South Dakota drought risk
Hutchinson County has the highest drought risk in South Dakota, scoring 98.3 out of 100 — rated "Relatively High" by FEMA's National Risk Index.
| # | County | NRI score | Rating |
NOAA events 2016–2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hutchinson County | 98.3 | Relatively High | 0 |
| 2 | Yankton County | 93.7 | Relatively High | 0 |
| 3 | Beadle County | 88.1 | Relatively Moderate | 0 |
| 4 | Bon Homme County | 85.7 | Relatively Moderate | 0 |
| 5 | Charles Mix County | 85.1 | Relatively Moderate | 0 |
| 6 | Hanson County | 80.6 | Relatively Moderate | 0 |
| 7 | Turner County | 77.9 | Relatively Moderate | 0 |
| 8 | Aurora County | 77.5 | Relatively Moderate | 0 |
| 9 | McCook County | 76.5 | Relatively Moderate | 0 |
| 10 | Union County | 74.6 | Relatively Moderate | 0 |
| 11 | Minnehaha County | 73.4 | Relatively Moderate | 0 |
| 12 | Brule County | 73.2 | Relatively Moderate | 0 |
| 13 | Clay County | 72.6 | Relatively Moderate | 0 |
| 14 | Miner County | 71.6 | Relatively Moderate | 0 |
| 15 | Lincoln County | 68.5 | Relatively Moderate | 0 |
| 16 | Davison County | 66.6 | Relatively Moderate | 0 |
| 17 | Douglas County | 64 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 18 | Jerauld County | 63.3 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 19 | Sanborn County | 63.3 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 20 | Moody County | 62.5 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 21 | Gregory County | 57.5 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 22 | Lyman County | 55.4 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 23 | Tripp County | 55 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 24 | Bennett County | 54.9 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 25 | Hand County | 53.6 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 26 | Faulk County | 53.5 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 27 | Kingsbury County | 50.1 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 28 | Lake County | 47.8 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 29 | Edmunds County | 47.6 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 30 | Sully County | 44.9 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 31 | Potter County | 43.4 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 32 | Hyde County | 42.8 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 33 | Brookings County | 42.7 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 34 | Walworth County | 41.8 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 35 | Buffalo County | 41 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 36 | Oglala Lakota County | 40.5 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 37 | Hughes County | 40.4 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 38 | Hamlin County | 40.3 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 39 | McPherson County | 38.7 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 40 | Spink County | 38.7 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 41 | Deuel County | 38 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 42 | Codington County | 36.6 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 43 | Jones County | 35.9 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 44 | Grant County | 35.2 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 45 | Haakon County | 34.3 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 46 | Jackson County | 31 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 47 | Mellette County | 30.8 | Very Low | 0 |
| 48 | Stanley County | 30.7 | Very Low | 0 |
| 49 | Brown County | 30.6 | Very Low | 0 |
| 50 | Ziebach County | 30.5 | Very Low | 0 |
| 51 | Todd County | 29.3 | Very Low | 0 |
| 52 | Corson County | 28.5 | Very Low | 0 |
| 53 | Fall River County | 28.3 | Very Low | 0 |
| 54 | Dewey County | 28.1 | Very Low | 0 |
| 55 | Campbell County | 27.5 | Very Low | 0 |
| 56 | Pennington County | 25.6 | Very Low | 0 |
| 57 | Meade County | 20.8 | Very Low | 0 |
| 58 | Butte County | 19.7 | Very Low | 0 |
| 59 | Perkins County | 19.5 | Very Low | 0 |
| 60 | Harding County | 18.8 | Very Low | 0 |
| 61 | Custer County | 16.2 | Very Low | 0 |
| 62 | Lawrence County | 15.4 | Very Low | 0 |
| 63 | Day County | 13.6 | Very Low | 0 |
| 64 | Clark County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 65 | Marshall County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 66 | Roberts County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0, December 2025. Scores are 0–100 percentile rankings among all US counties. See the methodology page for definitions. Download the full CSV for all counties.
Drought risk nationally:
Other hazard risks in South Dakota:
Frequently asked questions
What is the highest drought risk county in South Dakota?
Hutchinson County, SD has the highest drought risk in South Dakota, with a FEMA National Risk Index score of 98.3 out of 100 (rated "Relatively High").
What causes drought risk in South Dakota?
Drought risk captures expected annual losses from prolonged precipitation deficits affecting agriculture, water supply, and ecosystems. High scores cover the western Great Plains, Southwest, and California's Central Valley. Climate change is increasing drought frequency and severity across much of the US, with multi-year droughts becoming more common in the West.