County Maps US

McCook County, South Dakota

A county in South Dakota, ranked 30 of 66 by population.

CountyFIPS 46087

Within South Dakota
McCook County, highlighted, with the areas around it. Boundaries generalised from the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file; neighbour fills carry no data. The dot marks Salem, the county seat, located via the 2025 Census Gazetteer.

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Population
5,964
+293 (+5.2%) since 2020
Land area
574.2
square miles. A further 0.5% of the total area is water
Population density
10.4
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Salem
Seat of county government.
Established
1873
152 years ago
Largest city
Salem city
Population 1,357.

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; Wikidata (CC0), Wikidata. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

Satellite view

Aerial imagery of McCook County with its boundary drawn on top. A map shows you the shape; this shows you what is inside it, and which side of the line a place falls on.

Aerial view of McCook County, South Dakota from the USGS National Map, with its boundary outlined
Imagery: USGS National Map, USGS Imagery Only, public domain, requested from USGS by your browser when you reach this point on the page, at 795 by 800 pixels. The boundary is the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file, reprojected to Web Mercator to match the imagery. You can also open the USGS National Map viewer.

Where McCook County ranks

Position among the 66 counties of South Dakota, and among all 3,144 US counties and county-equivalents. Computed from the figures on this page.

MeasureValueIn South DakotaNationally
Population5,96430th of 662,736th of 3,144
Land area574.2 sq mi52nd of 661,736th of 3,144
Population density10.4 per sq mi20th of 662,552nd of 3,144
Median household income$83,8527th of 66455th of 3,143

Full data for McCook County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population5,964Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 20205,671Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?5,681Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area574.2 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area2.7 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area576.9 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?10.4 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$83,852American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$230,100American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age39.5American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households2,221American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units2,473American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates, released 29 January 2026. Population density is computed here, not published: it divides the Vintage 2025 population estimate by the 2025 Gazetteer land area, which are two different Census products. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

How the population changed

The Census Bureau publishes the components behind an estimate, not just the total. For the year to July 2025:

Births minus deaths
+35
84 births, 49 deaths
Net migration
+48
More people moved in than moved out.

Source: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

The 6 areas bordering McCook County

Ordered by the length of the border actually shared, which the Census Bureau publishes in its county adjacency file and which no other county reference presents.

Bordering areaStateShared borderPopulation
Hanson CountySouth Dakota24 mi3,456
Minnehaha CountySouth Dakota24 mi212,691
Turner CountySouth Dakota14 mi9,314
Lake CountySouth Dakota12 mi10,993
Miner CountySouth Dakota12 mi2,281
Hutchinson CountySouth Dakota10 mi7,413

Source: US Census Bureau, County Adjacency File, 2025 County Adjacency File, released 15 September 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

All 66 counties of South Dakota

Open the interactive South Dakota county map, or jump straight to any of them.

Data on this page last rebuilt 30 August 2026. How these figures are produced.