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County · code 46065

Hughes CountySouth Dakota

Hughes County is a county in South Dakota, with its seat in Pierre, formed in 1873.

  • Founded1873
  • County seatPierre
  • Named forAlexander Hughes
  • Land area742 sq mi + 59 sq mi water
  • Population17,765 2020 Census
  • Parcels mapped12,886 checked 14 October 2026
Open the free map Click any parcel in Hughes County: acreage, parcel id, address and who publishes the map. No sign-in.

Updated

SullyLymanHydeStanley Pierre Census outline · seat marked

Where it is

Hughes on the map of South Dakota

South Dakota has 66 counties and county equivalents, each with its own records office. Shapes with a page are links.

Aurora CountyBeadle CountyBennett CountyBon Homme CountyBrookings CountyBrown CountyBrule CountyBuffalo CountyButte CountyCampbell CountyCharles Mix CountyClark CountyClay CountyCodington CountyCorson CountyCuster CountyDavison CountyDay CountyDeuel CountyDewey CountyDouglas CountyEdmunds CountyFall River CountyFaulk CountyGrant CountyGregory CountyHaakon CountyHamlin CountyHand CountyHanson CountyHarding CountyHutchinson CountyHyde CountyJackson CountyJerauld CountyJones CountyKingsbury CountyLake CountyLawrence CountyLincoln CountyLyman CountyMcCook CountyMcPherson CountyMarshall CountyMeade CountyMellette CountyMiner CountyMinnehaha CountyMoody CountyOglala Lakota CountyPennington CountyPerkins CountyPotter CountyRoberts CountySanborn CountySpink CountyStanley CountySully CountyTodd CountyTripp CountyTurner CountyUnion CountyWalworth CountyYankton CountyZiebach CountyHughes County Hughes
Counties of South Dakota · Hughes highlighted

History

Formed in 1873 from Buffalo County, Nowlin County, Stanley County and Sterling County

An old deed may name a county that no longer exists, or a boundary that has since moved.

Hughes County was created by Dakota Territory from Buffalo County on January 8, 1873, and was named after Alexander Hughes. When Dakota Territory became the state of South Dakota on November 2, 1889, Hughes County became a county in the new state.

Boundary changes from the Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

  1. 1873
    Hughes County created Hughes created by Dakota Territory in present South Dakota from Buffalo. Nowlin (extinct), Stanley, and Sterling (extinct) were attached to Hughes "for judicial purposes" on 26 January 1887.
    from Buffalofrom Nowlinfrom Stanleyfrom Sterling
    · Dak. Terr. Laws 1872, 10th sess., ch. 16, sec. 32/p. 37; Dak. Terr. Laws 1887, 17th sess., ch. 175/p. 372
  2. 1889
    Became part of South Dakota Hughes became a county in the state of South Dakota. · U.S. Stat., vol. 25, ch. 180[1889]/pp. 676-684; U.S. Stat., vol. 26, no. 5/pp. 1548-1549; Swindler, 9:107-109; Van Zandt, 134
  3. 1890
    Changed Nowlin (extinct) and Sterling (extinct) detached from Hughes, attached to Meade; attachment of Stanley to Hughes was confirmed. All attachments were “for the levy and collection of taxes therein.”
    NowlinSterlingMeadeStanley
    · S. Dak. Laws 1890, 1st sess., ch. 65/p. 159
  4. 1890
    Changed Stanley fully organized, detached from Hughes.
    Stanley
    · "Dakota's Counties," 13
  5. 1891
    Gained territory Hughes gained Farm Island in the Missouri River from the Sioux Reservation. · S. Dak. Laws 1891, 2d sess., ch. 45/p. 106

Land and parcels

What the maps cover in Hughes

Who publishes each layer, how good it is, and when we last checked.

Official
from the office that keeps the record
Good enough
a reliable statewide or national copy
Fallback
a guide only; check the official record
Missing
nothing public found yet

People and land

Hughes by the Census

Population
17,765 2020 Census count
Housing units
7,922 2020 Census count
Land area
742 square miles
Water area
59 square miles
People per sq mi
24 population ÷ land area

Source: US Census Bureau, 2020 Census; US Census Bureau, 2020 Gazetteer Files. Not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Rules and offices

Who to ask before you build, dig or sell

Official county pages only. We link to them; we do not copy them, because they change.

Inside a city or town, permits usually come from that city rather than the county.

Zoning and code

County government

See your own lot on these maps

Open Hughes County on Parcel Chart's free map and click your parcel. Save it with a free account; the full record of your place (site map, projects, documents) is Pro, in early access.

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Questions

Common questions about Hughes County

When was Hughes County founded?
Hughes County was founded in 1873, formed from Buffalo County, Nowlin County, Stanley County and Sterling County, and named after Alexander Hughes.
What is the county seat of Hughes County?
The county seat of Hughes County is Pierre.
Is there an online parcel map for Hughes County?
Yes. Hughes County publishes a parcel map of 12,886 parcels, rated good enough here. You can click any parcel on it in Parcel Chart's free map, no sign-in needed.
Has Hughes County's boundary or name changed?
Hughes County was created in 1873 from Buffalo County, Nowlin County, Stanley County and Sterling County. Since then the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries records 4 later changes, chiefly involving Stanley County, Meade County and Nowlin County.
Is my lot in a flood zone?
We do not have flood maps for Hughes County yet. Look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, which shows the effective flood map for any lot.

Nearby

Counties next door