South Dakota landslide risk
Pennington County has the highest landslide risk in South Dakota, scoring 84.8 out of 100 — rated "Relatively Low" by FEMA's National Risk Index.
| # | County | NRI score | Rating |
NOAA events 2016–2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pennington County | 84.8 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 2 | Yankton County | 68.8 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 3 | Lawrence County | 63.9 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 4 | Meade County | 61.6 | Very Low | 0 |
| 5 | Oglala Lakota County | 61.2 | Very Low | 0 |
| 6 | Fall River County | 58.5 | Very Low | 0 |
| 7 | Roberts County | 58.1 | Very Low | 0 |
| 8 | Minnehaha County | 52.2 | Very Low | 0 |
| 9 | Custer County | 52.1 | Very Low | 0 |
| 10 | Marshall County | 48.6 | Very Low | 0 |
| 11 | Brown County | 44.4 | Very Low | 0 |
| 12 | Day County | 42.1 | Very Low | 0 |
| 13 | Hanson County | 41.1 | Very Low | 0 |
| 14 | Hutchinson County | 37 | Very Low | 0 |
| 15 | Grant County | 36.3 | Very Low | 0 |
| 16 | Union County | 35.8 | Very Low | 0 |
| 17 | Bon Homme County | 35.7 | Very Low | 0 |
| 18 | Lincoln County | 34.7 | Very Low | 0 |
| 19 | Deuel County | 33.2 | Very Low | 0 |
| 20 | Butte County | 32.9 | Very Low | 0 |
| 21 | Clay County | 32 | Very Low | 0 |
| 22 | Dewey County | 31.9 | Very Low | 0 |
| 23 | Jackson County | 30.5 | Very Low | 0 |
| 24 | Jerauld County | 30.3 | Very Low | 0 |
| 25 | Stanley County | 29.8 | Very Low | 0 |
| 26 | Brookings County | 29.3 | Very Low | 0 |
| 27 | Todd County | 28.4 | Very Low | 0 |
| 28 | Lake County | 27.9 | Very Low | 0 |
| 29 | McCook County | 27.7 | Very Low | 0 |
| 30 | Haakon County | 27.6 | Very Low | 0 |
| 31 | Turner County | 27.3 | Very Low | 0 |
| 32 | Davison County | 27.2 | Very Low | 0 |
| 33 | Spink County | 26.1 | Very Low | 0 |
| 34 | Beadle County | 25.8 | Very Low | 0 |
| 35 | Codington County | 24.7 | Very Low | 0 |
| 36 | Moody County | 23.8 | Very Low | 0 |
| 37 | Mellette County | 23.2 | Very Low | 0 |
| 38 | Ziebach County | 23.2 | Very Low | 0 |
| 39 | Lyman County | 22.1 | Very Low | 0 |
| 40 | Corson County | 21.6 | Very Low | 0 |
| 41 | Gregory County | 20.9 | Very Low | 0 |
| 42 | Clark County | 20.8 | Very Low | 0 |
| 43 | Bennett County | 19.2 | Very Low | 0 |
| 44 | Harding County | 19.2 | Very Low | 0 |
| 45 | Hughes County | 19.1 | Very Low | 0 |
| 46 | Hamlin County | 18.6 | Very Low | 0 |
| 47 | Sanborn County | 17.7 | Very Low | 0 |
| 48 | Charles Mix County | 17.2 | Very Low | 0 |
| 49 | Perkins County | 16.4 | Very Low | 0 |
| 50 | Tripp County | 15.4 | Very Low | 0 |
| 51 | Aurora County | 14.3 | Very Low | 0 |
| 52 | Kingsbury County | 13.7 | Very Low | 0 |
| 53 | Brule County | 11.7 | Very Low | 0 |
| 54 | Jones County | 11.1 | Very Low | 0 |
| 55 | Miner County | 8.8 | Very Low | 0 |
| 56 | Douglas County | 8.7 | Very Low | 0 |
| 57 | Sully County | 7 | Very Low | 0 |
| 58 | Buffalo County | 6 | Very Low | 0 |
| 59 | Potter County | 4.4 | Very Low | 0 |
| 60 | Hand County | 4.2 | Very Low | 0 |
| 61 | Walworth County | 4.2 | Very Low | 0 |
| 62 | Campbell County | 3.7 | Very Low | 0 |
| 63 | Edmunds County | 3.5 | Very Low | 0 |
| 64 | McPherson County | 2.7 | Very Low | 0 |
| 65 | Faulk County | 2.3 | Very Low | 0 |
| 66 | Hyde County | 1.8 | Very Low | 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.
Landslide risk nationally:
Other hazard risks in South Dakota:
Frequently asked questions
What is the highest landslide risk county in South Dakota?
Pennington County, SD has the highest landslide risk in South Dakota, with a FEMA National Risk Index score of 84.8 out of 100 (rated "Relatively Low").
What causes landslide risk in South Dakota?
Landslide risk covers expected losses from hillslope failures, rockfalls, and debris flows triggered by heavy rainfall, snowmelt, wildfire, or earthquakes. High scores concentrate in the Pacific Northwest, California coastal ranges, Appalachians, and Rocky Mountain foothills, where steep terrain combines with intense precipitation or seismic activity.