Boundary by 2024 margin · Precinct returns · VEST · MIT Election Lab
People and households
Who lives here
Exact values for this place, its state, and the United States.
Race · ethnicity · ancestry
Communities and origins
GroupMellette CountySouth DakotaUnited States
Rosebud Sioux32.6%1.1%—
Oglala Sioux4.3%2.0%—
Native Hawaiian0.4%——
Navajo0.2%——
German13.0%33.1%12.5%
English7.1%7.7%9.5%
American6.5%4.4%5.3%
Irish2.0%9.9%9.4%
French2.0%—1.6%
Czech2.0%——
Norwegian1.3%10.4%—
Russian0.9%——
Hispanic or Latino counts residents of any race; the race groups count only their non-Hispanic residents, so the groups are mutually exclusive and sum to 100%. Expand a row to see ancestries reported within that group.
Age and life stage
Measure
Mellette County
South Dakota
United States
Median age
37.5
38.2
39.1
Age 18–24
6.2%
9.2%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
16.5%
18.0%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Mellette County
South Dakota
United States
Median household income
$54,076
$75,081
$84,427
Poverty rate
41.7%
12.0%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
19.1%
31.9%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Mellette County
South Dakota
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
19.1%
7.1%
22.3%
Other languages
19.1%
1.9%
0.8%
Religious landscape
Measure
Mellette County
South Dakota
United States
Catholic
14.7%
14.8%
18.6%
Evangelical Protestant
7.2%
20.1%
16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted
62.8%
44.9%
51.5%
Mainline Protestant
14.6%
18.0%
5.2%
American Community Survey 2024 5-year (CVAP, income, age, poverty, education, language, race, ancestry) · presidential returns from MIT Election Lab through 2024 · 2020 U.S. Religion Census (ASARB) — congregational adherents; unclaimed is the residual not counted by congregations.
Mellette County, South Dakota
Precinct data
Results by precinct
8 precincts · 740 votes
Precinct boundaries and identifiers are cycle-specific. This table does not join rows across years without a validated crosswalk.
Mellette County precinct-level presidential election results for 2024
Precinct -22
84
148
5
237
35.4%
62.4%
R+27.0
Precinct -55
104
82
7
193
53.9%
42.5%
D+11.4
Precinct -66
59
97
3
159
37.1%
61.0%
R+23.9
Precinct -33
38
107
6
151
25.2%
70.9%
R+45.7
VTD-precinct 22
0
0
0
0
—
—
Even
VTD-precinct 33
0
0
0
0
—
—
Even
VTD-precinct 5 White River5
0
0
0
0
—
—
Even
VTD-precinct 66
0
0
0
0
—
—
Even
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1912–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
1912
+54.0%
1916
+6.9%
1920
−32.4%
1924
−2.4%
1928
−0.9%
1932
+41.1%
1936
+6.4%
1940
−4.5%
1944
−14.0%
1948
+0.0%
1952
−38.8%
1956
−10.6%
1960
−20.6%
1964
+11.2%
1968
−18.6%
1972
−19.0%
1976
−8.3%
1980
−35.8%
1984
−33.8%
1988
−8.8%
1992
−16.6%
1996
−14.4%
2000
−37.2%
2004
−20.6%
2008
−8.5%
2012
−0.8%
2016
−24.0%
2020
−19.6%
2024
−20.1%
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
Third column names the leading third-party or independent finisher. Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024). Swing · margin change from the prior cycle. vs U.S. · margin relative to the national result that year.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Other
Margin
Swing
vs U.S.
Total
R
38.5%Harris285
58.6%Trump434
2.4%Kennedy18
R+20.1
R+0.5
R+18.7
740
R
38.8%Biden298
58.4%Trump449
2.9%Jorgensen22
R+19.6
D+4.4
R+24.1
769
R
34.8%Clinton238
58.9%Trump402
4.7%Johnson32
R+24.0
R+23.2
R+26.1
683
R
48.8%Obama375
49.5%Romney381
1.7%
R+0.8
D+7.8
R+4.6
769
R
44.2%Obama373
52.8%McCain445
3.0%
R+8.5
D+12.1
R+15.8
843
R
38.8%Kerry361
59.4%Bush553
1.8%
R+20.6
D+16.6
R+18.2
931
R
30.3%Gore222
67.5%Bush495
2.2%
R+37.2
R+22.8
R+37.8
733
R
37.8%Clinton302
52.3%Dole417
8.4%Perot67
R+14.4
D+2.2
R+22.9
798
R
32.9%Clinton277
49.6%Bush417
16.6%Perot140
R+16.6
R+7.8
R+22.2
841
R
45.2%Dukakis385
54.0%Bush460
0.8%
R+8.8
D+25.0
R+1.1
852
R
32.7%Mondale303
66.5%Reagan616
0.9%
R+33.8
D+2.1
R+15.5
927
R
29.0%Carter279
64.8%Reagan624
6.2%
R+35.8
R+27.5
R+26.1
963
R
45.2%Carter429
53.5%Ford508
1.3%
R+8.3
D+10.6
R+10.4
949
R
40.2%McGovern433
59.2%Nixon637
0.6%
R+19.0
R+0.4
D+4.2
1,076
R
37.1%Humphrey407
55.7%Nixon611
7.2%
R+18.6
R+29.8
R+17.9
1,097
D
55.6%Johnson658
44.4%Goldwater525
0.0%
D+11.2
D+31.8
R+11.3
1,183
R
39.7%Kennedy510
60.3%Nixon774
0.0%
R+20.6
R+10.0
R+20.7
1,284
R
44.7%Stevenson520
55.3%Eisenhower643
0.0%
R+10.6
D+28.2
D+4.8
1,163
R
30.6%Stevenson347
69.4%Eisenhower787
0.0%
R+38.8
R+38.8
R+28.0
1,134
O
49.3%Truman482
49.3%Dewey482
1.3%
Tied
D+14.0
R+4.5
977
R
43.0%Roosevelt410
57.0%Dewey544
0.0%
R+14.0
R+9.6
R+21.5
954
R
47.8%Roosevelt905
52.2%Willkie990
0.0%
R+4.5
R+10.8
R+14.4
1,895
D
52.9%Roosevelt808
46.6%Landon711
0.5%
D+6.4
R+34.7
R+17.9
1,527
D
70.2%Roosevelt1,583
29.1%Hoover657
0.7%
D+41.1
D+41.9
D+23.3
2,255
R
49.3%Smith927
50.1%Hoover943
0.6%
R+0.9
D+1.5
D+16.6
1,881
R
37.6%Davis604
39.9%Coolidge642
22.5%La Follette362
R+2.4
D+30.1
D+22.8
1,608
R
31.1%Cox261
63.5%Harding533
5.4%
R+32.4
R+39.3
R+6.2
839
D
52.4%Wilson436
45.6%Hughes379
2.0%
D+6.9
R+47.1
D+3.7
832
D
54.0%Wilson320
0.0%Taft0
46.0%
D+54.0
—
D+34.4
593
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Congressional elections · 2 Senate races
U.S. Senate
Source · MIT Election Lab (MEDSL), Senate. CC-BY 4.0.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Total
2022
R
26.4%165
66.5%415
624
2020
R
39.3%303
60.7%468
771
voter registration
Registered voters
By party of registration, over time
Party registration · 2026R+9.3
vs
Presidential vote · 2024R+20.1
Registration leans Republican; the presidential vote runs 11 points more Democratic.
Net migration over time, and who arrivals are — where they came from and what those places vote
−49 net domestic migration · 2025
20112025
Net −184 over 2011–2025 · gain loss
Arrivals reported $28,800 in average income, against $51,436 for residents who stayed — 44% lower. (IRS SOI, 2022–23)
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.
Domestic migration in Mellette County, SD in Mellette County, SD: net domestic migration by year
Year
Net domestic migration
2011
+23
2012
−19
2013
−15
2014
+7
2015
−65
2016
+36
2017
−21
2018
−41
2019
+16
2021
−14
2022
−19
2023
−19
2024
−4
2025
−49
Mellette County's small population is substantially enrolled tribal members from the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, producing a competitive internal split that keeps its R+20 margin closer than neighboring counties with comparable rural demographics.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 54.0 points in 1912 and a Republican high of 38.8 points in 1952. The 2024 margin was 20.1 points.
A population of 1,943, a 35% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $54,076 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Bennett County and Dillingham Census Area.
Akashic
Political twins — counties
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.
How did Mellette County, South Dakota vote in 2024?
In 2024, Mellette County, South Dakota voted Republican by 20.1 points (R+20.1), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 740 votes cast, 285 went Democratic and 434 went Republican.
When did Mellette County, South Dakota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Mellette County, South Dakota voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in Mellette County, South Dakota?
Mellette County, South Dakota has a population of 1,943 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Mellette County, South Dakota?
Median household income in Mellette County, South Dakota is $54,076 — below the national median of $80,734. The South Dakota state median is $75,081.
What is the political history of Mellette County, South Dakota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Mellette County, South Dakota from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 5 went Democratic and 23 went Republican.
