Douglas County, South Dakota: Farm Belt county. In 2024, voted R+72%. Republican peak: R+73 in 2020.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+72MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Farm BeltAkashic typology
- Population
- 2,8282024 5-year
- Median household income
- $86,4422024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 92.2%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.6%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 3.0%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+55 in 2000MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+73 in 2020MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Jones County, SD · similarity 1.00
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 | −40.6% |
| 1896 | −16.7% |
| 1900 | −6.7% |
| 1904 | −25.9% |
| 1908 | −12.7% |
| 1912 | +47.4% |
| 1916 | +15.4% |
| 1920 | −43.8% |
| 1924 | −36.1% |
| 1928 | −37.7% |
| 1932 | +31.3% |
| 1936 | +8.3% |
| 1940 | −31.1% |
| 1944 | −34.7% |
| 1948 | −27.7% |
| 1952 | −59.9% |
| 1956 | −35.6% |
| 1960 | −57.5% |
| 1964 | −1.7% |
| 1968 | −44.7% |
| 1972 | −23.5% |
| 1976 | −14.8% |
| 1980 | −54.7% |
| 1984 | −52.2% |
| 1988 | −34.7% |
| 1992 | −33.6% |
| 1996 | −35.9% |
| 2000 | +55.5% |
| 2004 | −59.8% |
| 2008 | −49.5% |
| 2012 | −59.3% |
| 2016 | −70.0% |
| 2020 | −73.3% |
| 2024 | −72.4% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 219 | 1,419 | 1,658 | ||
| R | 216 | 1,468 | 1,707 | ||
| R | 214 | 1,338 | 1,605 | ||
| R | 332 | 1,334 | 1,690 | ||
| R | 424 | 1,293 | 1,756 | ||
| R | 393 | 1,596 | 2,012 | ||
| D | 1,311 | 363 | 1,709 | ||
| R | 524 | 1,210 | 1,909 | ||
| R | 481 | 1,175 | 2,067 | ||
| R | 695 | 1,438 | 2,139 | ||
| R | 536 | 1,713 | 2,254 | ||
| R | 508 | 1,855 | 2,463 | ||
| R | 975 | 1,315 | 2,295 | ||
| R | 887 | 1,434 | 2,325 | ||
| R | 592 | 1,613 | 2,282 | ||
| R | 1,149 | 1,189 | 2,338 | ||
| R | 541 | 2,002 | 2,543 | ||
| R | 813 | 1,713 | 2,526 | ||
| R | 528 | 2,103 | 2,631 | ||
| R | 736 | 1,301 | 2,042 | ||
| R | 719 | 1,483 | 2,202 | ||
| R | 1,040 | 1,977 | 3,017 | ||
| D | 1,680 | 1,418 | 3,169 | ||
| D | 2,005 | 1,045 | 3,066 | ||
| R | 879 | 1,949 | 2,838 | ||
| R | 317 | 1,125 | 2,239 | ||
| R | 386 | 1,247 | 1,964 | ||
| D | 815 | 597 | 1,418 | ||
| O | 714 | 0 | 1,506 | ||
| R | 647 | 836 | 1,493 | ||
| R | 499 | 859 | 1,388 | ||
| R | 567 | 649 | 1,228 | ||
| R | 380 | 533 | 918 | ||
| R | 109 | 541 | 1,064 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
27.9%
Irish
6.3%
English
4.0%
American
4.0%
French
0.7%
Italian
0.6%
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: 42.0 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
$86,442
Douglas County ranks in the top 10% of US counties.
Douglas County$86,442
South Dakota$75,081
United States$80,734
Douglas County ranks in the top 10% 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
11.0%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1816.8%
Working age (18–64)7.6%
Seniors (65+)17.9%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
95.9%
speak English only
Spanish2.1%
Other languages1.1%
Other Indo-European0.9%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 5.7% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Douglas County recorded an R+72.4 margin in the 2024 presidential race, placing it among the most one-sided counties in the country. Its roughly 3,400 residents are spread across a largely agricultural landscape in south-central South Dakota.
The Republican margin here reached seventy-three points in 2020. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved one point toward the Democratic candidate; the 2024 margin was seventy-two points.
A population of 2,828, a 92% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $86,442 describe an agricultural county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Jones County and Harding 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.
Douglas County, South Dakota. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/46043/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in South Dakota
More farm belt counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Douglas County, South Dakota vote in 2024?
In 2024, Douglas County, South Dakota voted Republican by 72.4 points (R+72), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 1,658 votes cast, 219 went Democratic and 1,419 went Republican.
What is Douglas County, South Dakota's political typology?
Akashic places Douglas County, South Dakota in the "Farm Belt" typology — Rural Plains and Midwest farm counties — Republican, with modest recent movement. 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 4 times, Republican 29 times, and other 1 times.
When did Douglas County, South Dakota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Douglas County, South Dakota voted Democratic was 2000.
How many people live in Douglas County, South Dakota?
Douglas County, South Dakota has a population of 2,828 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Douglas County, South Dakota?
Median household income in Douglas County, South Dakota is $86,442 — above the national median of $80,734. The South Dakota state median is $75,081.
What is the political history of Douglas County, South Dakota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Douglas County, South Dakota from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 4 went Democratic and 29 went Republican. The county's typology — "Farm Belt" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.