Bolthole Index county-legal census · checked 2026-10-07
5 of South Dakota's 66 counties — 8% — set no minimum dwelling size. That is the 26th-largest count of any state. The strongest of them on the Bolthole Index is Custer County (70/100). Every entry below cites the county’s own official source.
Rules change, and cities inside these counties set their own — treat this as a verified starting point, not legal advice. All 587 counties nationwide → South Dakota: no building codes → South Dakota: no zoning → South Dakota: no codes, no zoning → South Dakota: owner-builder → South Dakota: tiny homes → Full South Dakota profile →
5 of 66 South Dakota counties · sorted by Index score
County zoning minimum dwelling size outside incorporated municipalities. This conclusion concerns zoning-based dimensional regulation and does not displace subdivision, septic, …
Planning and Economic - Custer County, South Dakota ↗County zoning minimum dwelling size outside Hot Springs and Edgemont. State septic minimum-lot requirements and other non-zoning rules still apply.
Planning & Zoning - Fall River County, South Dakota ↗County zoning minimum-dwelling-size standards in unincorporated Butte County. This absence conclusion is limited to county zoning; building, health, septic, and other applicable…
Butte County Equalization & Planning Building Permit ↗Minimum dwelling size for fee land in unincorporated Oglala Lakota County. The county page states that its no-planning-and-zoning conclusion concerns fee land. The page directs …
Planning & Zoning - Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota ↗Minimum dwelling-size requirements imposed by county zoning in unincorporated Dewey County. No county zoning or land-use ordinance supplies a minimum dwelling size; other state,…
2024 WarHawk District Hazard Mitigation Plan ↗Every county here has a full profile — water, land prices, hazard safety, seclusion, and the rest of its building rules. See the South Dakota state page for all 66 counties ranked, or go back to the national list.
Off-grid gear
Building on land in one of these South Dakota counties? The kit we'd start with:
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General guidance, not legal advice. Off-grid, building, and land-use rules are often set at the county level and change often. Verify with your county and state before acting. Data reviewed 2026-06-26.
