Harding County, South Dakota: Farm Belt county. In 2024, voted R+86%. Republican peak: R+86 in 2024.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+86MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Farm BeltAkashic typology
- Population
- 1,1482024 5-year
- Median household income
- $80,4412024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 91.4%2024 5-year
- Black
- 1.5%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 1.4%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+80 in 2000MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+86 in 2020MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Douglas County, SD · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Harding CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Harding 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 | No data |
| 1896 | No data |
| 1900 | No data |
| 1904 | No data |
| 1908 | No data |
| 1912 | +29.5% |
| 1916 | −6.2% |
| 1920 | −39.2% |
| 1924 | −52.6% |
| 1928 | −46.8% |
| 1932 | +6.2% |
| 1936 | +21.3% |
| 1940 | −6.0% |
| 1944 | −5.6% |
| 1948 | −4.8% |
| 1952 | −46.7% |
| 1956 | −26.7% |
| 1960 | −27.8% |
| 1964 | −0.2% |
| 1968 | −33.3% |
| 1972 | −43.1% |
| 1976 | −1.2% |
| 1980 | −53.6% |
| 1984 | −58.9% |
| 1988 | −41.6% |
| 1992 | −42.7% |
| 1996 | −49.2% |
| 2000 | +80.2% |
| 2004 | −74.8% |
| 2008 | −59.9% |
| 2012 | −75.2% |
| 2016 | −85.3% |
| 2020 | −86.0% |
| 2024 | −86.1% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 48 | 754 | 820 | ||
| R | 49 | 748 | 813 | ||
| R | 38 | 695 | 770 | ||
| R | 82 | 638 | 739 | ||
| R | 135 | 575 | 734 | ||
| R | 94 | 704 | 815 | ||
| D | 650 | 64 | 731 | ||
| R | 151 | 537 | 785 | ||
| R | 139 | 515 | 881 | ||
| R | 259 | 633 | 900 | ||
| R | 186 | 723 | 912 | ||
| R | 205 | 727 | 974 | ||
| R | 459 | 470 | 945 | ||
| R | 253 | 637 | 890 | ||
| R | 266 | 564 | 895 | ||
| R | 487 | 489 | 976 | ||
| R | 382 | 676 | 1,058 | ||
| R | 376 | 650 | 1,026 | ||
| R | 294 | 809 | 1,103 | ||
| R | 479 | 529 | 1,040 | ||
| R | 493 | 552 | 1,045 | ||
| R | 670 | 755 | 1,425 | ||
| D | 819 | 524 | 1,382 | ||
| D | 715 | 625 | 1,444 | ||
| R | 368 | 1,032 | 1,418 | ||
| R | 107 | 702 | 1,131 | ||
| R | 213 | 648 | 1,109 | ||
| R | 520 | 597 | 1,251 | ||
| O | 325 | 0 | 1,102 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
25.1%
Irish
11.0%
English
8.0%
American
5.6%
French
2.4%
Italian
1.5%
Polish
1.0%
African American
1.2%
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: 46.3 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
$80,441
Harding County ranks in the top 25% of US counties.
Harding County$80,441
South Dakota$75,081
United States$80,734
Harding County ranks in the top 25% 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
6.3%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 184.9%
Working age (18–64)6.8%
Seniors (65+)6.1%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
97.2%
speak English only
Other Indo-European2.5%
Spanish0.3%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 39.6% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Harding County sits in South Dakota's remote northwest corner, where ranching defines both the economy and the electorate. In 2024 it posted an R+86.1 margin, among the widest of any county in the country.
The Republican margin here reached eighty-six points in 2024. The 2024 margin was eighty-six points.
A population of 1,148, a 91% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $80,441 describe an agricultural county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Douglas County and Jones 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.
Harding County, South Dakota. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/46063/. 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 Harding County, South Dakota vote in 2024?
In 2024, Harding County, South Dakota voted Republican by 86.1 points (R+86), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 820 votes cast, 48 went Democratic and 754 went Republican.
What is Harding County, South Dakota's political typology?
Akashic places Harding 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 3 times, Republican 25 times, and other 1 times.
When did Harding County, South Dakota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Harding County, South Dakota voted Democratic was 2000.
How many people live in Harding County, South Dakota?
Harding County, South Dakota has a population of 1,148 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Harding County, South Dakota?
Median household income in Harding County, South Dakota is $80,441 — below the national median of $80,734. The South Dakota state median is $75,081.
What is the political history of Harding County, South Dakota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Harding County, South Dakota from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 3 went Democratic and 25 went Republican. The county's typology — "Farm Belt" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.