Day County, South Dakota: Heartland Swing county. In 2024, voted R+30%. Republican peak: R+60 in 1904.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+30MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Heartland SwingAkashic typology
- Population
- 5,4372024 5-year
- Median household income
- $66,0332024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 84.1%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.0%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 2.8%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+34 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+60 in 1904MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Buffalo County, WI · similarity 0.99
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Day CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Day County, with each precinct boundary colored by Democratic-vs-Republican margin.
—
Margin—
Turnout—
Harris +50Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
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 | −20.2% |
| 1896 | +2.4% |
| 1900 | −16.9% |
| 1904 | −59.9% |
| 1908 | −29.4% |
| 1912 | +33.8% |
| 1916 | +29.6% |
| 1920 | −50.3% |
| 1924 | −47.4% |
| 1928 | −9.2% |
| 1932 | +31.1% |
| 1936 | +21.3% |
| 1940 | +0.3% |
| 1944 | −2.1% |
| 1948 | +12.5% |
| 1952 | −21.6% |
| 1956 | +5.7% |
| 1960 | +3.8% |
| 1964 | +25.7% |
| 1968 | +8.5% |
| 1972 | +15.9% |
| 1976 | +23.3% |
| 1980 | −17.3% |
| 1984 | −5.3% |
| 1988 | +13.8% |
| 1992 | +11.2% |
| 1996 | +15.8% |
| 2000 | +4.1% |
| 2004 | +4.1% |
| 2008 | +12.9% |
| 2012 | +6.2% |
| 2016 | −23.8% |
| 2020 | −27.6% |
| 2024 | −29.9% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 1,000 | 1,876 | 2,932 | ||
| R | 1,052 | 1,869 | 2,964 | ||
| R | 974 | 1,627 | 2,747 | ||
| D | 1,497 | 1,320 | 2,873 | ||
| D | 1,785 | 1,372 | 3,205 | ||
| D | 1,817 | 1,671 | 3,540 | ||
| D | 1,623 | 1,492 | 3,197 | ||
| D | 1,840 | 1,282 | 3,533 | ||
| D | 1,578 | 1,161 | 3,725 | ||
| D | 2,137 | 1,616 | 3,774 | ||
| R | 1,932 | 2,150 | 4,101 | ||
| R | 1,720 | 2,507 | 4,543 | ||
| D | 2,610 | 1,617 | 4,257 | ||
| D | 2,719 | 1,971 | 4,699 | ||
| D | 2,463 | 2,062 | 4,707 | ||
| D | 3,235 | 1,914 | 5,149 | ||
| D | 2,835 | 2,626 | 5,461 | ||
| D | 2,971 | 2,652 | 5,623 | ||
| R | 2,351 | 3,648 | 5,999 | ||
| D | 3,146 | 2,438 | 5,681 | ||
| R | 2,487 | 2,593 | 5,080 | ||
| D | 3,297 | 3,277 | 6,574 | ||
| D | 3,335 | 2,113 | 5,729 | ||
| D | 3,910 | 1,983 | 6,191 | ||
| R | 2,642 | 3,180 | 5,865 | ||
| R | 308 | 2,193 | 3,975 | ||
| R | 436 | 2,739 | 4,579 | ||
| D | 1,758 | 907 | 2,872 | ||
| O | 787 | 0 | 2,331 | ||
| R | 813 | 1,616 | 2,729 | ||
| R | 383 | 2,077 | 2,826 | ||
| R | 1,092 | 1,558 | 2,764 | ||
| D | 1,230 | 1,171 | 2,436 | ||
| O | 362 | 752 | 1,932 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
39.2%
Polish
11.5%
English
6.5%
Irish
4.6%
American
4.1%
French
1.9%
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
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: 44.8 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
$66,033
Day County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Day County$66,033
South Dakota$75,081
United States$80,734
Day 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
14.8%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1824.5%
Working age (18–64)11.3%
Seniors (65+)16.1%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
96.1%
speak English only
Spanish1.6%
Other Indo-European1.6%
Other languages0.7%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 31.3% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Day County's population has contracted by roughly a third since 1980, leaving an older, rural electorate concentrated in Webster that has shifted decisively toward Republican presidential candidates over the past two decades.
The Democratic margin here peaked at thirty-four points in 1912. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved two points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was thirty points.
A population of 5,437, a 84% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $66,033 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Buffalo County and Mitchell 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.
Day County, South Dakota. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/46037/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in South Dakota
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Frequently asked questions
How did Day County, South Dakota vote in 2024?
In 2024, Day County, South Dakota voted Republican by 29.9 points (R+30), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 2,932 votes cast, 1,000 went Democratic and 1,876 went Republican.
What is Day County, South Dakota's political typology?
Akashic places Day County, South Dakota in the "Heartland Swing" typology — Industrial Midwest swing counties drifting steadily toward the Republican Party. 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 19 times, Republican 13 times, and other 2 times.
When did Day County, South Dakota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Day County, South Dakota voted Democratic was 2012.
How many people live in Day County, South Dakota?
Day County, South Dakota has a population of 5,437 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Day County, South Dakota?
Median household income in Day County, South Dakota is $66,033 — below the national median of $80,734. The South Dakota state median is $75,081.
What is the political history of Day County, South Dakota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Day County, South Dakota from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 19 went Democratic and 13 went Republican. The county's typology — "Heartland Swing" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.