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Ham radio operators in South Dakota: new licenses by county

2,155 licensed amateur radio operators; 57 new in the past 12 months. Updated weekly from FCC data.

At a glance · Data as of

New hams · last 30 days
2
New hams · last 12 months
57
▼ 15% vs prior 12 mo
Active licensed hams
2,155
Upgrades · 12 mo
39
Vanity callsigns · 12 mo
28
Address updates · 12 mo
25
Often a move into the area
Expiring · next 6 mo
154

About ham radio in South Dakota

New licenses slowed in South Dakota: 57 new hams in the past 12 months, 15% fewer than the year before. South Dakota ranks #48 of 52 states and territories for new licenses. Minnehaha County leads the state with 17 new hams. Technicians make up 44% of the state’s licensees, below the U.S. average of 48%, pointing to an experienced, HF-heavy community. 39 operators upgraded their license in the past year, the moment many buy their first HF rig.

New hams by month

New hams per month in South Dakota, October 2025 to September 2026 57 in total. Highest: 11 in March 2026. Lowest: 0 in October 2025. Down 15% from the prior 12 months. Oct 2025: 0 new hams 0 Oct 2025 Nov 2025: 2 new hams 2 Nov Dec 2025: 2 new hams 2 Dec Jan 2026: 6 new hams 6 Jan 2026 Feb 2026: 3 new hams 3 Feb Mar 2026: 11 new hams 11 Mar Apr 2026: 3 new hams 3 Apr May 2026: 6 new hams 6 May Jun 2026: 8 new hams 8 Jun Jul 2026: 8 new hams 8 Jul Aug 2026: 6 new hams 6 Aug Sep 2026: 2 new hams 2 Sep
Complete calendar months only, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026. The current month is left out until it ends.
Show data table
New hams per month in South Dakota
MonthNew hams
Oct 20250
Nov 20252
Dec 20252
Jan 20266
Feb 20263
Mar 202611
Apr 20263
May 20266
Jun 20268
Jul 20268
Aug 20266
Sep 20262
Total57

License classes

Active licensees in South Dakota by license class, compared with U.S.
ClassHamsShareU.S.
Technician 93744%48%
General 58427%25%
Amateur Extra 50223%21%
Advanced 934%3%
Novice / Other 392%2%

Bar = South Dakota share · Tick = U.S. share

In the past 12 months, 15 operators upgraded to General and 23 to Amateur Extra.

How South Dakota compares

#48 of 52 states and territories for new hams in the past 12 months

Rates per 1,000 active licensees
Per 1,000 active hamsSouth DakotaU.S.
New hams, past 12 months26.532.3
Upgrades, past 12 months18.114.7
Expiring, next 6 months71.557.3

57 new hams in South Dakota this past year. Get next month’s list free.

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Top 6 South Dakota counties for new hams

Scroll sideways for more columns →

#CountyNew hams 12 moChange vs prior yearActive hamsNew per 1,000
1Minnehaha County17—47036.2
2Brookings County6—7085.7
3Lincoln County5—11344.2
4Fall River County4—6561.5
5Meade County2—7427.0
6Pennington County1▼ 96%5581.8

— in Change means fewer than 10 new hams the year before.

All South Dakota counties

6 counties with their own page. Numbers are new hams in the past 12 months.

Smaller South Dakota counties

These 60 counties have too few licensees or too little recent activity for a page of their own, so their numbers are listed here.

Show all 60 smaller counties
CountyActive hamsNew hams · 12 mo
Aurora County21
Beadle County340
Bennett County10
Bon Homme County220
Brown County562
Brule County50
Buffalo County10
Butte County150
Campbell County10
Charles Mix County60
Clark County50
Clay County301
Codington County651
Corson County00
Custer County666
Davison County430
Day County50
Deuel County210
Dewey County10
Douglas County20
Edmunds County61
Faulk County20
Grant County150
Gregory County20
Haakon County30
Hamlin County140
Hand County70
Hanson County200
Harding County20
Hughes County491
Hutchinson County70
Hyde County20
Jackson County20
Jerauld County50
Jones County10
Kingsbury County90
Lake County221
Lawrence County861
Lyman County10
Marshall County60
McCook County130
McPherson County40
Mellette County10
Miner County31
Moody County80
Oglala Lakota County10
Perkins County20
Potter County00
Roberts County120
Sanborn County20
Spink County60
Stanley County20
Sully County30
Todd County20
Tripp County10
Turner County120
Union County292
Walworth County70
Yankton County381
Ziebach County20

Neighboring states

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Figures may be reused with credit to Ham Recruiter (CC BY 4.0).

Questions about hams in South Dakota

How many ham radio operators are in South Dakota?

2,155 active amateur radio licensees are on file for South Dakota as of Oct 1, 2026.

How many new hams were licensed in South Dakota last year?

57 people in South Dakota received their first FCC amateur radio license in the 12 months ending Oct 1, 2026.

Which South Dakota counties have the most new hams?

In the past 12 months: Minnehaha County (17), Brookings County (6) and Lincoln County (5).

Where does this data come from?

From the FCC Universal Licensing System (ULS) public amateur license database, which we download every Monday. Addresses are matched to counties with the U.S. Census Bureau geocoder. This page shows totals only.

Can I see the names or call signs on this page?

No. Public pages show totals only. Verified Ham Recruiter users can search and export lists for outreach; see how licensee information is handled.

About this data

Data as of . Source: FCC Universal Licensing System (ULS) weekly amateur license database; county from U.S. Census Bureau geocoding. Aggregates only, no individual licensee data is shown. Aggregate figures © Ham Recruiter, CC BY 4.0.

How we count

  • New ham: an active licensee whose first license was granted in the period.
  • Address updates: a change of FCC mailing address, often a move into the area.
  • Counts use each licensee’s current FCC address. Someone licensed here who later moved is counted where they live now.
  • Each license keeps only its most recent event of each type, so two upgrades in one year count once.
  • PO-box-only addresses often can’t be matched to a county, so rural counties are slightly undercounted.

100% of South Dakota licensees could be matched to a county.