Minnehaha County, South Dakota

Minnehaha County is a county on the eastern border of the state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 197,214, making it the state's most populous county, and was estimated to be 212,691 in 2025. Its county seat is Sioux Falls, South Dakota's most populous city. The county was created on April 5, 1862 and organized in 1868. Its name was derived from the Sioux word Mnihaha, meaning "rapid water," or "waterfall" (often incorrectly translated as "laughing water").

Minnehaha County is part of the Sioux Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, the state's largest.

Geography

thumb|right|The falls of the [[Big Sioux River at Falls Park]]

thumb|right|County Administration Building

Minnehaha County lies on the east side of South Dakota. Its eastern boundary abuts Minnesota as well as the northern and western boundaries of Iowa. The Big Sioux River flows south-southeast through the east central part of the county. Its terrain consists of rolling hills, devoted to agriculture except around built-up areas, and dotted with lakes and ponds in its western portion. Its terrain generally slopes southward, and the east and west edges slope to the river valley through the center of the county. Its highest point is in the northwest corner, at ASL.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.9%) is water. It is the 13th largest county in South Dakota by total area.

Major highways

25px I-229 Downtown
20px South Dakota Highway 11
20px South Dakota Highway 19
20px South Dakota Highway 38
20px South Dakota Highway 42
23px South Dakota Highway 115

Transit

Jefferson Lines at Sioux Falls Bus Station
Sioux Area Metro

Airports

Sioux Falls Regional Airport (FSD)
Wheelborg Landing Field, a small airport in Dell Rapids

Adjacent counties

Moody County – north
Pipestone County, Minnesota – northeast
Rock County, Minnesota – east
Lyon County, Iowa – southeast
Lincoln County – south
Turner County – southwest
McCook County – west
Lake County – northwest

Protected areas

Beaver Creek State Recreation Area
Big Sioux State Recreation Area
Diamond Lake State Game Production Area
Falls Park
Island Lake State Game Production Area (part)
Palisades State Park
Pederson State Game Production Area
Scott Lake State Game Production Area
Twin Lakes State Game Production Area
Wall Lake State Lakeside Use Area

Lakes, rivers and streams

Source:

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|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010–2020 !! Pop. 1990 !! Pop. 2010 !!

| White alone (NH)

| 107,032 (97.80%) || 120,047 (96.96%) || 136,632 (92.14%) || 146,159 (86.25%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |155,740 (78.97%)

| Black or African American alone (NH)

| 268 (0.24%) || 739 (0.60%) || 2,217 (1.50%) || 6,326 (3.73%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |11,411 (5.79%)

| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

| 1,118 (1.02%) || 1,645 (1.33%) || 2,678 (1.81%) || 3,933 (2.32%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |4,807 (2.44%)

| Asian alone (NH)

| 345 (0.32%) || 689 (0.56%) || 1,480 (1.00%) || 2,489 (1.47%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |4,568 (2.32%)

| Pacific Islander alone (NH)

| — || — || 55 (0.04%) || 76 (0.04%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |71 (0.04%)

| Other race alone (NH)

| 204 (0.19%) || 41 (0.03%) || 98 (0.07%) || 189 (0.11%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |554 (0.28%)

| Mixed race or multiracial (NH)

| — || — || 1,934 (1.30%) || 3,314 (1.96%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |8,029 (4.07%)

| Hispanic or Latino (any race)

| 468 (0.43%) || 648 (0.52%) || 3,187 (2.15%) || 6,982 (4.12%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |12,034 (6.10%)

| Total

| 109,435 (100.00%) || 123,809 (100.00%) || 148,281 (100.00%) || 169,468 (100.00%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |197,214 (100.00%)

Recent estimates

As of the third quarter of 2024, the median home value in Minnehaha County was $305,100.

As of the 2023 American Community Survey, there are 82,394 estimated households in Minnehaha County with an average of 2.37 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $76,074. Approximately 9.7% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Minnehaha County has an estimated 74.2% employment rate, with 34.6% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 93.1% holding a high school diploma.

The top five reported ancestries (people were allowed to report up to two ancestries, thus the figures will generally add to more than 100%) were English (87.2%), Spanish (5.6%), Indo-European (2.4%), Asian and Pacific Islander (1.4%), and Other (3.4%).

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 197,214 people, 78,715 households, and 48,690 families residing in the county.

Of the residents, 25.0% were under the age of 18 and 14.6% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 35.9 years. For every 100 females there were 101.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 99.2 males. The population density was . There were 83,717 housing units at an average density of . Of those units, 6.0% were vacant, 62.5% of occupied units were owner-occupied, and 37.5% were renter-occupied; the homeowner vacancy rate was 1.4% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.3%.

The racial makeup of the county was 80.3% White, 5.8% Black or African American, 2.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.3% Asian, 2.9% from some other race, and 5.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 6.1% of the population.

Of the 78,715 households, 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 25.5% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present, 30.4% were made up of individuals, and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

Communities

Cities

Baltic
Brandon
Colton
Crooks
Dell Rapids
Garretson
Hartford
Sioux Falls (county seat and largest community; small portion extends to Lincoln County)
Valley Springs

Towns

Humboldt
Sherman

Census-designated places

Anderson
Lyons
Meadow View Addition
Pine Lakes Addition
Renner Corner
Rowena

Unincorporated communities