McPherson County, South Dakota: Florida Surge county. In 2024, voted R+69%. Republican peak: R+74 in 1952.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+69MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Florida SurgeAkashic typology
- Population
- 2,1452024 5-year
- Median household income
- $66,9062024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 96.8%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.0%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 0.1%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+62 in 1916MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+74 in 1952MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Campbell County, SD · similarity 0.99
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of McPherson CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for McPherson County, with each precinct boundary colored by Democratic-vs-Republican margin.
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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 | −27.6% |
| 1896 | −17.2% |
| 1900 | −49.6% |
| 1904 | −62.4% |
| 1908 | −65.5% |
| 1912 | +32.9% |
| 1916 | +62.0% |
| 1920 | −67.4% |
| 1924 | −25.6% |
| 1928 | +8.6% |
| 1932 | +61.9% |
| 1936 | −10.4% |
| 1940 | −54.9% |
| 1944 | −69.6% |
| 1948 | −53.3% |
| 1952 | −74.0% |
| 1956 | −0.1% |
| 1960 | −58.5% |
| 1964 | −44.7% |
| 1968 | −65.5% |
| 1972 | −54.1% |
| 1976 | −40.9% |
| 1980 | −73.6% |
| 1984 | −62.4% |
| 1988 | −40.7% |
| 1992 | −26.7% |
| 1996 | −35.6% |
| 2000 | +54.9% |
| 2004 | −24.9% |
| 2008 | −34.5% |
| 2012 | −53.4% |
| 2016 | −61.6% |
| 2020 | −64.4% |
| 2024 | −69.2% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 188 | 1,087 | 1,299 | ||
| R | 222 | 1,075 | 1,324 | ||
| R | 192 | 892 | 1,137 | ||
| R | 272 | 921 | 1,215 | ||
| R | 441 | 915 | 1,375 | ||
| R | 1,201 | 2,017 | 3,271 | ||
| D | 1,073 | 295 | 1,417 | ||
| R | 463 | 1,080 | 1,735 | ||
| R | 478 | 945 | 1,752 | ||
| R | 571 | 1,358 | 1,936 | ||
| R | 418 | 1,813 | 2,236 | ||
| R | 287 | 2,056 | 2,402 | ||
| R | 693 | 1,662 | 2,367 | ||
| R | 579 | 1,950 | 2,535 | ||
| R | 389 | 2,105 | 2,620 | ||
| R | 723 | 1,891 | 2,614 | ||
| R | 616 | 2,354 | 2,970 | ||
| R | 1,635 | 1,639 | 3,274 | ||
| R | 436 | 2,915 | 3,351 | ||
| R | 611 | 2,034 | 2,668 | ||
| R | 410 | 2,290 | 2,700 | ||
| R | 826 | 2,839 | 3,665 | ||
| R | 1,556 | 1,921 | 3,505 | ||
| D | 2,650 | 606 | 3,302 | ||
| D | 1,468 | 1,234 | 2,711 | ||
| O | 94 | 833 | 2,889 | ||
| R | 112 | 1,470 | 2,016 | ||
| D | 992 | 224 | 1,239 | ||
| O | 327 | 0 | 995 | ||
| R | 157 | 785 | 959 | ||
| R | 144 | 727 | 934 | ||
| R | 297 | 898 | 1,211 | ||
| R | 361 | 512 | 879 | ||
| R | 221 | 487 | 964 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
61.1%
Irish
9.4%
English
3.9%
French
1.6%
Polish
1.3%
American
0.9%
Scottish
0.5%
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.
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: 50.0 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
$66,906
McPherson County ranks near the middle of US counties.
McPherson County$66,906
South Dakota$75,081
United States$80,734
McPherson 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
12.9%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 184.4%
Working age (18–64)9.8%
Seniors (65+)39.1%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
85.1%
speak English only
Other Indo-European14.5%
Spanish0.3%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 36.1% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
McPherson County sits in the sparsely settled north-central plains, where a small, heavily rural electorate has produced some of the widest presidential margins in the state — R+69.2 in 2024.
The Democratic margin here once reached sixty-two points in 1916. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved five points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was sixty-nine points.
A population of 2,145, a 97% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $66,906 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Campbell County and Polk 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.
McPherson County, South Dakota. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/46089/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
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Frequently asked questions
How did McPherson County, South Dakota vote in 2024?
In 2024, McPherson County, South Dakota voted Republican by 69.2 points (R+69), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 1,299 votes cast, 188 went Democratic and 1,087 went Republican.
What is McPherson County, South Dakota's political typology?
Akashic places McPherson County, South Dakota in the "Florida Surge" typology — Florida coastal and retiree counties that moved sharply Republican across the Trump era. 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 28 times, and other 2 times.
When did McPherson County, South Dakota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which McPherson County, South Dakota voted Democratic was 2000.
How many people live in McPherson County, South Dakota?
McPherson County, South Dakota has a population of 2,145 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in McPherson County, South Dakota?
Median household income in McPherson County, South Dakota is $66,906 — below the national median of $80,734. The South Dakota state median is $75,081.
What is the political history of McPherson County, South Dakota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in McPherson County, South Dakota from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 4 went Democratic and 28 went Republican. The county's typology — "Florida Surge" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.