How many people live in ?

Updated Apr. 6, 2026Refreshed annually
In 2024, there were about 29,300 people living in Codington County, SD. That makes Codington County the seventh-most populous county in South Dakota. It is home to 3.1% of people living in the state.

29.3K

population of Codington County, SD (2024)

3.1%

County share of the South Dakota population (2024)

About 29,300 people lived in Codington County, SD in 2024.

Population estimates, 2000–2024

What are Codington County, SD’s age demographics?

About 6,100 Codington County, SD residents are aged 65 and older in 2024. That represents 20.8% of its population. For comparison, the age group represents 18.9% of South Dakota’s population and 18% in the US overall.
Another 6,500 Codington County residents, or 22.4% of the population, were children under 18. For comparison, the age group represents 24% of South Dakota’s population and 21.6% in the US overall.


A higher share of Codington County, SD's population is aged 65 or older than the US as a whole.

Population estimates by age group, (2024)

What are Codington County, SD’s racial and ethnic demographics?

Non-Hispanic white residents make up 90.2% of the Codington County, SD population, higher than the national share of 57.5%. Codington County, SD also has a larger share of people identifying as non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaska Native (2.4%) than the US overall (0.72%).
In contrast, Codington County’s Hispanic population accounts for 4%, below the 20% nationwide, and the non-Hispanic Black or African American population makes up 0.77% of the county, compared with 12.6% nationally.
Racial and ethnic make up differ based on location. These figures reflect how people identified their race alone (not in combination with other races), and separate out Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, following Census reporting standards.

Codington County, SD has a higher share of a non-Hispanic white population than South Dakota as a whole.

Population estimates by race and ethnicity, (2024)

The largest city or town in Codington County, SD is Watertown with about 23,500 residents in 2024.

Cities and towns in Codington County, SD ranked by population

Population (2024), includes only portions within county

Cities and towns in Codington County, SD ranked by population
City or townPopulation
1.

Watertown 

23,492
2.

Pelican 

764
3.

Lake 

669
4.

Sheridan 

490
5.

Elmira 

443
6.

Florence 

333
7.

Kranzburg 

322
8.

Kampeska 

316
9.

Fuller 

305
10.

Rauville 

289

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Methodology

USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.

The analysis was generated with the help of AI and reviewed by USAFacts for accuracy.

Page sources

USAFacts endeavors to share the most up-to-date information available. We sourced the data on this page directly from government agencies; however, the intervals at which agencies publish updated data vary.