Pennington County, South Dakota: Stable Rural Right county. In 2024, voted R+26%. Democratic peak: D+58 in 2000.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+26MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Stable Rural RightAkashic typology
- Population
- 113,5122024 5-year
- Median household income
- $74,5172024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 79.0%2024 5-year
- Black
- 1.1%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 5.7%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+58 in 2000MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+47 in 1924MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Transylvania County, NC · similarity 0.97
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Pennington CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Pennington 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 | −42.9% |
| 1896 | +16.8% |
| 1900 | −6.7% |
| 1904 | −45.0% |
| 1908 | −18.3% |
| 1912 | +48.2% |
| 1916 | −8.9% |
| 1920 | −34.1% |
| 1924 | −46.6% |
| 1928 | −34.3% |
| 1932 | +17.4% |
| 1936 | +10.7% |
| 1940 | −15.0% |
| 1944 | −19.7% |
| 1948 | −12.8% |
| 1952 | −42.3% |
| 1956 | −34.5% |
| 1960 | −20.6% |
| 1964 | +5.1% |
| 1968 | −13.0% |
| 1972 | −22.7% |
| 1976 | −13.9% |
| 1980 | −42.1% |
| 1984 | −45.2% |
| 1988 | −23.4% |
| 1992 | −15.4% |
| 1996 | −30.9% |
| 2000 | +58.2% |
| 2004 | −35.1% |
| 2008 | −21.2% |
| 2012 | −29.5% |
| 2016 | −32.9% |
| 2020 | −25.1% |
| 2024 | −26.4% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 20,051 | 35,009 | 56,580 | ||
| R | 20,606 | 35,063 | 57,518 | ||
| R | 14,074 | 29,804 | 47,743 | ||
| R | 15,125 | 28,232 | 44,464 | ||
| R | 17,802 | 27,603 | 46,280 | ||
| R | 14,213 | 29,976 | 44,968 | ||
| D | 1,237 | 297 | 1,614 | ||
| R | 460 | 983 | 1,692 | ||
| R | 566 | 872 | 1,991 | ||
| R | 12,068 | 19,510 | 31,757 | ||
| R | 8,224 | 21,947 | 30,389 | ||
| R | 7,121 | 18,991 | 28,204 | ||
| R | 10,058 | 13,352 | 23,699 | ||
| R | 8,592 | 13,654 | 22,326 | ||
| R | 7,303 | 9,671 | 18,148 | ||
| D | 9,881 | 8,926 | 18,807 | ||
| R | 7,478 | 11,364 | 18,842 | ||
| R | 5,332 | 10,955 | 16,287 | ||
| R | 4,470 | 11,029 | 15,499 | ||
| R | 4,929 | 6,392 | 11,413 | ||
| R | 3,517 | 5,246 | 8,763 | ||
| R | 4,878 | 6,603 | 11,481 | ||
| D | 5,557 | 4,442 | 10,428 | ||
| D | 5,178 | 3,638 | 8,875 | ||
| R | 2,266 | 4,645 | 6,936 | ||
| R | 854 | 3,201 | 5,035 | ||
| R | 1,205 | 2,568 | 3,998 | ||
| R | 1,108 | 1,339 | 2,593 | ||
| O | 1,135 | 0 | 2,357 | ||
| R | 1,160 | 1,702 | 2,966 | ||
| R | 392 | 1,126 | 1,632 | ||
| R | 784 | 898 | 1,697 | ||
| D | 1,038 | 739 | 1,785 | ||
| R | 147 | 959 | 1,893 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
29.1%
Irish
13.5%
English
11.9%
American
3.6%
French
2.7%
Italian
2.5%
Scottish
2.4%
African American
0.9%
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: 40.1 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
$74,517
Pennington County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Pennington County$74,517
South Dakota$75,081
United States$80,734
Pennington 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
11.2%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1815.2%
Working age (18–64)9.9%
Seniors (65+)11.0%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
95.6%
speak English only
Spanish1.5%
Other languages1.2%
Other Indo-European1.0%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.7%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 51.0% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Home to Rapid City and the gateway to the Black Hills, Pennington County combines a mid-size urban core with expansive rural terrain. Its R+26 presidential margin in 2024 reflects a consistent pattern of Republican dominance across both areas.
The Republican margin here reached forty-seven points in 1924. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved one point toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was twenty-six points.
A population of 113,512, a 79% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $74,517 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Transylvania County and Hughes 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.
Pennington County, South Dakota. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/46103/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in South Dakota
More stable rural right counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Pennington County, South Dakota vote in 2024?
In 2024, Pennington County, South Dakota voted Republican by 26.4 points (R+26), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 56,580 votes cast, 20,051 went Democratic and 35,009 went Republican.
What is Pennington County, South Dakota's political typology?
Akashic places Pennington County, South Dakota in the "Stable Rural Right" typology — Mountain, Plains, and rural Republican counties already near their ceiling, with little further room to swing. 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 28 times, and other 1 times.
When did Pennington County, South Dakota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Pennington County, South Dakota voted Democratic was 2000.
How many people live in Pennington County, South Dakota?
Pennington County, South Dakota has a population of 113,512 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Pennington County, South Dakota?
Median household income in Pennington County, South Dakota is $74,517 — below the national median of $80,734. The South Dakota state median is $75,081.
What is the political history of Pennington County, South Dakota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Pennington County, South Dakota from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 5 went Democratic and 28 went Republican. The county's typology — "Stable Rural Right" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.