{"id":7454,"date":"2023-09-01T13:46:41","date_gmt":"2023-09-01T13:46:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/?p=7454"},"modified":"2026-08-20T23:24:32","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T23:24:32","slug":"bennett-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/bennett-county\/","title":{"rendered":"Bennett County, South Dakota"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Bennett County is a county in South Dakota, United States, on the state&#8217;s southern border with Nebraska, entirely surrounded by the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. It had a population of 3,381 at the 2020 census and covers 1,190 square miles (3,083 km2) centred near 43\u00b011\u2032N 101\u00b041\u2032W.<\/p>\n<p>Martin is the county seat and its postal code is 57551. The county has one incorporated city, one census-designated place and several unincorporated communities. It observes Mountain Time and carries FIPS code 46007.<\/p>\n<h2>Towns &amp; Villages in Bennett County<\/h2>\n<p>Bennett County has one incorporated city (Martin, the seat), one census-designated place (Allen) and a handful of small unincorporated communities and rural place names. Type legend: City &middot; seat = incorporated seat, CDP = census-designated place, Unincorp. = unincorporated community or locale.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tv-table-scroll\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Place<\/th>\n<th>Type<\/th>\n<th>Pop.<\/th>\n<th>ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Martin<\/td>\n<td>City &middot; seat<\/td>\n<td>1,057<\/td>\n<td>57551<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Allen<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>378<\/td>\n<td>57714<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Tuthill<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>57574<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Vetal<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Blackpipe<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Harrington<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Swett<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>Allen sits on the county&#8217;s western edge near the Oglala Lakota County line and is sometimes confused with communities of the same name elsewhere on Pine Ridge; the Allen listed here is the census-designated place inside Bennett County. Bad Wound, Black Eyes and Patricia, carried on the old page, are rural place names without a verifiable standalone population or ZIP and are omitted here pending confirmation.<\/p>\n<h2>ZIP Codes<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>57551 &mdash; Martin<\/li>\n<li>57714 &mdash; Allen<\/li>\n<li>57574 &mdash; Tuthill<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Bennett County has three standard delivery ZIP codes; smaller unincorporated communities such as Vetal, Blackpipe and Harrington are served by the nearest of these three post offices rather than carrying their own code.<\/p>\n<h2>Geography<\/h2>\n<p>Bennett County lies in south-central South Dakota on rolling mixed-grass prairie, with elevations ranging from about 2,700 to 3,500 feet. The Little White River crosses the county west to east, and the county sits roughly 1,650 kilometers (1,030 miles) from the nearest coastline, near the location often cited as the North American continental pole of inaccessibility. Bennett County borders <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/jackson-county-south-dakota\/\">Jackson County<\/a> to the north, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/mellette-county\/\">Mellette County<\/a> to the northeast, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/todd-county-south-dakota\/\">Todd County<\/a> to the east, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/cherry-county\/\">Cherry County<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/sheridan-county-nebraska\/\">Sheridan County<\/a> in Nebraska to the south, and <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/oglala-lakota-county\/\">Oglala Lakota County<\/a> to the west.<\/p>\n<h2>Demographics<\/h2>\n<p>The 2020 census counted 3,381 residents. Martin and Allen are the two largest communities. American Indian and Alaska Native residents make up roughly 62 percent of the population, with most enrolled in the Oglala Sioux Tribe. Median household income runs well below the South Dakota median of $71,810, reflecting the county&#8217;s rural reservation-adjacent economy. Population density is under three people per square mile, among the lowest in the state.<\/p>\n<h2>Economy &amp; Local Life<\/h2>\n<p>Ranching and farming, particularly cattle grazing on the county&#8217;s grassland, anchor the local economy, alongside county and tribal government employment and the Bennett County School District based in Martin. The county&#8217;s economy is closely tied to the neighboring Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, and many residents commute for services and employment across the Oglala Lakota County line. Martin hosts the county&#8217;s grocery store, hardware store, clinic and the Bennett County Courthouse, the small commercial core most residents rely on for everyday needs across a sparsely populated county.<\/p>\n<h2>History<\/h2>\n<p>Bennett County was created by the South Dakota legislature on June 3, 1909, and organized April 27, 1912. It is named for either John E. Bennett or Granville G. Bennett, both prominent South Dakota jurists of the territorial and early statehood era. Although carved from land within the original Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, the county was removed from reservation status by an act of Congress in 1911; the legal status of that removal remains disputed to this day, and the Oglala Sioux Tribe continues to regard the county as tribal land for some purposes. The dispute has surfaced repeatedly in later decades over questions of taxation, land use and law-enforcement jurisdiction between the county and the tribe.<\/p>\n<h2>Getting There<\/h2>\n<p>U.S. Highway 18 crosses the county east\u2013west through Martin, and South Dakota Highway 73 runs north\u2013south.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Pine Ridge &mdash; about 25 miles west<\/li>\n<li>Winner &mdash; about 55 miles east<\/li>\n<li>Valentine, Nebraska &mdash; about 45 miles south<\/li>\n<li>Rapid City &mdash; about 100 miles northwest<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The nearest commercial airport is Rapid City Regional Airport.<\/p>\n<h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where is Bennett County?<\/strong><br \/>It is in the far southern part of South Dakota, on the Nebraska state line, surrounded by the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the population of Bennett County?<\/strong><br \/>3,381 residents at the 2020 census.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How big is Bennett County?<\/strong><br \/>It covers 1,190 square miles (3,083 km2).<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the county seat of Bennett County?<\/strong><br \/>Martin is the county seat.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How many towns are in Bennett County?<\/strong><br \/>One incorporated city (Martin), one census-designated place (Allen) and several small unincorporated communities.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What ZIP codes are in Bennett County?<\/strong><br \/>57551 (Martin), 57714 (Allen) and 57574 (Tuthill).<\/p>\n<p><strong>What time zone is Bennett County in?<\/strong><br \/>Mountain Time, unlike most of South Dakota, which observes Central Time.<\/p>\n<p>More counties in this state: <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/category\/south-dakota\/\">Towns and villages in South Dakota<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bennett County is a county in South Dakota, United States, on the state&#8217;s southern border with Nebraska, entirely surrounded by the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. It had a population of 3,381 at the 2020 census and covers 1,190 square miles (3,083 km2) centred near 43\u00b011\u2032N 101\u00b041\u2032W. Martin is the county seat and its postal code [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Bennett County, South Dakota: Towns & ZIP Codes","_seopress_titles_desc":"Bennett County, South Dakota: population, Martin the county seat, ZIP codes, geography, demographics and history near Pine Ridge.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[6],"class_list":["post-7454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-south-dakota","tag-towns-and-cities","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7454","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7454"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7454\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10775,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7454\/revisions\/10775"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}