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Welcome to Pennington County ...

Time Zone: Pennington County lies in the Mountain Time Zone (MST/MDT) and observes daylight saving time.

The community of Rapid City is the Seat for Pennington County.

Pennington County was founded in 1875.

From the Census Estimates for 2019, <1> Pennington had a population of 113,775 people. This is an increase of 12.38% since the last Census (which gave a population of 101,243 people in 2010).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Pennington represented 12.43% of the total population of South Dakota.

Below are some of the communities located in Pennington County:

  • Box Elder
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Box Elder have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Box Elder
    • Box Elder is located in Pennington County (SD)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,564 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Box Elder <3>
  • Central Pennington
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Central Pennington have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central Pennington
    • Central Pennington is located in Pennington County (SD)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,488 people
  • Dalzell Canyon
    (44 miles [70.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dalzell Canyon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dalzell Canyon
    • Dalzell Canyon is located in Pennington County (SD)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 6 people
  • East Central Pennington
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Central Pennington have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Central Pennington
    • East Central Pennington is located in Pennington County (SD)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 423 people
  • Hill City
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hill City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill City
    • Hill City is located in Pennington County (SD)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,074 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hill City <3>
  • Keystone
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keystone
    • Keystone is located in Pennington County (SD)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Keystone <3>
  • Mount Rushmore
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Rushmore have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Rushmore
    • Mount Rushmore is located in Pennington County (SD)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,152 people
  • New Underwood
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Underwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Underwood
    • New Underwood is located in Pennington County (SD)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 679 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Underwood <3>
  • Continue List   (7 more) ...
    • Northeast Pennington
      (55 miles [88.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Northeast Pennington have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northeast Pennington
      • Northeast Pennington is located in Pennington County (SD)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 33 people
    • Quinn
      (48 miles [77.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Quinn have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinn
      • Quinn is located in Pennington County (SD)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 62 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Quinn <3>
    • Rapid City
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rapid City
      • Rapid City is located in Pennington County (SD)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 78,864 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rapid City <3>
    • Rapid City East
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rapid City East have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rapid City East
      • Rapid City East is located in Pennington County (SD)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,206 people
    • Wall
      (43 miles [69.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wall have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wall
      • Wall is located in Pennington County (SD)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 885 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wall <3>
    • Wasta
      (32 miles [51.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wasta have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wasta
      • Wasta is located in Pennington County (SD)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wasta <3>
    • West Pennington
      (33 miles [53.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Pennington have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Pennington
      • West Pennington is located in Pennington County (SD)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,840 people

Websites of Interest ...

Footnotes ...

<1>On a yearly basis, the US Census Bureau creates an estimate of the county's population. Keep in mind that this is an estimate and not an actual count. The last physical count was the 2010 Census and the next count will be for the 2020 Census.
<2>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
 

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This page was last modified/updated: 21 Mar 2025