Meade County, South Dakota
Precinct data
Results by precinct
71 precincts · 14,672 votes
Precinct boundaries and identifiers are cycle-specific. This table does not join rows across years without a validated crosswalk.
| Precinct -SUMMERSET 10SUMMERSET 10 | 297 | 885 | 26 | 1,208 | 24.6% | 73.3% | R+48.7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Precinct -PIEDMONT SE 13PIEDMONT SE 13 | 235 | 753 | 42 | 1,030 | 22.8% | 73.1% | R+50.3 |
| Precinct -PIEDMONT CENTRAL 11APIEDMONT CENTRAL 11A | 199 | 640 | 10 | 849 | 23.4% | 75.4% | R+51.9 |
| Precinct -BLACK HAWK CENTRAL 19BLACK HAWK CENTRAL 19 | 223 | 598 | 24 | 845 | 26.4% | 70.8% | R+44.4 |
| Precinct -TILFORD 6TILFORD 6 | 175 | 615 | 21 | 811 | 21.6% | 75.8% | R+54.3 |
| Precinct -PIEDMONT NE 12PIEDMONT NE 12 | 145 | 645 | 20 | 810 | 17.9% | 79.6% | R+61.7 |
| Precinct -EAST ELK VALE 21AEAST ELK VALE 21A | 116 | 510 | 16 | 642 | 18.1% | 79.4% | R+61.4 |
| Precinct -BASE 23BASE 23 | 210 | 413 | 13 | 636 | 33.0% | 64.9% | R+31.9 |
| Precinct -STURGIS SE 2STURGIS SE 2 | 162 | 393 | 14 | 569 | 28.5% | 69.1% | R+40.6 |
| Precinct -STURGIS RURAL 7STURGIS RURAL 7 | 143 | 411 | 8 | 562 | 25.4% | 73.1% | R+47.7 |
| Precinct -STURGIS NW 5STURGIS NW 5 | 136 | 355 | 30 | 521 | 26.1% | 68.1% | R+42.0 |
| Precinct -PIEDMONT W 11PIEDMONT W 11 | 110 | 376 | 12 | 498 | 22.1% | 75.5% | R+53.4 |
| Precinct -BLACK HAWK RURAL 15BLACK HAWK RURAL 15 | 98 | 360 | 8 | 466 | 21.0% | 77.3% | R+56.2 |
| Precinct -EAST PIEDMONT 12AEAST PIEDMONT 12A | 68 | 349 | 7 | 424 | 16.0% | 82.3% | R+66.3 |
| Precinct -HARMONY 8HARMONY 8 | 89 | 304 | 10 | 403 | 22.1% | 75.4% | R+53.3 |
| Precinct -STURGIS S 2ASTURGIS S 2A | 119 | 273 | 10 | 402 | 29.6% | 67.9% | R+38.3 |
| Precinct -BLACK HAWK W 16BLACK HAWK W 16 | 103 | 252 | 5 | 360 | 28.6% | 70.0% | R+41.4 |
| Precinct -BLACK HAWK 14BLACK HAWK 14 | 98 | 249 | 11 | 358 | 27.4% | 69.6% | R+42.2 |
| Precinct -STURGIS SW 4ASTURGIS SW 4A | 101 | 207 | 5 | 313 | 32.3% | 66.1% | R+33.9 |
| Precinct -STURGIS E 1STURGIS E 1 | 86 | 197 | 12 | 295 | 29.2% | 66.8% | R+37.6 |
| Precinct -STURGIS CENTRAL 3STURGIS CENTRAL 3 | 108 | 161 | 8 | 277 | 39.0% | 58.1% | R+19.1 |
| Precinct -ELK VALE W 24ELK VALE W 24 | 56 | 202 | 6 | 264 | 21.2% | 76.5% | R+55.3 |
| Precinct -FAITH 31FAITH 31 | 23 | 233 | 2 | 258 | 8.9% | 90.3% | R+81.4 |
| Precinct -STURGIS 5ASTURGIS 5A | 81 | 156 | 6 | 243 | 33.3% | 64.2% | R+30.9 |
| Precinct -STURGIS W 4STURGIS W 4 | 66 | 135 | 7 | 208 | 31.7% | 64.9% | R+33.2 |
| Precinct -STURGIS NE 1-ASTURGIS NE 1-A | 54 | 115 | 7 | 176 | 30.7% | 65.3% | R+34.7 |
| Precinct -BEAR BUTTE 9BEAR BUTTE 9 | 26 | 138 | 8 | 172 | 15.1% | 80.2% | R+65.1 |
| Precinct -ALKALI 6AALKALI 6A | 21 | 143 | 4 | 168 | 12.5% | 85.1% | R+72.6 |
| Precinct -CHALK BUTTE 27CHALK BUTTE 27 | 10 | 112 | 2 | 124 | 8.1% | 90.3% | R+82.3 |
| Precinct -VIEWFIELD 17VIEWFIELD 17 | 5 | 109 | 1 | 115 | 4.3% | 94.8% | R+90.4 |
| Precinct -ELM SPRINGS 18ELM SPRINGS 18 | 12 | 83 | 0 | 95 | 12.6% | 87.4% | R+74.7 |
| Precinct -PINE 33PINE 33 | 7 | 80 | 0 | 87 | 8.0% | 92.0% | R+83.9 |
| Precinct -RED OWL 30RED OWL 30 | 3 | 80 | 0 | 83 | 3.6% | 96.4% | R+92.8 |
| Precinct -ELK VALE 21ELK VALE 21 | 7 | 73 | 1 | 81 | 8.6% | 90.1% | R+81.5 |
| Precinct -HEREFORD 20HEREFORD 20 | 9 | 51 | 2 | 62 | 14.5% | 82.3% | R+67.7 |
| Precinct -MARCUS 41MARCUS 41 | 0 | 52 | 2 | 54 | 0.0% | 96.3% | R+96.3 |
| Precinct -SULPHUR 35SULPHUR 35 | 0 | 48 | 2 | 50 | 0.0% | 96.0% | R+96.0 |
| Precinct -WHITE OWL 25WHITE OWL 25 | 2 | 47 | 0 | 49 | 4.1% | 95.9% | R+91.8 |
| Precinct -FAIRPOINT 29FAIRPOINT 29 | 5 | 32 | 0 | 37 | 13.5% | 86.5% | R+73.0 |
| Precinct -FORT MEADE 1AFORT MEADE 1A | 7 | 28 | 0 | 35 | 20.0% | 80.0% | R+60.0 |
| Precinct -UNION 40UNION 40 | 6 | 24 | 2 | 32 | 18.8% | 75.0% | R+56.3 |
| VTD - Rural BlackHawk15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD-precinct 11 - Piedmont11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD-precinct 13 - SEPiedmont13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD-precinct 14 BlackHawk14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD-precinct 16 - W.BlackHawk16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD-precinct 17 - Viewfield17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD-precinct 18 - ElmSprings18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD-precinct 19 - CentralBlackHawk19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD-precinct 20 - Hereford20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD-precinct 21 - ElkVale21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD-precinct 24 W.ElkVale24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD-precinct 25 - WhiteOwl25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD-precinct 27 - ChalkButte27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD-precinct 29 - Fairpoint29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD-precinct 30 - RedOwl30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD-precinct 31 - Faith31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD-precinct 33 - Pine33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD-precinct 35 - Sulphur35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD-precinct 40 - Union40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD-precinct 41 - Marcus41 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD-precinct 6 - Tilford6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD-precinct 6A - Alkali6A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD-precinct 8 - Harmony8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD-precinct 9 - BearButte9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD-precinct EllsworthAirBase22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD-precinct-12 - E.Piedmont12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD-Sturgis city ward 1S1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD-Sturgis city ward 2S2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD-Sturgis city ward 3S3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD-Sturgis city ward 4S4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
Presidential margin, 1892–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1892 | −25.6% |
| 1896 | +17.8% |
| 1900 | +1.3% |
| 1904 | −42.4% |
| 1908 | −8.7% |
| 1912 | +43.7% |
| 1916 | +16.3% |
| 1920 | −30.8% |
| 1924 | −34.9% |
| 1928 | −32.6% |
| 1932 | +20.7% |
| 1936 | +5.2% |
| 1940 | −14.0% |
| 1944 | −24.3% |
| 1948 | −9.9% |
| 1952 | −40.0% |
| 1956 | −19.6% |
| 1960 | −15.8% |
| 1964 | +4.1% |
| 1968 | −20.4% |
| 1972 | −35.1% |
| 1976 | −10.9% |
| 1980 | −48.1% |
| 1984 | −47.4% |
| 1988 | −23.3% |
| 1992 | −20.1% |
| 1996 | −22.1% |
| 2000 | −49.1% |
| 2004 | −47.0% |
| 2008 | −32.4% |
| 2012 | −42.9% |
| 2016 | −53.5% |
| 2020 | −48.2% |
| 2024 | −50.9% |
U.S. Senate
| Year | Won | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | R | 18.1%2,134 | 75.9%8,934 | 11,770 |
| 2020 | R | 23.5%3,176 | 76.5%10,355 | 13,531 |
Registered voters
By party of registration, over time
Registration and the presidential vote track closely here — within 0.7 points.
20,846 registered voters · 2026
Who moves in and out
Net migration over time, and who arrivals are — where they came from and what those places vote
−168 net domestic migration · 2025
Net +2,262 over 2011–2025 · gain loss
Arrivals reported $57,368 in average income, against $77,776 for residents who stayed — 26% lower. (IRS SOI, 2022–23)
The places arrivals came from lean R+28.4 on average — 22 points more Democratic-leaning than Meade County, SD itself (R+50.9).
Where arrivals came from lean of each source
- Pennington County, SD564R+26.4
- Lawrence County, SD108R+31.3
- Butte County, SD25R+60.6
Where departures went households, 2022–23
- Pennington County, SD612
- Lawrence County, SD86
- Butte County, SD30
- Minnehaha County, SD23
Migration is one input to a place’s political change, not its cause — a shift can also come from residents changing their minds, generational turnover, or turnout. These figures describe the places people moved between; they do not measure how any mover voted.
| Year | Net domestic migration |
|---|---|
| 2011 | −120 |
| 2012 | +64 |
| 2013 | +362 |
| 2014 | +149 |
| 2015 | −115 |
| 2016 | +410 |
| 2017 | +536 |
| 2018 | +239 |
| 2019 | +87 |
| 2021 | +348 |
| 2022 | +352 |
| 2023 | +199 |
| 2024 | −81 |
| 2025 | −168 |
Meade County, home to Ellsworth Air Force Base and vast ranch lands west of the Missouri River, has delivered Republican presidential margins above 50 points for multiple cycles, reflecting a heavily rural, military-adjacent electorate with little urban counterweight.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 43.7 points in 1912 and a Republican high of 53.5 points in 2016. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved 2.7 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 50.9 points.
A population of 30,546, a 85% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $74,790 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Butte County and Kosciusko County.
The counties whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.
Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.
Browse places by community — income, education, race & ethnicity, language — all community cuts →
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 →
Meade County, South Dakota. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/46093/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.