The Meaning of the First Numbers on a South Dakota License Plate

What do the First Numbers on South Dakota License Plates Mean?

The first number on a South Dakota License Plate tells a story. It's similar to people sitting on a bench in a mall or in a busy area. You can actually watch the numbers on cars and do a little 'profiling.' Sioux Falls businesses do it all the time when they look in their parking lot. License plates tell the story of where people are from. License plates on our vehicles tell a story.

For instance, heading to work on any weekday morning here in Sioux Falls, you'll see mostly 1's and 44's. One (1) for Minnehaha County and 44 for Lincoln County. But weekends are a different story.

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How many county plate codes are there in South Dakota?

There are 67 different county codes on South Dakota license plates, one for each of South Dakota's counties. The codes are 1 through 67.

JD Collins/KIKN via Sprint Sioux Falls

South Dakota License Plate History

South Dakota has been requiring plates on cars since 1905. At the time you had to provide your own license plate for that new horseless carriage. In 1913 the state started to issue standardized plates.

When established in 1956 (and revised in 1987) the first nine counties were ordered by population.

How are South Dakota license plates numbered?

Starting with 10 they are in alphabetical order through Ziebach, with Oglala Lakota County (65) and Todd (67) rounding out the list.

Now, the top 10 plate numbers and populations don't correlate anymore. 1 and 2 are still 1 and 2, but Lincoln (44) is now 3rd in population.

Next time you're out shopping on the weekend take a look and you'll see what I mean. Take a look at the chart, then consider how far people travel to come to shop.

South Dakota License Plate County Numbers and Counties:

County # County County seat

1 Minnehaha Sioux Falls

2 Pennington Rapid City

3 Brown Aberdeen

4 Beadle Huron

5 Codington Watertown

6 Brookings Brookings

7 Yankton Yankton

8 Davison Mitchell

9 Lawrence Deadwood

10 Aurora Plankinton

11 Bennett Martin

12 Bon Homme Tyndall

13 Brule Chamberlain

14 Buffalo Gannvalley

15 Butte Belle Fourche

16 Campbell Mound City

17 Charles Mix Lake Andes

18 Clark Clark

19 Clay Vermillion

20 Corson McIntosh

21 Custer Custer

22 Day Webster

23 Deuel Clear Lake

24 Dewey Timber Lake

25 Douglas Armour

26 Edmunds Ipswich

27 Fall River Hot Springs

28 Faulk Faulkton

29 Grant Milbank

30 Gregory Burke

31 Haakon Philip

32 Hamlin Hayti

33 Hand Miller

34 Hanson Alexandria

35 Harding Buffalo

36 Hughes Pierre

37 Hutchinson Olivet

38 Hyde Highmore

39 Jackson Kadoka

40 Jerauld Wessington Springs

41 Jones Murdo

42 Kingsbury De Smet

43 Lake Madison

44 Lincoln Canton

45 Lyman Kennebec

46 McCook Salem

47 McPherson Leola

48 Marshall Britton

49 Meade Sturgis

50 Mellette White River

51 Miner Howard

52 Moody Flandreau

53 Perkins Bison

54 Potter Gettysburg

55 Roberts Sisseton

56 Sanborn Woonsocket

57 Spink Redfield

58 Stanley Fort Pierre

59 Sully Onida

60 Tripp Winner

61 Turner Parker

62 Union Elk Point

63 Walworth Selby

64 Ziebach Dupree

65 Shannon (none)

66 Washabaugh (incorporated into Jackson County in 1976)

67 Todd (none)

MORE: Where Do Some of South Dakota's Counties Get Their Names?

Source: Wikipedia, BR Licence Plates

What Did South Dakota's License Plate Look Like the Year You Were Born?

The first number on a South Dakota license plate is the county that the car is registered. For example, Pennington county where Rapid City is has a '2' starting its plates. In Sioux Falls you have either a '1' or a '44' depending on your relationship to 57th street.

When established in 1956 (and revised in 1987) the first nine counties were ordered by population. Starting with 10 they are in alphabetical order through Ziebach, with Oglala Lakota County (65) and Todd (67) rounding out the list.

Today the top 10 plate numbers and populations don't correlate anymore. 1 and 2 are still 1 and 2, but Lincoln (44) is now 3rd in population. Beadle is 4 but it's now 11th in population. See the list by population here.

On January 1, 2023, South Dakota started issuing a new license plate design for license plates.

So, let's take a look back at what South Dakota license plates looked like over the last 100 years.

Gallery Credit: Ben Kuhns