Perkins County, South Dakota: Farm Belt county. In 2024, voted R+70%. Republican peak: R+71 in 2016.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+70MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Farm BeltAkashic typology
- Population
- 3,0012024 5-year
- Median household income
- $66,9082024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 92.9%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.0%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 1.1%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+51 in 2000MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+71 in 2016MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Hutchinson County, SD · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Perkins CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Perkins 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 | +39.6% |
| 1916 | −2.5% |
| 1920 | −41.4% |
| 1924 | −47.7% |
| 1928 | −38.0% |
| 1932 | +13.0% |
| 1936 | +15.5% |
| 1940 | −14.7% |
| 1944 | −14.2% |
| 1948 | −12.7% |
| 1952 | −43.6% |
| 1956 | −18.8% |
| 1960 | −20.6% |
| 1964 | −5.8% |
| 1968 | −25.4% |
| 1972 | −30.4% |
| 1976 | −1.4% |
| 1980 | −50.3% |
| 1984 | −40.3% |
| 1988 | −21.6% |
| 1992 | −22.9% |
| 1996 | −26.1% |
| 2000 | +50.6% |
| 2004 | −50.2% |
| 2008 | −35.8% |
| 2012 | −55.7% |
| 2016 | −71.3% |
| 2020 | −69.6% |
| 2024 | −70.0% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 228 | 1,342 | 1,591 | ||
| R | 239 | 1,401 | 1,669 | ||
| R | 188 | 1,333 | 1,606 | ||
| R | 319 | 1,205 | 1,590 | ||
| R | 499 | 1,102 | 1,686 | ||
| R | 418 | 1,329 | 1,813 | ||
| D | 1,112 | 356 | 1,494 | ||
| R | 534 | 979 | 1,702 | ||
| R | 493 | 901 | 1,778 | ||
| R | 851 | 1,326 | 2,197 | ||
| R | 714 | 1,686 | 2,411 | ||
| R | 595 | 1,931 | 2,655 | ||
| R | 1,262 | 1,298 | 2,592 | ||
| R | 900 | 1,691 | 2,598 | ||
| R | 869 | 1,498 | 2,481 | ||
| R | 1,255 | 1,409 | 2,664 | ||
| R | 1,164 | 1,767 | 2,931 | ||
| R | 1,191 | 1,743 | 2,934 | ||
| R | 849 | 2,160 | 3,009 | ||
| R | 1,096 | 1,424 | 2,587 | ||
| R | 995 | 1,325 | 2,320 | ||
| R | 1,321 | 1,777 | 3,098 | ||
| D | 1,940 | 1,408 | 3,425 | ||
| D | 1,852 | 1,406 | 3,438 | ||
| R | 1,010 | 2,262 | 3,299 | ||
| R | 277 | 1,421 | 2,400 | ||
| R | 417 | 1,326 | 2,195 | ||
| R | 890 | 939 | 1,960 | ||
| O | 832 | 0 | 2,101 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
43.0%
Irish
10.9%
English
7.3%
American
7.0%
Scottish
2.7%
Italian
2.4%
French
1.2%
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.
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: 44.0 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
$66,908
Perkins County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Perkins County$66,908
South Dakota$75,081
United States$80,734
Perkins 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
13.7%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1823.4%
Working age (18–64)10.9%
Seniors (65+)11.1%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
99.0%
speak English only
Other Indo-European0.5%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.3%
Spanish0.1%
Other languages0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 30.2% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Perkins County, anchored by cattle ranching and sparse settlement along the North Dakota border, recorded a 70-point Republican presidential margin in 2024—among the widest in a state already dominated by rural Republican voting patterns.
The Republican margin here reached seventy-one points in 2016. The 2024 margin was seventy points.
A population of 3,001, a 93% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $66,908 describe an agricultural county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Hutchinson County and Walworth 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.
Perkins County, South Dakota. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/46105/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in South Dakota
More farm belt counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Perkins County, South Dakota vote in 2024?
In 2024, Perkins County, South Dakota voted Republican by 70.0 points (R+70), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 1,591 votes cast, 228 went Democratic and 1,342 went Republican.
What is Perkins County, South Dakota's political typology?
Akashic places Perkins County, South Dakota in the "Farm Belt" typology — Rural Plains and Midwest farm counties — Republican, with modest recent movement. 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 3 times, Republican 25 times, and other 1 times.
When did Perkins County, South Dakota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Perkins County, South Dakota voted Democratic was 2000.
How many people live in Perkins County, South Dakota?
Perkins County, South Dakota has a population of 3,001 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Perkins County, South Dakota?
Median household income in Perkins County, South Dakota is $66,908 — below the national median of $80,734. The South Dakota state median is $75,081.
What is the political history of Perkins County, South Dakota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Perkins County, South Dakota from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 3 went Democratic and 25 went Republican. The county's typology — "Farm Belt" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.