{"id":7512,"date":"2023-09-02T13:28:08","date_gmt":"2023-09-02T13:28:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/?p=7512"},"modified":"2026-08-15T18:04:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T18:04:14","slug":"hughes-county-south-dakota","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/hughes-county-south-dakota\/","title":{"rendered":"Hughes County, South Dakota"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Hughes County is a county in South Dakota, United States, on the Missouri River in the center of the state. It had a population of 17,765 at the 2020 census and covers 801 square miles (2,070 km2), centred near 44\u00b023\u2032N 99\u00b059\u2032W.<\/p>\n<p>Pierre is the county seat, and its postal code is 57501. The county holds one city besides the seat, one town, one census-designated place and several unincorporated communities. Hughes County observes Central Time and was created January 8, 1873.<\/p>\n<h2>Towns &amp; Villages in Hughes County<\/h2>\n<p>Hughes County has ten named places on record: two incorporated cities (Pierre, the county seat and South Dakota&#8217;s state capital, and Blunt), one incorporated town (Harrold), one census-designated place (Oahe Acres), and six unincorporated communities. Only Pierre, Blunt and Harrold have their own ZIP codes; the rest are served by a nearby post office.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tv-table-scroll\">\n<table>\n<tr>\n<th>Place<\/th>\n<th>Type<\/th>\n<th>Pop.<\/th>\n<th>ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Pierre<\/td>\n<td>City &middot; seat<\/td>\n<td>14,091<\/td>\n<td>57501<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Blunt<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>57522<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Harrold<\/td>\n<td>Town<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>57536<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Oahe Acres<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>57501<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Alto<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Canning<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>De Grey<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Gray Goose<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Oahe<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Rousseau<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<h2>ZIP Codes<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>57501 &mdash; Pierre (also serves Oahe Acres and the surrounding countryside)<\/li>\n<li>57522 &mdash; Blunt<\/li>\n<li>57536 &mdash; Harrold<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Alto, Canning, De Grey, Gray Goose, Oahe and Rousseau are unincorporated crossroads without their own post office; mail there routes through Pierre or the nearest municipality.<\/p>\n<h2>Geography<\/h2>\n<p>Most of Hughes County slopes toward the southeast, though hills along the western edge drop sharply into the Missouri River valley. The high point, 1,952 feet above sea level, sits on the upper part of the eastern boundary. The Missouri River (impounded upstream as Lake Oahe) forms the county&#8217;s southwestern edge, and Farm Island, downstream of Pierre, has been part of the county since June 4, 1891.<\/p>\n<p>Hughes County borders <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/sully-county\/\">Sully County<\/a> to the north, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/hyde-county-south-dakota\/\">Hyde County<\/a> to the east, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/lyman-county\/\">Lyman County<\/a> to the south and <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/stanley-county\/\">Stanley County<\/a> to the west, across the Missouri River.<\/p>\n<h2>Demographics<\/h2>\n<p>Hughes County had 17,765 residents at the 2020 census, the least populous capital county in the nation, and South Dakota&#8217;s 12th most populous county. Pierre, with 14,091 residents at the same census, and Blunt are its two largest communities; nearly four in five county residents live within Pierre&#8217;s city limits. The county&#8217;s density works out to about 24 people per square mile of land, concentrated almost entirely around the Missouri River valley and thinning to open ranchland toward the eastern county line. Median household income in Hughes County runs above the South Dakota median of $71,810, reflecting the concentration of steady state-government paychecks in Pierre.<\/p>\n<h2>Economy &amp; Local Life<\/h2>\n<p>South Dakota&#8217;s state government is the county&#8217;s dominant employer, since Pierre is the capital and home to the Governor&#8217;s office, the Legislature and most state agencies. Healthcare (Avera St. Mary&#8217;s Hospital), education, and agriculture &mdash; wheat and cattle on the county&#8217;s rangeland &mdash; round out the local economy. The annual legislative session draws visitors to Pierre each winter.<\/p>\n<h2>History<\/h2>\n<p>Hughes County was created January 8, 1873, and organized November 26, 1880. It was named for Alexander Hughes, a territorial legislator. Farm Island, in the Missouri River just downstream of Pierre, was annexed into the county on June 4, 1891. Pierre&#8217;s selection as Dakota Territory&#8217;s capital in 1883, and then South Dakota&#8217;s capital at statehood in 1889, shaped the county&#8217;s growth around government administration rather than agriculture alone. Politically the county leans strongly Republican; the last Democratic presidential candidate to carry it was Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936.<\/p>\n<h2>Getting There<\/h2>\n<p>U.S. Route 14, U.S. Route 83 and South Dakota Highway 34 cross the county through Pierre.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Blunt &mdash; 28 miles east of Pierre<\/li>\n<li>Harrold &mdash; 33 miles east of Pierre<\/li>\n<li>Fort Pierre &mdash; adjoining Pierre, across the Missouri River in Stanley County<\/li>\n<li>Huron &mdash; about 75 miles east of Pierre<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Pierre Regional Airport, in the county, provides commercial air service.<\/p>\n<h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where is Hughes County, South Dakota?<\/strong><br \/>It sits in central South Dakota, on the Missouri River, roughly 175 miles northwest of Sioux Falls.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the population of Hughes County?<\/strong><br \/>17,765 people, per the 2020 census.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How big is Hughes County?<\/strong><br \/>801 square miles (2,070 km2), of which 742 square miles is land and 59 square miles is water.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the county seat of Hughes County?<\/strong><br \/>Pierre, which is also South Dakota&#8217;s state capital.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How many towns are in Hughes County?<\/strong><br \/>Two incorporated municipalities besides Pierre &mdash; the city of Blunt and the town of Harrold &mdash; plus the CDP of Oahe Acres and several unincorporated communities.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What ZIP codes are in Hughes County?<\/strong><br \/>57501 (Pierre), 57522 (Blunt) and 57536 (Harrold).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why is Hughes County called the least populous capital county in the nation?<\/strong><br \/>Among all U.S. counties that contain a state capital, Hughes County&#8217;s population is the smallest, since Pierre itself is one of the least populous state capitals.<\/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>Hughes County is a county in South Dakota, United States, on the Missouri River in the center of the state. It had a population of 17,765 at the 2020 census and covers 801 square miles (2,070 km2), centred near 44\u00b023\u2032N 99\u00b059\u2032W. Pierre is the county seat, and its postal code is 57501. The county holds [&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":"Towns & Villages in Hughes County, South Dakota","_seopress_titles_desc":"Hughes County, SD: Pierre (the state capital), Blunt, Harrold, ZIP codes, population, geography, neighboring counties and local history.","_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-7512","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\/7512","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=7512"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7512\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10104,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7512\/revisions\/10104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}