† Citizen voting-age population estimated for prior cycles; 2004 predates the ACS and is extrapolated. Source: ACS 5-year, table B05003.
——
D+60R+60
4 counties by 2024 margin · County returns · MIT Election Lab
People and households
Who lives here
Exact values for this place, its state, and the United States.
Race · ethnicity · ancestry
Communities and origins
GroupRapid City-Spearfish, SDSouth DakotaUnited States
German29.9%33.1%12.5%
Irish13.2%9.9%9.4%
English11.2%7.7%9.5%
Norwegian7.9%10.4%—
American4.2%4.4%5.3%
Swedish2.7%2.5%—
Italian2.1%—4.8%
French1.7%—1.6%
Mexican3.3%2.6%11.3%
Puerto Rican0.5%0.4%1.8%
Colombian0.3%—0.4%
Spanish0.2%——
Oglala Sioux2.1%2.0%—
Rosebud Sioux0.6%1.1%—
African American†0.8%1.1%9.9%
Filipino0.3%0.2%0.9%
Korean0.1%—0.4%
Burmese0.1%0.2%—
Hispanic or Latino counts residents of any race; the race groups count only their non-Hispanic residents, so the groups are mutually exclusive and sum to 100%. Expand a row to see ancestries reported within that group.
Age and life stage
Measure
Rapid City-Spearfish, SD
South Dakota
United States
Median age
41.2
38.2
39.1
Age 18–24
8.7%
9.2%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
20.8%
18.0%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Rapid City-Spearfish, SD
South Dakota
United States
Median household income
$74,866
$75,081
$84,427
Poverty rate
10.5%
12.0%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
33.0%
31.9%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Rapid City-Spearfish, SD
South Dakota
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
4.3%
7.1%
22.3%
Spanish
1.6%
2.6%
13.6%
Religious landscape
Measure
Rapid City-Spearfish, SD
South Dakota
United States
Catholic
8.6%
14.8%
18.6%
Evangelical Protestant
23.9%
20.1%
16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted
55.1%
44.9%
51.5%
Mainline Protestant
10.0%
18.0%
5.2%
American Community Survey 2024 5-year (CVAP, income, age, poverty, education, language, race, ancestry) · presidential returns from MIT Election Lab through 2024 · 2020 U.S. Religion Census (ASARB) — congregational adherents; unclaimed is the residual not counted by congregations.
Rapid City-Spearfish, SD
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1892–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
1892
−36.8%
1896
+14.3%
1900
−10.0%
1904
−43.9%
1908
−17.3%
1912
+49.6%
1916
+7.7%
1920
−35.3%
1924
−46.2%
1928
−35.5%
1932
+10.7%
1936
+1.3%
1940
−17.2%
1944
−24.5%
1948
−15.8%
1952
−44.8%
1956
−33.7%
1960
−23.1%
1964
+2.7%
1968
−17.2%
1972
−26.4%
1976
−13.7%
1980
−42.2%
1984
−44.4%
1988
−22.6%
1992
−16.3%
1996
−17.4%
2000
−39.5%
2004
−36.5%
2008
−22.6%
2012
−31.7%
2016
−37.1%
2020
−30.5%
2024
−32.4%
DemocraticRepublican
34 presidential elections
Third column names the leading third-party or independent finisher. Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024). Swing · margin change from the prior cycle. vs U.S. · margin relative to the national result that year.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Other
Margin
Swing
vs U.S.
Total
R
32.5%Harris30,113
64.9%Trump60,113
2.6%
R+32.4
R+1.9
R+30.9
92,662
R
33.1%Biden29,950
63.6%Trump57,543
3.3%
R+30.5
D+6.6
R+34.9
90,510
R
27.4%Clinton20,774
64.5%Trump48,949
8.2%
R+37.1
R+5.5
R+39.2
75,927
R
32.8%Obama23,361
64.5%Romney45,885
2.7%
R+31.7
R+9.0
R+35.5
71,160
R
37.6%Obama27,960
60.2%McCain44,814
2.2%
R+22.6
D+13.9
R+29.9
74,448
R
30.8%Kerry22,283
67.3%Bush48,734
1.9%
R+36.5
D+2.9
R+34.1
72,395
R
29.1%Gore17,142
68.6%Bush40,388
2.3%
R+39.5
R+22.0
R+40.0
58,902
R
35.5%Clinton20,434
53.0%Dole30,447
11.5%
R+17.4
R+1.1
R+25.9
57,491
R
29.7%Clinton18,035
46.0%Bush27,968
24.3%
R+16.3
D+6.3
R+21.9
60,766
R
38.3%Dukakis20,165
60.9%Bush32,075
0.8%
R+22.6
D+21.8
R+14.9
52,645
R
27.4%Mondale13,740
71.9%Reagan35,987
0.7%
R+44.4
R+2.2
R+26.2
50,062
R
25.1%Carter11,809
67.3%Reagan31,703
7.6%
R+42.2
R+28.5
R+32.5
47,103
R
42.4%Carter16,633
56.1%Ford22,027
1.5%
R+13.7
D+12.7
R+15.8
39,243
R
36.6%McGovern13,556
63.0%Nixon23,341
0.4%
R+26.4
R+9.2
R+3.3
37,047
R
38.1%Humphrey11,977
55.4%Nixon17,391
6.5%
R+17.2
R+20.0
R+16.5
31,417
D
51.4%Johnson16,848
48.6%Goldwater15,951
0.0%
D+2.7
D+25.8
R+19.8
32,799
R
38.5%Kennedy12,891
61.5%Nixon20,624
0.0%
R+23.1
D+10.6
R+23.2
33,515
R
33.1%Stevenson9,714
66.9%Eisenhower19,590
0.0%
R+33.7
D+11.1
R+18.3
29,304
R
27.6%Stevenson8,157
72.4%Eisenhower21,422
0.0%
R+44.8
R+29.0
R+34.1
29,579
R
41.7%Truman9,736
57.5%Dewey13,440
0.9%
R+15.8
D+8.7
R+20.3
23,375
R
37.7%Roosevelt7,259
62.3%Dewey11,974
0.0%
R+24.5
R+7.3
R+32.0
19,233
R
41.4%Roosevelt11,475
58.6%Willkie16,247
0.0%
R+17.2
R+18.5
R+27.2
27,722
D
49.2%Roosevelt13,189
47.9%Landon12,845
2.9%
D+1.3
R+9.5
R+23.0
26,808
D
54.6%Roosevelt12,519
43.9%Hoover10,058
1.5%
D+10.7
D+46.3
R+7.1
22,919
R
32.0%Smith6,207
67.6%Hoover13,095
0.4%
R+35.5
D+10.6
R+18.1
19,381
R
17.2%Davis2,525
63.4%Coolidge9,295
19.4%
R+46.2
R+10.9
R+21.0
14,669
R
28.6%Cox3,683
63.9%Harding8,232
7.6%
R+35.3
R+42.9
R+9.1
12,891
D
51.4%Wilson5,208
43.7%Hughes4,432
4.9%
D+7.7
R+41.9
D+4.5
10,132
O
49.6%Wilson4,941
0.0%Taft0
50.4%
Roosevelt +0.9
D+66.8
D+30.0
9,971
R
35.2%Bryan3,944
52.5%Taft5,877
12.2%
R+17.3
D+26.7
R+7.7
11,189
R
22.2%Parker2,235
66.1%Roosevelt6,663
11.7%
R+43.9
R+34.0
R+24.3
10,077
R
44.4%Bryan4,383
54.4%McKinley5,366
1.2%
R+10.0
R+24.3
R+2.4
9,865
D
56.9%Bryan5,265
42.6%McKinley3,940
0.5%
D+14.3
D+51.1
D+20.4
9,255
R
11.9%Cleveland987
48.8%Harrison4,029
39.3%
R+36.8
—
R+38.5
8,263
Congressional elections · 2 Senate races
U.S. Senate
Source · MIT Election Lab (MEDSL), Senate. CC-BY 4.0.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Total
2022
R
25.2%18,653
69.5%51,527
74,109
2020
R
31.5%28,201
68.5%61,407
89,608
voter registration
Registered voters
By party of registration, over time
Party registration · 2026R+38.9
vs
Presidential vote · 2024R+32.4
Registration leans Republican; the presidential vote runs 6.5 points more Republican.
Domestic migration in Rapid City-Spearfish, SD in Rapid City-Spearfish, SD: net domestic migration by year
Year
Net domestic migration
2011
+507
2012
+1,006
2013
+1,928
2014
+675
2015
−202
2016
+1,176
2017
+1,499
2018
+1,259
2019
+1,633
2021
+3,270
2022
+3,724
2023
+2,318
2024
+655
2025
+790
Rapid City-Spearfish, SD sits in the Northern Plains. In 2024 it voted Republican.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 49.6 points in 1912 and a Republican high of 46.2 points in 1924. Between 2020 and 2024 the region moved 1.9 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 32.4 points.
A population of 180,183, a 81% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $74,866 describe the region. The region's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Harrisonburg-Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA and Altoona-Huntingdon, PA.
Akashic
Political twins — combined metros
The combined metros whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.
Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.
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.
Rapid City-Spearfish, SD, South Dakota. Akashic. https://akashic.app/csa/452/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
How did Rapid City-Spearfish, SD, South Dakota vote in 2024?
In 2024, Rapid City-Spearfish, SD, South Dakota voted Republican by 32.4 points (R+32.4), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 92,662 votes cast, 30,113 went Democratic and 60,113 went Republican.
When did Rapid City-Spearfish, SD, South Dakota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Rapid City-Spearfish, SD, South Dakota voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in Rapid City-Spearfish, SD, South Dakota?
Rapid City-Spearfish, SD, South Dakota has a population of 180,183 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Rapid City-Spearfish, SD, South Dakota?
Median household income in Rapid City-Spearfish, SD, South Dakota is $74,866 — below the national median of $80,734. The South Dakota state median is $75,081.
What is the political history of Rapid City-Spearfish, SD, South Dakota?
Akashic tracks 34 presidential elections in Rapid City-Spearfish, SD, South Dakota from 1892 to 2024. Of those, 5 went Democratic and 28 went Republican.
