Jefferson, South Dakota
22 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1898 and the latest in 1994. It stands in Jefferson Township. It lies in ZIP code area 57038. The Survey maps it on the Jefferson quadrangle. 475 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,115 feet above sea level.
On record in Jefferson
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register within a mile 1 record
The National Register names another town for these. They stand within one mile of this settlement's coordinate.
St. Peter's Catholic Churchlisted 1989 · 0.1 miles away
Population over time
2 figuresJefferson fell from 547 to 475 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 547 | |
| 2020 | 475 | -72 (-13%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
9 surveys from 22 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1898 USGS Elk Point quadrangle1:125000, 2 printings
- 1901 USGS Elk Point quadrangle1:125000
- 1907 USGS Elk Point quadrangle1:125000, 6 printings
- 1955 USGS Sioux City quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1958 USGS Sioux City quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS Sioux City quadrangle1:250000
- 1963 USGS Jefferson quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1986 USGS Sioux City North quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1994 USGS Jefferson quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
41 since 1998Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 41 fires within 5 miles of Jefferson between 1998 and 2020, burning about 324 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 23 |
| Debris and open burning | 10 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 3 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 2 |
| Fireworks | 2 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 September 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 3.0 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | BERNARD |
| 6 July 1999 | Fireworks | under an acre | North Sioux Volunteer Fire Department | DAKOTA DUNES |
| 5 July 2002 | Fireworks | under an acre | North Sioux Volunteer Fire Department | I-29 MM 4 |
| 4 July 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | NORTON |
| 22 July 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | not named |
| 20 July 2007 | Debris and open burning | 20 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | not named |
| 11 July 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | I29 12 |
| 9 June 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | Jefferson Volunteer Fire Department | DURAN |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
1 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Jefferson: 1 past producer. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Clay. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miller Quarry | Clay | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
32 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Jefferson in 32 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 18 thunderstorm wind, 13 hail, 1 tornado. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 1999 | Hail | Jefferson | $300,000 | no account filed |
| October 2013 | Tornado (EF1) | Jefferson | $200,000 | A tornado severely damaged the roof and gutters of a house, and the walls and roof of at least two storage equipment buildings. The tornado caused tree damage, including trunks snapped and large branches blown down, damaged a road sign, blew down or crushed several grain bins, blew down power poles and lines, and flattened corn crops. One of the destroyed grain bins was wrapped around a house, causing damage to the roof, siding, and gutters of the house. The tornado then crossed the Big Sioux River into Plymouth County Iowa. |
| July 1996 | Hail | Jefferson | $20,000 | no account filed |
| August 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Jefferson | $10,000 | Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including several trees blown down. The winds also blew off shingles off a business roof, and blew down power lines, causing a power outage. |
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Jefferson | - | Thunderstorm wind gusts were measured by a Road Weather Information System sensor near North Sioux City. |
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Jefferson | - | Thunderstorm wind gusts were measured by a Road Weather Information System sensor in North Sioux City. |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Jefferson | - | Windows were broken and portions of the roof were removed from a single family home. | The thunderstorm winds also downed numerous large tree limbs. |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Jefferson | - | Thunderstorm winds peeled part of a roof from an outbuilding. |
| March 2023 | Hail | Jefferson | - | Half dollar size hail was observed two miles north-northwest of Jefferson. The largest hail only lasted for one minute in duration. |
| May 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Jefferson | - | A thunderstorm wind gust of 62 mph was measured by South Dakota Road Weather Information System site SD550 3 miles southeast of Jefferson. |
| May 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Jefferson | - | A thunderstorm wind gust of 79 mph was measured by South Dakota Road Weather Information System site SD550 3 miles southeast of Jefferson. |
| May 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Jefferson | - | Numerous powerlines and trees were downed through the city of Jefferson. |
| July 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Jefferson | - | A brief period of thunderstorm wind gusts of 58 mph or greater was measured by South Dakota Road Weather Information System site SD550 3 mile southeast of Jefferson. A peak wind gust of 65 mph occurred at 1532CST. |
| May 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Jefferson | - | Multiple semi-trucks were flipped on I-29 between Elk Point and Jefferson. |
| July 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Jefferson | - | Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including several branches blown down. |
| March 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Jefferson | - | Thunderstorm winds overturned a semi truck at a weigh station. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Jefferson | - | Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including several trees blown down. |
| July 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Jefferson | - | Thunderstorm winds blew down several trees. |
| June 2024 | Hail | Jefferson | - | no account filed |
| June 2017 | Hail | Jefferson | - | no account filed |
| May 2015 | Hail | Jefferson | - | no account filed |
| October 2010 | Hail | Jefferson | - | no account filed |
| July 2005 | Hail | Jefferson | - | no account filed |
| August 2005 | Hail | Jefferson | - | no account filed |
| August 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Jefferson | - | no account filed |
| April 2004 | Hail | Jefferson | - | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Jefferson | - | no account filed |
| June 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Jefferson | - | no account filed |
| June 2002 | Hail | Jefferson | - | no account filed |
| May 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Jefferson | - | no account filed |
| June 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Jefferson | - | no account filed |
| May 1998 | Hail | Jefferson | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| McCook Lake | 5.1 miles | 22 | |
| North Sioux City | 6.6 miles | 12 | |
| Elk Point | 8.6 miles | 20 | |
| Dakota Dunes | 8.8 miles | 13 | |
| Richland | 11.9 miles | 19 | |
| Junction City | 17.5 miles | 18 | |
| Spink | 19.9 miles | 19 | |
| Midway | 21.8 miles | 18 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Jefferson | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2661951 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1255817. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.








