Ranked from NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals
Driest Counties in South Dakota
The least rainfall in the country. Dry is easier on a building than wet, but it moves the cost somewhere else: irrigation, foundation movement in shrink-swell soils, and in the driest counties the price and reliability of water itself. Figures are NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals from the weather station nearest each county seat, so they describe a thirty-year average rather than any single year.
South Dakota ranked
| # | County | Annual rainfall | FEMA risk rating | Median home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harding County | 13.4" | Very Low | $156,400 |
| 2 | Oglala Lakota County | 15.2" | Relatively Low | $45,600 |
| 3 | Haakon County | 16.3" | Very Low | $153,200 |
| 4 | Butte County | 16.6" | Very Low | $207,700 |
| 5 | Corson County | 17.3" | Very Low | $73,800 |
| 6 | Pennington County | 17.4" | Relatively Low | $270,400 |
| 7 | Fall River County | 17.9" | Very Low | $176,300 |
| 8 | Campbell County | 18.0" | Very Low | $87,900 |
| 9 | Dewey County | 18.0" | Relatively Low | $75,400 |
| 10 | Perkins County | 18.1" | Very Low | $105,900 |
| 11 | Ziebach County | 18.9" | Very Low | $101,700 |
| 12 | Meade County | 18.9" | Relatively Low | $274,800 |
| 13 | Walworth County | 19.2" | Very Low | $130,000 |
| 14 | Tripp County | 19.4" | Very Low | $137,100 |
| 15 | Custer County | 19.8" | Very Low | $327,200 |
| 16 | McPherson County | 19.9" | Very Low | $78,400 |
| 17 | Potter County | 20.2" | Very Low | $121,300 |
| 18 | Hughes County | 20.2" | Very Low | $221,100 |
| 19 | Stanley County | 20.2" | Very Low | $169,900 |
| 20 | Brule County | 20.4" | Relatively Low | $205,500 |
| 21 | Buffalo County | 20.4" | Very Low | $108,000 |
| 22 | Mellette County | 20.4" | Very Low | $63,000 |
| 23 | Bennett County | 20.7" | Very Low | $138,600 |
| 24 | Lyman County | 20.8" | Very Low | $156,500 |
| 25 | Todd County | 20.9" | Very Low | $45,200 |
| 26 | Sully County | 21.1" | Very Low | $198,700 |
| 27 | Davison County | 21.1" | Very Low | $190,000 |
| 28 | Edmunds County | 21.4" | Very Low | $163,600 |
| 29 | Jones County | 21.6" | Very Low | $117,100 |
| 30 | Brown County | 21.8" | Relatively Low | $212,900 |
| 31 | Faulk County | 22.0" | Very Low | $124,100 |
| 32 | Hand County | 22.3" | Very Low | $152,100 |
| 33 | Codington County | 22.7" | Relatively Low | $218,000 |
| 34 | Hamlin County | 22.7" | Very Low | $207,700 |
| 35 | Hyde County | 22.8" | Very Low | $134,500 |
| 36 | Spink County | 22.8" | Very Low | $117,400 |
| 37 | Roberts County | 22.9" | Very Low | $139,100 |
| 38 | Beadle County | 23.3" | Relatively Low | $178,400 |
| 39 | Aurora County | 23.9" | Very Low | $129,000 |
| 40 | Charles Mix County | 24.4" | Relatively Low | $169,200 |
| 41 | Clark County | 24.4" | Very Low | $141,900 |
| 42 | Sanborn County | 24.6" | Very Low | $138,500 |
| 43 | Marshall County | 25.0" | Very Low | $147,200 |
| 44 | Hutchinson County | 25.0" | Relatively Low | $160,500 |
| 45 | Brookings County | 25.2" | Relatively Low | $246,300 |
| 46 | Hanson County | 25.3" | Very Low | $192,400 |
| 47 | Douglas County | 25.4" | Very Low | $125,000 |
| 48 | Grant County | 25.4" | Very Low | $179,400 |
| 49 | Jerauld County | 25.7" | Very Low | $127,000 |
| 50 | Kingsbury County | 25.9" | Very Low | $159,600 |
| 51 | Day County | 26.1" | Very Low | $155,100 |
| 52 | Bon Homme County | 26.2" | Very Low | $120,300 |
| 53 | Miner County | 26.4" | Very Low | $114,100 |
| 54 | Lake County | 26.4" | Very Low | $231,000 |
| 55 | Gregory County | 26.7" | Very Low | $129,000 |
| 56 | Clay County | 26.9" | Very Low | $221,800 |
| 57 | McCook County | 26.9" | Relatively Low | $217,300 |
| 58 | Deuel County | 27.5" | Very Low | $180,100 |
| 59 | Lincoln County | 27.8" | Relatively Low | $323,500 |
| 60 | Minnehaha County | 27.9" | Relatively Moderate | $266,600 |
| 61 | Turner County | 27.9" | Very Low | $199,000 |
| 62 | Union County | 28.0" | Very Low | $269,500 |
| 63 | Moody County | 28.5" | Very Low | $206,300 |
| 64 | Yankton County | 28.7" | Relatively Low | $208,200 |
| 65 | Lawrence County | 31.8" | Relatively Low | $310,800 |
Every figure is modelled on the county's own median home with 20% down at 7.03%. Property tax and electricity are county and state specific; homeowners insurance uses the NAIC average premium for that state, which ranges from 0.16% of home value in Hawaii to 1.16% in Oklahoma. Maintenance and water are national estimates. Full methodology.
Nationwide
Driest Counties across all 3,133 US counties · Every county in South Dakota