Elevation of Pierre
1,479ft
above sea level · 451 m
Pierre is the capital of South Dakota. Of the 50 state capitals, it’s the 9th highest. The state’s largest city is Sioux Falls.
By the Mapsfera Team
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Place facts
- Coordinates
- 44.37° N · 100.35° W
- In degrees, minutes and seconds: 44° 22′ 6″ N · 100° 21′ 3″ W
- UTM coordinates
- 14T · 392,360 E · 4,913,670 N
- Zone 14 · NAD83, the official US datum
- Time zone
- Central Time
- UTC−6 · UTC−5 in summer (daylight saving time)
- Population (2025)
- 13,848 people
- 13.0 sq mi of land · 1,063 people/sq mi
- Elevation model
- USGS 3DEP, 1 m grid
- Lidar from October 2023: the ground height at the city’s reference point.
Population
Pierre had 13,848 residents on July 1, 2025, according to Census Bureau estimates, 1.7% fewer than in April 2020, when it had 14,093. Its 13.0 sq mi of land work out to 1,063 people/sq mi; the state average is 12 people/sq mi.
It’s the 11th most populous of the 485 places the Census counts in South Dakota (cities, towns and CDPs), after Sioux Falls (213,748), and holds 1.5% of the state’s population.
It lies entirely within Hughes County. Its reference point in the USGS gazetteer is 1.6 mi from the geographic center the Census gives for the city.
Compared with other state capitals
Pierre sits at 1,479 ft (451 m) above sea level. Of the 50 state capitals, the highest is Santa Fe (6,997 ft) and the lowest is Providence (9 ft). The average is 1,098 ft: Pierre is 381 ft above it.
The highest point in South Dakota is Black Elk Peak, at 7,242 ft according to the USGS: 5,763 ft above Pierre, 162 mi away in a straight line.
- 9 Pierre 1,479 ft
Each color band is 500 m (1,640 ft), the same colors as the map. See the full list
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Frequently asked questions
What people most often ask about the elevation of Pierre.
What is the elevation of Pierre?
Pierre is 1,479 feet (451 m) above sea level. That’s the ground height from the USGS 3DEP elevation model at the city’s reference point in the official gazetteer (GNIS). The city doesn’t have a single elevation: it rises and falls from one neighborhood to another.
What are the coordinates of Pierre?
Latitude 44.36832 and longitude -100.35097, in decimal degrees (44° 22′ 6″ N · 100° 21′ 3″ W). In UTM, zone 14: 392,360 E and 4,913,670 N, on NAD83.
How does Pierre rank among the highest state capitals?
It’s the 9th highest of the 50 state capitals. The highest is Santa Fe (6,997 ft) and the lowest is Providence (9 ft).
What county is Pierre in?
Hughes County, South Dakota.
Which is higher, Pierre or Bismarck?
Bismarck. Pierre sits at 1,479 ft and Bismarck at 1,695 ft: a difference of 216 ft, 170 mi apart in a straight line.
How is elevation measured?
Elevation is the height above mean sea level. In the US the official reference is the NAVD88 vertical datum. Summits are surveyed on the ground, with leveling and precise GPS. The USGS 3DEP is an elevation model of the whole country, largely from 1-meter lidar: it gives the ground height at every point. That’s why it can differ by a few feet from the official figure of a sharp summit.
Sources
- USGS 3DEP (EPQS service) The elevation: the ground height at the reference point. Public domain.
- USGS GNIS (official gazetteer) The city’s reference point (“Populated Place”). Public domain.
- U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 estimates Population, land area (2025 Gazetteer) and counties. Public domain.
- TIGERweb (U.S. Census Bureau) Which county and city the point falls in. Public domain.
- timezone-boundary-builder The point’s time zone (ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors).
- Terrain Tiles, OpenStreetMap and OpenFreeMap The relief shading and the base map (ODbL).
Methodology and sources · Spotted a mistake? Let us know