Moody County, South Dakota: Heartland Swing county. In 2024, voted R+32%. Republican peak: R+60 in 1904.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+32MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Heartland SwingAkashic typology
- Population
- 6,3972024 5-year
- Median household income
- $78,4272024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 74.6%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.2%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 5.8%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+36 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+60 in 1904MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Pine County, MN · similarity 0.98
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Moody CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Moody 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 | −46.3% |
| 1896 | +12.9% |
| 1900 | −15.1% |
| 1904 | −60.1% |
| 1908 | −32.5% |
| 1912 | +35.6% |
| 1916 | +3.8% |
| 1920 | −49.4% |
| 1924 | −33.4% |
| 1928 | −19.6% |
| 1932 | +32.2% |
| 1936 | +8.2% |
| 1940 | −20.3% |
| 1944 | −18.9% |
| 1948 | −1.8% |
| 1952 | −42.9% |
| 1956 | −7.4% |
| 1960 | −5.0% |
| 1964 | +22.3% |
| 1968 | −2.2% |
| 1972 | +6.9% |
| 1976 | +13.6% |
| 1980 | −12.7% |
| 1984 | −1.5% |
| 1988 | +19.2% |
| 1992 | +18.5% |
| 1996 | +15.1% |
| 2000 | +1.6% |
| 2004 | −5.2% |
| 2008 | +4.8% |
| 2012 | −3.5% |
| 2016 | −23.5% |
| 2020 | −24.1% |
| 2024 | −31.9% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 1,052 | 2,068 | 3,189 | ||
| R | 1,179 | 1,951 | 3,206 | ||
| R | 1,043 | 1,731 | 2,933 | ||
| R | 1,429 | 1,535 | 3,033 | ||
| D | 1,663 | 1,508 | 3,254 | ||
| R | 1,609 | 1,790 | 3,451 | ||
| D | 1,361 | 1,318 | 2,735 | ||
| D | 1,443 | 1,024 | 2,767 | ||
| D | 1,473 | 898 | 3,104 | ||
| D | 1,715 | 1,161 | 2,889 | ||
| R | 1,586 | 1,633 | 3,228 | ||
| R | 1,364 | 1,807 | 3,480 | ||
| D | 1,942 | 1,475 | 3,428 | ||
| D | 1,895 | 1,648 | 3,554 | ||
| R | 1,614 | 1,689 | 3,456 | ||
| D | 2,301 | 1,461 | 3,762 | ||
| R | 1,918 | 2,119 | 4,037 | ||
| R | 1,840 | 2,133 | 3,973 | ||
| R | 1,089 | 2,728 | 3,817 | ||
| R | 1,630 | 1,691 | 3,369 | ||
| R | 1,420 | 2,080 | 3,500 | ||
| R | 1,820 | 2,749 | 4,569 | ||
| D | 2,366 | 1,992 | 4,560 | ||
| D | 2,547 | 1,289 | 3,906 | ||
| R | 1,416 | 2,108 | 3,535 | ||
| O | 234 | 1,181 | 2,833 | ||
| R | 371 | 1,667 | 2,623 | ||
| D | 973 | 898 | 1,982 | ||
| O | 637 | 0 | 1,789 | ||
| R | 623 | 1,275 | 2,008 | ||
| R | 295 | 1,471 | 1,958 | ||
| R | 875 | 1,190 | 2,091 | ||
| D | 1,012 | 780 | 1,799 | ||
| R | 96 | 735 | 1,379 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
31.6%
English
7.0%
Irish
5.9%
American
4.8%
Italian
1.1%
Scottish
1.0%
French
0.9%
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
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: 40.8 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
$78,427
Moody County ranks in the top 25% of US counties.
Moody County$78,427
South Dakota$75,081
United States$80,734
Moody 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
11.6%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1814.1%
Working age (18–64)9.6%
Seniors (65+)21.2%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
92.8%
speak English only
Spanish3.9%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.8%
Other languages1.0%
Other Indo-European0.6%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 35.8% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Moody County sits in South Dakota's Coteau des Prairies, where a small, predominantly rural population has delivered Republican presidential margins exceeding 30 points in recent cycles, consistent with the broader eastern plains trend.
The Democratic margin here peaked at thirty-six points in 1912. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved eight points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was thirty-two points.
A population of 6,397, a 75% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $78,427 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Pine County and Braxton 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.
Moody County, South Dakota. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/46101/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in South Dakota
More heartland swing counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Moody County, South Dakota vote in 2024?
In 2024, Moody County, South Dakota voted Republican by 31.9 points (R+32), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 3,189 votes cast, 1,052 went Democratic and 2,068 went Republican.
What is Moody County, South Dakota's political typology?
Akashic places Moody County, South Dakota in the "Heartland Swing" typology — Industrial Midwest swing counties drifting steadily toward the Republican Party. 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 12 times, Republican 20 times, and other 2 times.
When did Moody County, South Dakota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Moody County, South Dakota voted Democratic was 2008.
How many people live in Moody County, South Dakota?
Moody County, South Dakota has a population of 6,397 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Moody County, South Dakota?
Median household income in Moody County, South Dakota is $78,427 — below the national median of $80,734. The South Dakota state median is $75,081.
What is the political history of Moody County, South Dakota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Moody County, South Dakota from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 12 went Democratic and 20 went Republican. The county's typology — "Heartland Swing" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.