Jefferson South Dakota Map

About Jefferson, South Dakota

Jefferson is a locality in Union County, South Dakota, United States. It is a small community with a population of 554. The population density is 542.3 people per km². Jefferson is located at 42.6025°N, 96.5592°W. It observes the Central Time (America/Chicago) timezone. ZIP code: 57038.

Jefferson, South Dakota, lies where the rolling prairie begins to softly yield to the wide embrace of the Missouri River. It lies 10.8 miles north-west of Sioux City, IA (from Sioux City, IA: bearing 311°T), and is situated 8.8 miles north-north-west of Dakota Dunes. The land here is a study in subtle gradients, a vast canvas of cultivated fields that shimmer with the gold of ripening corn and the deep green of soybeans under an immense sky. The air, especially in the quiet hours of dawn, carries a faint, clean scent of damp earth and distant, blooming wildflowers, a fragrance that seems to settle over the scattered farmsteads and the unassuming heart of Jefferson itself. There are no dramatic peaks or deep valleys to command the eye, only the steady, patient architecture of the land, shaped by wind and water into a landscape that feels both timeless and intimately present. The history of Jefferson is tied to the very water that defines its eastern edge, the mighty Missouri, a artery that once pulsed with steamboat traffic and the dreams of westward expansion. Early settlers, drawn by the fertile bottomlands, established a community that learned to live with the river's moods, its generous floods and its sometimes grudging recession. The economy, once reliant on agriculture and the river's trade, now finds its pulse in the surrounding farmlands, with grain elevators standing as silent sentinels to the harvest. Though Jefferson is small, its connection to the broader currents of American history is undeniable, a quiet testament to the enduring spirit of those who chose to make their lives on these fertile, wind-swept plains.

About This Jefferson Map Page

This page provides an embedded street and satellite map of Jefferson, South Dakota — switch between views using the small square in the bottom left-hand corner of the map. Coordinates: 42.602495, -96.559199. Live weather conditions are sourced directly from the National Weather Service, with current observations and a 7-day forecast also powered by Open-Meteo. Real-time local news and world news feeds keep the page current, while a Wikipedia summary or an editorially written description provides background on Jefferson and Union County.

Detailed location data for Jefferson includes the ZIP code (57038), telephone area code (605), county seat of Union County (Elk Point), and school district assignment (Elk Point-Jefferson School District 61-7). These are among the most commonly searched location details for any US city or town.

Location data is drawn from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) and cross-verified against 2020 US Census records by coordinate proximity — ensuring the correct Jefferson is identified even where the name is shared across multiple counties or states. Population figures are sourced from the 2020 US Census.