Mellette County, South Dakota: Texan Right county. In 2024, voted R+20%. Democratic peak: D+54 in 1912.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+20MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Texan RightAkashic typology
- Population
- 1,9432024 5-year
- Median household income
- $54,0762024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 34.7%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.0%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 0.9%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+54 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+39 in 1952MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Pennington County, SD · similarity 0.94
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Mellette CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Mellette 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 | +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
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 285 | 434 | 740 | ||
| R | 298 | 449 | 769 | ||
| R | 238 | 402 | 683 | ||
| R | 375 | 381 | 769 | ||
| R | 373 | 445 | 843 | ||
| R | 361 | 553 | 931 | ||
| D | 495 | 222 | 733 | ||
| R | 302 | 417 | 798 | ||
| R | 277 | 417 | 841 | ||
| R | 385 | 460 | 852 | ||
| R | 303 | 616 | 927 | ||
| R | 279 | 624 | 963 | ||
| R | 429 | 508 | 949 | ||
| R | 433 | 637 | 1,076 | ||
| R | 407 | 611 | 1,097 | ||
| D | 658 | 525 | 1,183 | ||
| R | 510 | 774 | 1,284 | ||
| R | 520 | 643 | 1,163 | ||
| R | 347 | 787 | 1,134 | ||
| O | 482 | 482 | 977 | ||
| R | 410 | 544 | 954 | ||
| R | 905 | 990 | 1,895 | ||
| D | 808 | 711 | 1,527 | ||
| D | 1,583 | 657 | 2,255 | ||
| R | 927 | 943 | 1,881 | ||
| R | 604 | 642 | 1,608 | ||
| R | 261 | 533 | 839 | ||
| R | 379 | 436 | 832 | ||
| D | 320 | 0 | 593 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
13.0%
English
7.1%
American
6.5%
Irish
2.0%
French
2.0%
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: 37.5 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
$54,076
Mellette County ranks in the bottom 25% of US counties.
Mellette County$54,076
South Dakota$75,081
United States$80,734
Mellette County ranks in the bottom 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
41.7%
Nearly half of children live in poverty.
Children under 1867.9%
Working age (18–64)32.8%
Seniors (65+)4.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
80.9%
speak English only
Other languages19.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 62.8% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
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.
The Republican margin here reached thirty-nine points in 1952. The 2024 margin was twenty 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 Pennington County and Jackson County. A non-English-speaking share of 19% reflects a meaningful Latino presence that votes, here, with the Republican grain.
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.
Mellette County, South Dakota. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/46095/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in South Dakota
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Frequently asked questions
How did Mellette County, South Dakota vote in 2024?
In 2024, Mellette County, South Dakota voted Republican by 20.1 points (R+20), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 740 votes cast, 285 went Democratic and 434 went Republican.
What is Mellette County, South Dakota's political typology?
Akashic places Mellette County, South Dakota in the "Texan Right" typology — East Texas and the Piney Woods — solidly Republican, with a meaningful Latino presence. 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 5 times, Republican 23 times, and other 1 times.
When did Mellette County, South Dakota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Mellette County, South Dakota voted Democratic was 2000.
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. The county's typology — "Texan Right" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.