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County Employment and Wages in South Dakota — Third Quarter 2025
Employment rose 0.9 percent in South Dakota’s only large county, Minnehaha, from September 2024 to September 2025, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Michael Hirniak noted that the rate of employment growth in Minnehaha ranked 59th among the 364 largest U.S. counties with published data. (See table 1.)
Employment in Minnehaha stood at 140,400 in September 2025, accounting for 30.3 percent of total employment in South Dakota. Nationwide, the 372 largest counties comprise 73.2 percent of total covered employment in the United States. (Large counties and county equivalents are those with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2024.)
Large county average weekly wages in the third quarter 2025
The average weekly wage in Minnehaha increased 3.2 percent over the year to $1,265. The national average was $1,459, up 4.7 percent over the year. Minnehaha’s weekly wage ranked 205th nationally, and the percent change ranked 268th among the largest U.S. counties.
Smaller county average weekly wages in the third quarter of 2025
Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 65 small counties in South Dakota, defined as having employment below 75,000 in 2024. (See table 2.) Wage levels for all 65 smaller counties were below the national average. Union reported the highest average weekly wage ($1,408) in the state. Jones reported the lowest average weekly wage ($661) in the state.
Among all 66 South Dakota counties, 11 reported average weekly wages of less than $850, 17 registered wages from $850 to $949, 19 had wages from $950 to $1,049, and 19 had average weekly wages of $1,050 or higher. (See map 1 and table 2.)
Map 1. Average weekly wages by county in South Dakota, third quarter 2025
(U.S. average = $1,459 )
Additional statistics and other information
QCEW data for states have been included in this release in table 3.
Footnotes: (1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (2) Percent changes were computed from employment and pay data adjusted for noneconomic county reclassifications. (3) Ranking does not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. (4) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
Note: Data are preliminary. Dashes indicate data not applicable or available. Covered employment and wages include workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.
Table 2. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the United States and all counties in South Dakota, third quarter 2025
Footnotes: (1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (2) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
Note: Data are preliminary. Dashes indicate data not applicable or available. Covered employment and wages include workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.
Table 3. Covered establishments, employment, and wages by state, third quarter 2025
Footnotes: (1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (2) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. (3) Data not included in the national ranking.
Note: Data are preliminary. Dashes indicate data not applicable or available. Covered employment and wages include workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.
United States Department of Labor
