crimebycounty

South Dakota Crime & Safety

Reported crime rates, safety scores, and FBI UCR coverage for all 66 counties.

FBI UCR data

Avg Violent Crime Rate

132.0

per 100K

Avg Property Crime Rate

657.0

per 100K

Counties with Crime Rates

66/66

100% coverage

County crime atlas

South Dakota crime patterns by county

A state-level 2.5D view of reported county crime rates. Heights and color intensity are scaled within South Dakota, with extreme outliers capped visually so the county-by-county pattern stays readable without loading the full national explorer.

Counties

66

Coverage

100%

Data year

2022

See this county’s full report card

CountyScore combines tax, crime, schools, cost of living and more into one ranking.

View report card

State crime brief

What stands out in South Dakota

The average county-level total crime rate is 788.0 per 100,000 residents, 66% below the national county benchmark.

Buffalo County reports 0.0 total crimes per 100,000 residents, while Lincoln County reports 11779.5. That spread is why county-level lookup matters more than a single statewide average.

66 of 66 counties have full or partial FBI UCR coverage in the current build, with 132 reporting agencies represented.

Data coverage

66/66

counties with total crime rates

Reporting agencies

132

represented in the FBI UCR data

Primary year

2022

most common county crime data year

County average vs. national benchmark

Unweighted county averages, shown per 100,000 residents.

Total crime

66% below national benchmark.

788.0

National 2335.1

Violent crime

65% below national benchmark.

132.0

National 380.7

Property crime

66% below national benchmark.

657.0

National 1954.4

Safety score distribution

Low reported crime44 counties

67% of counties. Safety score 70 or higher.

Middle range10 counties

15% of counties. Safety score from 40 to 69.

Elevated reported crime12 counties

18% of counties. Safety score below 40.

Pending score0 counties

0% of counties. Safety score unavailable.

Reporting coverage

Partial agency coverage66

100%. Some agencies reported, so rates can understate local conditions.

Lowest reported total crime

  1. Buffalo County

    Rank #1 in this list

    0.0 per 100K

  2. Douglas County

    Rank #2 in this list

    0.0 per 100K

  3. Grant County

    Rank #3 in this list

    0.0 per 100K

  4. Haakon County

    Rank #4 in this list

    0.0 per 100K

  5. Hanson County

    Rank #5 in this list

    0.0 per 100K

Highest reported total crime

  1. Lincoln County

    Rank #1 in this list

    11779.5 per 100K

  2. Pennington County

    Rank #2 in this list

    3417.1 per 100K

  3. Davison County

    Rank #3 in this list

    2424.1 per 100K

  4. Yankton County

    Rank #4 in this list

    2325.1 per 100K

  5. Meade County

    Rank #5 in this list

    2082.1 per 100K

Highest reported violent crime

  1. Lincoln County

    Rank #1 in this list

    1740.1 per 100K

  2. Pennington County

    Rank #2 in this list

    586.1 per 100K

  3. Hughes County

    Rank #3 in this list

    409.8 per 100K

  4. Yankton County

    Rank #4 in this list

    338.9 per 100K

  5. Meade County

    Rank #5 in this list

    330.3 per 100K

All South Dakota Counties

CountySafety Score
Buffalo County98/100
Douglas County98/100
Grant County98/100
Haakon County98/100
Hanson County98/100
Harding County98/100
Hyde County98/100
Jackson County98/100
Mellette County98/100
Oglala Lakota County98/100
Todd County98/100
Ziebach County98/100
Bon Homme County94/100
Edmunds County94/100
Dewey County94/100
Hutchinson County94/100
Sully County93/100
Hand County92/100
Campbell County92/100
Faulk County92/100
Potter County91/100
Perkins County91/100
Sanborn County91/100
Clark County91/100
Roberts County90/100
Minnehaha County90/100
Miner County90/100
Jerauld County90/100
Fall River County89/100
Marshall County88/100
Gregory County87/100
Aurora County86/100
Kingsbury County86/100
Day County84/100
Turner County84/100
Stanley County84/100
Spink County83/100
Hamlin County82/100
Deuel County81/100
Charles Mix County81/100
McCook County80/100
Walworth County79/100
Tripp County75/100
Lyman County74/100
Lake County68/100
McPherson County68/100
Corson County66/100
Jones County66/100
Union County66/100
Moody County66/100
Butte County60/100
Beadle County57/100
Brookings County48/100
Custer County44/100
Codington County34/100
Brown County33/100
Bennett County30/100
Lawrence County29/100
Hughes County25/100
Clay County24/100
Brule County22/100
Meade County20/100
Yankton County16/100
Davison County15/100
Pennington County5/100
Lincoln County0/100

Crime rates per 100K population. — = data pending.

Crime data questions

How to read South Dakota crime data

Frequently Asked Questions

Which South Dakota county has the lowest reported crime rate?
Buffalo County has the lowest reported total crime rate in the current South Dakota county dataset at 0.0 incidents per 100,000 residents. Use this as a reported county-level benchmark, not a neighborhood-level guarantee.
Which South Dakota county has the highest reported crime rate?
Lincoln County has the highest reported total crime rate in the current South Dakota county dataset at 11779.5 incidents per 100,000 residents. Per-capita rates can be volatile in small counties, so compare the rate with coverage, agency count, and local law enforcement sources.
How does South Dakota compare with the national crime benchmark?
South Dakota's unweighted county-average total crime rate is 788.0 per 100,000 residents, 66% below national benchmark. The national benchmark shown on this page is 2335.1 per 100,000 residents.
Is violent crime or property crime more common in South Dakota?
Property crime makes up about 83% of the average reported county crime mix in South Dakota, while violent crime makes up about 17%. These shares are based on county-level rates in the available FBI UCR dataset.
How complete is the FBI UCR data for South Dakota?
66 of 66 South Dakota counties have total crime rates in the current build. The page also lists coverage labels so readers can distinguish full, partial, homicide-only, unavailable, and unlabeled reporting.
Which South Dakota county has the highest reported violent crime rate?
Lincoln County has the highest reported violent crime rate in the current South Dakota county dataset at 1740.1 incidents per 100,000 residents. Violent crime can be highly localized, so use county comparisons as a starting point for local research.

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Data Sources

Crime data sourced from the FBI Crime Data Explorer (UCR) and County Health Rankings. Safety scores are derived composite metrics.

Data is informational only. Not legal or security advice. Coverage varies by county and reporting year.

← Back to All StatesSafest Counties in South DakotaHighest Reported Crime Counties in South Dakota

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