County Employment and Wages in South Dakota — Fourth Quarter 2024

Employment rose 1.9 percent in South Dakota’s only large county, Minnehaha, from December 2023 to December 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Julie Wilson noted that the rate of employment growth in Minnehaha ranked 30^th among the 363 largest U.S. counties with published data. (See table 1.)

Employment in Minnehaha stood at 140,200 in December 2024, accounting for 30.5 percent of total employment in South Dakota. Nationwide, the 369 largest counties comprise 73.3 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 2023.)

Large county average weekly wages in the fourth quarter 2024

The average weekly wage in Minnehaha increased 3.1 percent over the year to $1,306. The national average was $1,507, up 5.0 percent over the year. Minnehaha’s weekly wage ranked 197^th nationally, and the percent change ranked 291^st among the largest U.S. counties.

Smaller county average weekly wages in the fourth quarter of 2024

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 2023. (See table 2.) Wage levels for 64 of the 65 smaller counties were below the national average. Union reported the highest average weekly wage ($1,531). Jones reported the lowest average weekly wage ($708) in the state.

Among all 66 South Dakota counties, 16 reported average weekly wages of less than $925, 19 registered wages from $925 to $1,024, 15 had wages from $1,025 to $1,124, and 16 had average weekly wages of $1,125 or higher. (See map 1 and table 2.)

Map 1. Average weekly wages by county in South Dakota, fourth quarter 2024

(U.S. average = $1,507 )

Additional statistics and other information

QCEW data for states have been included in this release in table 3.

Nationwide coverage of the largest counties is published in the County Employment and Wages news release. Additional information about quarterly employment and wages data is available in the news release Technical Note and from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages website.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

The County Employment and Wages release for the first quarter 2025 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, September 9, 2025.

QCEW Moves to One Data Release Beginning with Fourth Quarter 2024 Publication

The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) is streamlining its release process. Beginning with the fourth quarter 2024 national release on June 4, QCEW will publish the national County Employment and Wages news release on the same date as the QCEW full data update. Revised news release dates are available online.

Table 1. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the United States and the largest county in South Dakota, fourth quarter 2024
Area	Establishments, fourth quarter (thousands)	Employment			Average weekly wage (1)
Area	Establishments, fourth quarter (thousands)	December 2024 (thousands)	Percent change, December 2023–24 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)	Fourth quarter 2024 ($)	National ranking by level (3)	Percent change, fourth quarter 2023–24 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)
United States (4)	12,265.4	156,202.9	0.8	--	1,507	--	5.0	--
South Dakota	40.6	459.7	0.9	--	1,181	47	3.9	38
Minnehaha	10.1	140.2	1.9	30	1,306	197	3.1	291
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, fourth quarter 2024
Area	Establishments	Employment December 2024	Average weekly wage ($) (1)
United States (2)	12,265,395	156,202,874	1,507
South Dakota	40,647	459,697	1,181
Aurora	101	799	875
Beadle	686	8,570	1,026
Bennett	100	865	858
Bon Homme	240	1,714	970
Brookings	1,395	19,339	1,116
Brown	1,532	19,688	1,111
Brule	256	2,003	836
Buffalo	28	529	1,058
Butte	476	2,866	956
Campbell	77	425	1,025
Charles Mix	378	3,525	993
Clark	190	1,173	938
Clay	481	6,140	927
Codington	1,441	17,309	1,047
Corson	68	764	981
Custer	419	2,304	1,002
Davison	842	12,582	1,105
Day	274	1,947	906
Deuel	202	1,522	1,126
Dewey	158	2,548	1,036
Douglas	137	1,043	930
Edmunds	189	1,243	1,160
Fall River	360	2,477	1,004
Faulk	127	694	915
Grant	386	3,796	1,102
Gregory	231	1,651	834
Haakon	112	794	932
Hamlin	282	2,687	1,154
Hand	170	1,488	921
Hanson	110	669	1,034
Harding	67	448	907
Hughes	932	10,765	1,244
Hutchinson	305	2,794	1,025
Hyde	77	565	1,136
Jackson	86	655	805
Jerauld	106	1,575	1,049
Jones	59	402	708
Kingsbury	270	1,742	1,002
Lake	499	5,172	1,169
Lawrence	1,644	13,686	962
Lincoln	2,555	29,717	1,363
Lyman	147	1,365	753
McCook	248	1,338	1,016
McPherson	96	571	864
Marshall	214	1,668	1,146
Meade	1,069	8,603	1,154
Mellette	42	328	787
Miner	108	785	884
Minnehaha	10,074	140,171	1,306
Moody	221	2,468	1,126
Oglala Lakota	137	3,862	1,201
Pennington	5,843	61,735	1,155
Perkins	142	1,157	838
Potter	145	790	1,001
Roberts	310	3,439	927
Sanborn	91	615	859
Spink	270	2,255	1,105
Stanley	157	1,339	956
Sully	98	721	1,218
Todd	110	2,937	1,032
Tripp	268	2,406	1,013
Turner	352	2,379	966
Union	892	9,756	1,531
Walworth	253	2,059	942
Yankton	872	13,118	1,135
Ziebach	30	252	1,064
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, fourth quarter 2024
State	Establishments, fourth quarter (thousands)	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
State	Establishments, fourth quarter (thousands)	December 2024 (thousands)	Percent change, December 2023–24	Fourth quarter 2024 ($)	National ranking by level	Percent change, fourth quarter 2023–24	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	12,265.4	156,202.9	0.8	1,507	--	5.0	--
Alabama	162.3	2,122.2	0.9	1,255	36	4.1	32
Alaska	25.3	317.4	1.7	1,430	16	4.2	30
Arizona	225.5	3,272.3	1.2	1,406	19	6.4	6
Arkansas	106.1	1,312.6	1.1	1,153	50	5.9	10
California	1,903.9	18,230.8	0.5	1,872	5	6.5	5
Colorado	236.6	2,911.3	-0.3	1,594	8	5.1	16
Connecticut	150.7	1,700.7	0.5	1,716	6	5.2	15
Delaware	45.2	480.6	1.5	1,437	15	4.5	24
District of Columbia	52.4	757.2	-0.5	2,495	1	4.7	21
Florida	914.8	9,978.9	0.9	1,405	20	5.7	13
Georgia	396.6	4,916.6	0.8	1,391	21	4.7	21
Hawaii	61.4	651.3	1.1	1,345	27	4.3	26
Idaho	103.9	859.1	0.5	1,232	39	8.3	3
Illinois	411.2	6,089.1	0.5	1,538	12	4.1	32
Indiana	194.6	3,201.9	0.4	1,222	44	4.4	25
Iowa	112.5	1,559.3	-0.6	1,237	38	3.2	50
Kansas	103.5	1,445.6	0.9	1,218	45	4.3	26
Kentucky	159.0	2,008.4	0.2	1,189	46	3.8	39
Louisiana	156.8	1,936.3	1.1	1,228	40	2.8	51
Maine	66.2	643.9	0.9	1,278	33	5.9	10
Maryland	197.0	2,779.9	1.6	1,570	10	4.2	30
Massachusetts	288.5	3,646.1	-0.4	1,890	3	4.7	21
Michigan	303.4	4,406.8	-0.1	1,370	23	4.1	32
Minnesota	215.1	2,945.4	1.1	1,452	14	3.7	42
Mississippi	90.9	1,174.3	0.2	1,023	51	4.1	32
Missouri	251.5	2,922.2	0.5	1,268	35	3.8	39
Montana	65.8	512.8	0.5	1,254	37	6.4	6
Nebraska	78.0	1,024.8	0.5	1,227	41	3.5	45
Nevada	108.1	1,561.5	0.4	1,350	25	6.1	9
New Hampshire	68.7	692.4	0.4	1,577	9	3.3	49
New Jersey	339.1	4,332.2	0.9	1,629	7	3.4	47
New Mexico	68.9	873.8	0.3	1,223	42	5.0	17
New York	711.5	9,777.3	1.5	1,881	4	5.4	14
North Carolina	384.0	4,941.9	0.5	1,358	24	5.8	12
North Dakota	36.9	431.1	0.9	1,315	30	3.8	39
Ohio	346.3	5,551.7	0.6	1,305	32	4.8	20
Oklahoma	129.7	1,713.2	0.8	1,168	48	4.1	32
Oregon	190.9	1,989.6	0.0	1,424	17	6.6	4
Pennsylvania	395.1	6,076.5	0.8	1,414	18	4.0	37
Rhode Island	48.9	500.8	1.6	1,348	26	3.5	45
South Carolina	195.3	2,310.1	1.4	1,223	42	6.2	8
South Dakota	40.6	459.7	0.9	1,181	47	3.9	38
Tennessee	232.2	3,320.3	0.9	1,372	22	5.0	17
Texas	846.0	14,129.7	1.5	1,488	13	4.3	26
Utah	142.6	1,735.8	1.3	1,333	29	3.7	42
Vermont	33.7	311.2	0.0	1,311	31	4.9	19
Virginia	320.9	4,142.6	1.2	1,546	11	4.3	26
Washington	241.5	3,612.0	0.8	1,897	2	8.7	2
West Virginia	62.7	701.4	0.2	1,159	49	3.4	47
Wisconsin	212.2	2,950.8	0.4	1,278	33	3.6	44
Wyoming	31.1	279.4	0.5	1,340	28	12.4	1
Puerto Rico	51.6	975.4	-0.2	718	(3)	4.5	(3)
Virgin Islands	3.0	33.1	-8.6	1,046	(3)	1.8	(3)
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.

Last Modified Date: Friday, June 13, 2025

Midwest Information Office

County Employment and Wages in South Dakota — Fourth Quarter 2024

(U.S. average = $1,507 )