Potter County, South Dakota: Farm Belt county. In 2024, voted R+65%. Republican peak: R+66 in 2020.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+65MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Farm BeltAkashic typology
- Population
- 2,3882024 5-year
- Median household income
- $72,0452024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 93.3%2024 5-year
- Black
- 1.5%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 0.0%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+47 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+66 in 2020MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Brunswick County, NC · similarity 0.99
2024 results by precinct
Precinct
Margin—
Turnout—
Harris +50Trump +50
Hover precincts for detail. Real precinct boundaries forthcoming.
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 | −42.0% |
| 1896 | +7.8% |
| 1900 | +0.8% |
| 1904 | −29.9% |
| 1908 | −20.2% |
| 1912 | +46.9% |
| 1916 | +11.1% |
| 1920 | −55.1% |
| 1924 | −44.1% |
| 1928 | −6.0% |
| 1932 | +42.9% |
| 1936 | +18.4% |
| 1940 | −9.6% |
| 1944 | −16.5% |
| 1948 | −0.2% |
| 1952 | −47.5% |
| 1956 | −26.3% |
| 1960 | −13.8% |
| 1964 | +13.8% |
| 1968 | −22.4% |
| 1972 | −23.6% |
| 1976 | −11.1% |
| 1980 | −55.2% |
| 1984 | −52.5% |
| 1988 | −25.0% |
| 1992 | +6.8% |
| 1996 | +12.5% |
| 2000 | +13.2% |
| 2004 | −42.0% |
| 2008 | −31.6% |
| 2012 | −50.0% |
| 2016 | −64.0% |
| 2020 | −66.1% |
| 2024 | −65.1% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 214 | 1,059 | 1,298 | ||
| R | 227 | 1,139 | 1,380 | ||
| R | 215 | 1,071 | 1,337 | ||
| R | 339 | 1,029 | 1,381 | ||
| R | 482 | 937 | 1,440 | ||
| R | 463 | 1,143 | 1,618 | ||
| D | 2,237 | 1,700 | 4,074 | ||
| D | 2,186 | 1,646 | 4,333 | ||
| D | 1,716 | 1,437 | 4,121 | ||
| R | 701 | 1,175 | 1,893 | ||
| R | 482 | 1,551 | 2,035 | ||
| R | 436 | 1,633 | 2,169 | ||
| R | 908 | 1,136 | 2,052 | ||
| R | 858 | 1,389 | 2,253 | ||
| R | 780 | 1,273 | 2,202 | ||
| D | 1,260 | 954 | 2,214 | ||
| R | 1,004 | 1,326 | 2,330 | ||
| R | 843 | 1,445 | 2,288 | ||
| R | 579 | 1,625 | 2,204 | ||
| R | 1,039 | 1,044 | 2,101 | ||
| R | 717 | 1,001 | 1,718 | ||
| R | 1,054 | 1,278 | 2,332 | ||
| D | 1,338 | 914 | 2,306 | ||
| D | 1,668 | 660 | 2,350 | ||
| R | 1,100 | 1,240 | 2,350 | ||
| R | 283 | 1,075 | 1,797 | ||
| R | 255 | 1,073 | 1,484 | ||
| D | 512 | 408 | 938 | ||
| O | 423 | 0 | 901 | ||
| R | 400 | 614 | 1,057 | ||
| R | 275 | 525 | 836 | ||
| D | 381 | 375 | 782 | ||
| D | 390 | 333 | 728 | ||
| R | 57 | 320 | 626 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
41.0%
Irish
6.9%
English
4.6%
American
3.9%
French
2.0%
Polish
1.8%
Scottish
0.5%
African American
1.2%
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: 49.9 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
$72,045
Potter County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Potter County$72,045
South Dakota$75,081
United States$80,734
Potter 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
6.2%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 186.9%
Working age (18–64)3.6%
Seniors (65+)18.3%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
97.2%
speak English only
Other Indo-European0.9%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.8%
Other languages0.6%
Spanish0.5%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 14.1% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
With fewer than 2,700 residents spread across nearly 900 square miles of central South Dakota rangeland, Potter County has delivered Republican presidential margins exceeding 60 points in recent cycles, making it a reliable data point for studying rural Plains voting patterns.
The Republican margin here reached sixty-six points in 2020. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved one point toward the Democratic candidate; the 2024 margin was sixty-five points.
A population of 2,388, a 93% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $72,045 describe an agricultural county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Brunswick County and Pender 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.
Potter County, South Dakota. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/46107/. 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 Potter County, South Dakota vote in 2024?
In 2024, Potter County, South Dakota voted Republican by 65.1 points (R+65), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 1,298 votes cast, 214 went Democratic and 1,059 went Republican.
What is Potter County, South Dakota's political typology?
Akashic places Potter 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 9 times, Republican 24 times, and other 1 times.
When did Potter County, South Dakota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Potter County, South Dakota voted Democratic was 2000.
How many people live in Potter County, South Dakota?
Potter County, South Dakota has a population of 2,388 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Potter County, South Dakota?
Median household income in Potter County, South Dakota is $72,045 — below the national median of $80,734. The South Dakota state median is $75,081.
What is the political history of Potter County, South Dakota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Potter County, South Dakota from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 9 went Democratic and 24 went Republican. The county's typology — "Farm Belt" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.