Stanley County, South Dakota

A county in South Dakota, ranked 47 of 66 by population.

CountyFIPS 46117

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

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Population
3,018
+52 (+1.8%) since 2020
Land area
1,444
square miles. A further 4.8% of the total area is water
Population density
2.1
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Fort Pierre
Seat of county government.
Established
1873
152 years ago
Largest city
Fort Pierre city
Population 2,166.

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 Stanley 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 Stanley 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 800 by 569 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 Stanley 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
Population3,01847th of 662,956th of 3,144
Land area1,444 sq mi18th of 66415th of 3,144
Population density2.1 per sq mi54th of 662,981st of 3,144
Median household income$87,7123rd of 66358th of 3,143

Full data for Stanley County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population3,018Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 20202,966Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?2,978Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area1,444 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area72.7 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area1,517 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?2.1 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$87,712American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$203,500American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age44.5American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households1,290American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units1,542American 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
-5
27 births, 32 deaths
Net migration
+21
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 7 areas bordering Stanley 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
Hughes CountySouth Dakota54 mi17,570
Haakon CountySouth Dakota47 mi1,802
Jones CountySouth Dakota34 mi913
Dewey CountySouth Dakota31 mi5,419
Lyman CountySouth Dakota23 mi3,694
Sully CountySouth Dakota23 mi1,479
Ziebach CountySouth Dakotaa single point2,389

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.