Brookings County, South Dakota: Industrial Catholic Metro county. In 2024, voted R+17%. Republican peak: R+64 in 1904.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+17MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Industrial Catholic MetroAkashic typology
- Population
- 35,3532024 5-year
- Median household income
- $70,0642024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 87.9%2024 5-year
- Black
- 1.1%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 4.6%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+31 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+64 in 1904MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Yankton County, SD · similarity 0.94
2024 results by precinct
Precinct
Margin—
Turnout—
Harris +50Trump +50
Hover precincts for detail. Real precinct boundaries forthcoming.
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1876–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1876 | No data |
| 1880 | No data |
| 1884 | No data |
| 1888 | No data |
| 1892 | −42.6% |
| 1896 | +1.0% |
| 1900 | −20.9% |
| 1904 | −64.1% |
| 1908 | −41.6% |
| 1912 | +30.9% |
| 1916 | +8.0% |
| 1920 | −54.5% |
| 1924 | −38.1% |
| 1928 | −40.8% |
| 1932 | +0.2% |
| 1936 | −10.1% |
| 1940 | −30.5% |
| 1944 | −33.2% |
| 1948 | −15.4% |
| 1952 | −52.6% |
| 1956 | −33.8% |
| 1960 | −31.5% |
| 1964 | +6.3% |
| 1968 | −18.2% |
| 1972 | −4.9% |
| 1976 | −5.9% |
| 1980 | −16.3% |
| 1984 | −24.0% |
| 1988 | −5.2% |
| 1992 | −0.4% |
| 1996 | −0.1% |
| 2000 | +15.2% |
| 2004 | −16.6% |
| 2008 | +5.6% |
| 2012 | −3.2% |
| 2016 | −14.7% |
| 2020 | −13.0% |
| 2024 | −17.4% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 5,978 | 8,575 | 14,939 | ||
| R | 6,110 | 8,000 | 14,567 | ||
| R | 4,879 | 6,748 | 12,680 | ||
| R | 5,827 | 6,220 | 12,400 | ||
| D | 7,207 | 6,431 | 13,945 | ||
| R | 5,443 | 7,662 | 13,375 | ||
| D | 6,212 | 4,546 | 10,984 | ||
| R | 5,105 | 5,112 | 11,272 | ||
| R | 4,645 | 4,698 | 12,002 | ||
| R | 4,860 | 5,394 | 10,305 | ||
| R | 4,089 | 6,679 | 10,814 | ||
| R | 3,934 | 5,727 | 10,981 | ||
| R | 4,685 | 5,278 | 10,026 | ||
| R | 4,701 | 5,182 | 9,916 | ||
| R | 3,202 | 4,674 | 8,081 | ||
| D | 4,191 | 3,692 | 7,883 | ||
| R | 2,974 | 5,710 | 8,684 | ||
| R | 2,620 | 5,293 | 7,913 | ||
| R | 1,861 | 5,988 | 7,849 | ||
| R | 2,907 | 3,975 | 6,926 | ||
| R | 2,073 | 4,136 | 6,209 | ||
| R | 2,671 | 5,016 | 7,687 | ||
| R | 3,161 | 3,899 | 7,302 | ||
| D | 3,247 | 3,231 | 6,599 | ||
| R | 1,915 | 4,586 | 6,547 | ||
| R | 1,010 | 4,708 | 9,705 | ||
| R | 564 | 2,743 | 3,996 | ||
| D | 1,638 | 1,385 | 3,163 | ||
| O | 740 | 0 | 2,395 | ||
| R | 588 | 1,697 | 2,669 | ||
| R | 353 | 2,220 | 2,914 | ||
| R | 1,084 | 1,707 | 2,976 | ||
| D | 1,288 | 1,263 | 2,593 | ||
| R | 189 | 1,082 | 2,098 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — |
Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
38.5%
Irish
10.4%
English
7.4%
American
1.5%
Polish
1.4%
French
1.3%
Scottish
1.1%
African American
0.9%
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander combined.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
2024 ACS
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 28.0 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Median household income
Inflation-adjusted dollars
$70,064
Brookings County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Brookings County$70,064
South Dakota$75,081
United States$80,734
Brookings County ranks near the middle of US counties by median household income.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
13.2%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 184.8%
Working age (18–64)15.9%
Seniors (65+)12.1%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
90.3%
speak English only
Other Indo-European4.2%
Spanish3.5%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.2%
Other languages0.8%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 49.3% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Home to South Dakota State University, Brookings County posts presidential margins well below the double-digit spreads typical of surrounding agricultural counties, reflecting the moderating pull of a large student and faculty population.
Its margins are typically close. The Democratic margin reached thirty-one points in 1912; the Republican margin reached sixty-four points in 1904. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved four points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was seventeen points.
Its demographics sit near national norms: a 88% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $70,064, and a 13% poverty rate. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Yankton County and Codington County.
Most similar counties
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Brookings County, South Dakota. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/46011/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in South Dakota
More industrial catholic metro counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Brookings County, South Dakota vote in 2024?
In 2024, Brookings County, South Dakota voted Republican by 17.4 points (R+17), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 14,939 votes cast, 5,978 went Democratic and 8,575 went Republican.
What is Brookings County, South Dakota's political typology?
Akashic places Brookings County, South Dakota in the "Industrial Catholic Metro" typology — Mid-size industrial metros with Catholic ethnic roots — among the most competitive, swing-prone ground in the country. The typology is a data-driven cluster built from vote share, vote swing, race and ethnicity, income, language spoken at home, religion, and ancestry. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the county has voted Democratic 6 times, Republican 27 times, and other 1 times.
When did Brookings County, South Dakota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Brookings County, South Dakota voted Democratic was 2008.
How many people live in Brookings County, South Dakota?
Brookings County, South Dakota has a population of 35,353 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Brookings County, South Dakota?
Median household income in Brookings County, South Dakota is $70,064 — below the national median of $80,734. The South Dakota state median is $75,081.
What is the political history of Brookings County, South Dakota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Brookings County, South Dakota from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 6 went Democratic and 27 went Republican. The county's typology — "Industrial Catholic Metro" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.