 2.03% 0.36%
33 79 5.33% 0.35%
34 75 1.34% 0.33%
35 74 3.12% 0.32%
36 73 1.40% 0.32%
37 70 1.34% 0.31%
38 55 1.81% 0.24%
39 53 0.60% 0.23%
40 52 0.99% 0.23%
41 51 2.39% 0.22%
42 41 0.75% 0.18%
43 30 1.00% 0.13%
44 29 1.20% 0.13%
45 28 1.23% 0.12%
46 25 0.89% 0.11%
47 23 0.66% 0.10%
48 22 0.72% 0.10%
49 20 1.83% 0.09%
50 17 0.74% 0.07%
51 16 1.23% 0.07%
52 14 0.76% 0.06%
53 11 1.07% 0.05%
53 11 0.21% 0.05%
54 10 0.26% 0.04%
54 10 0.27% 0.04%
55 7 0.34% 0.03%
56 1 0.06% 0.00%
56 1 0.04% 0.00%
57 0 - -
57 0 - -
57 0 - -
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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 county in South Dakota by their Mexican population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census defines Mexican population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their ancestry, meaning individuals can write upto ancestries when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as having Mexican ancestry, whether alone or in combination with another ancestry.
Here are a few important things to know about how ancestry is reported:
  • Some people identify as Mexican alone, while others identify as Mexican along with another race (such as Mexican and German).
  • We’ve used the “Mexican alone or in any combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Mexican population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Mexican alone or in combination in county. 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 Mexican .
  2. % of Total South Dakota Mexican Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Mexican 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 Mexican 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.
  • County that don’t have any reported Mexican 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 Mexican populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

  1. 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.
  2. 2023.