† Citizen voting-age population estimated for prior cycles; 2004 predates the ACS and is extrapolated. Source: ACS 5-year, table B05003.
——
D+60R+60
18 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 CityUnited States
German27.7%12.5%
Irish12.4%9.4%
English11.4%9.5%
Norwegian7.4%—
American4.4%5.3%
Swedish2.2%—
Italian2.0%4.8%
French1.3%1.6%
Oglala Sioux2.6%—
Rosebud Sioux0.6%—
Mexican3.3%11.3%
Puerto Rican0.5%1.8%
Spanish0.2%—
Colombian0.2%0.4%
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
United States
Median age
41.7
39.1
Age 18–24
8.2%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
21.5%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Rapid City
United States
Median household income
$73,385
$84,427
Poverty rate
11.3%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
30.6%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Rapid City
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
4.3%
22.3%
Spanish
1.8%
13.6%
Religious landscape
Measure
Rapid City
United States
Catholic
9.5%
18.6%
Evangelical Protestant
20.8%
16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted
56.0%
51.5%
Mainline Protestant
9.8%
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, South Dakota
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1892–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
1892
−38.2%
1896
+10.6%
1900
−9.8%
1904
−40.6%
1908
−18.2%
1912
+35.2%
1916
+11.7%
1920
−34.6%
1924
−34.7%
1928
−32.1%
1932
+17.7%
1936
+7.8%
1940
−13.5%
1944
−18.4%
1948
−11.2%
1952
−43.7%
1956
−29.7%
1960
−23.4%
1964
+0.1%
1968
−24.1%
1972
−33.3%
1976
−16.4%
1980
−43.4%
1984
−45.5%
1988
−23.7%
1992
−16.0%
1996
−18.6%
2000
−43.1%
2004
−39.4%
2008
−28.9%
2012
−38.1%
2016
−44.5%
2020
−38.9%
2024
−40.6%
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
28.4%Harris38,820
69.0%Trump94,367
2.5%
R+40.6
R+1.8
R+39.2
136,667
R
29.0%Biden38,972
67.9%Trump91,150
3.1%
R+38.9
D+5.7
R+43.3
134,287
R
23.9%Clinton27,604
68.4%Trump79,114
7.8%
R+44.5
R+6.4
R+46.6
115,687
R
29.5%Obama32,580
67.7%Romney74,646
2.8%
R+38.1
R+9.3
R+42.0
110,336
R
34.3%Obama39,514
63.2%McCain72,716
2.5%
R+28.9
D+10.5
R+36.1
115,068
R
29.3%Kerry33,109
68.7%Bush77,566
2.0%
R+39.4
D+3.7
R+36.9
112,932
R
27.1%Gore25,440
70.2%Bush65,854
2.7%
R+43.1
R+24.5
R+43.6
93,852
R
34.6%Clinton32,301
53.2%Dole49,631
12.2%
R+18.6
R+2.6
R+27.1
93,319
R
29.6%Clinton28,713
45.6%Bush44,214
24.8%
R+16.0
D+7.7
R+21.5
96,960
R
37.7%Dukakis32,910
61.4%Bush53,651
0.9%
R+23.7
D+21.8
R+16.0
87,391
R
26.9%Mondale23,417
72.4%Reagan63,125
0.8%
R+45.5
R+2.2
R+27.3
87,203
R
24.8%Carter20,608
68.2%Reagan56,700
7.1%
R+43.4
R+27.0
R+33.6
83,191
R
41.1%Carter29,656
57.4%Ford41,462
1.5%
R+16.4
D+17.0
R+18.4
72,188
R
33.1%McGovern23,410
66.4%Nixon46,999
0.5%
R+33.3
R+9.2
R+10.2
70,746
R
34.2%Humphrey21,442
58.4%Nixon36,565
7.4%
R+24.1
R+24.2
R+23.4
62,648
D
50.0%Johnson34,153
50.0%Goldwater34,095
0.0%
D+0.1
D+23.5
R+22.5
68,248
R
38.3%Kennedy27,039
61.7%Nixon43,545
0.0%
R+23.4
D+6.3
R+23.5
70,588
R
35.2%Stevenson22,400
64.8%Eisenhower41,286
0.0%
R+29.7
D+14.1
R+14.3
63,686
R
28.1%Stevenson18,787
71.8%Eisenhower48,029
0.1%
R+43.7
R+32.5
R+33.0
66,850
R
43.9%Truman23,736
55.1%Dewey29,800
1.0%
R+11.2
D+7.2
R+15.7
54,083
R
40.8%Roosevelt19,745
59.2%Dewey28,668
0.0%
R+18.4
R+5.0
R+25.9
48,414
R
43.2%Roosevelt28,324
56.7%Willkie37,143
0.0%
R+13.5
R+21.3
R+23.4
65,496
D
52.6%Roosevelt33,352
44.7%Landon28,375
2.7%
D+7.8
R+9.9
R+16.4
63,438
D
57.7%Roosevelt35,322
40.0%Hoover24,462
2.4%
D+17.7
D+49.8
R+0.1
61,230
R
33.6%Smith17,644
65.7%Hoover34,518
0.7%
R+32.1
D+2.5
R+14.6
52,550
R
20.7%Davis8,836
55.4%Coolidge23,594
23.9%
R+34.7
R+0.1
R+9.5
42,587
R
27.5%Cox10,010
62.0%Harding22,608
10.5%
R+34.6
R+46.3
R+8.4
36,447
D
53.3%Wilson15,492
41.6%Hughes12,092
5.2%
D+11.7
R+23.5
D+8.5
29,091
O
43.1%Wilson11,164
7.9%Taft2,043
49.0%
Roosevelt +5.9
D+53.4
D+15.7
25,888
R
36.5%Bryan8,141
54.7%Taft12,188
8.8%
R+18.2
D+22.4
R+8.6
22,288
R
25.3%Parker4,577
65.8%Roosevelt11,932
8.9%
R+40.6
R+30.8
R+20.9
18,122
R
44.5%Bryan7,078
54.4%McKinley8,637
1.1%
R+9.8
R+20.4
R+2.3
15,891
D
55.0%Bryan8,098
44.5%McKinley6,544
0.5%
D+10.6
D+48.7
D+16.6
14,721
R
10.4%Cleveland1,277
48.6%Harrison5,954
41.0%
R+38.2
—
R+39.8
12,252
voter registration
Registered voters
By party of registration, over time
Party registration · 2026R+45.3
vs
Presidential vote · 2024R+40.6
Registration leans Republican; the presidential vote runs 4.7 points more Republican.
DemocraticRepublicanUnaffiliatedOther parties
† Some years predate full county coverage; a flagged year sums only the counties reporting it.
Voter registration in Rapid City
Year
Total registered
Democratic
Republican
Unaffiliated
Other
2026 (partial)
191,694
29,633
116,522
21,470
24,069
domestic migration
Who moves in and out
Net domestic migration over time
+1,045 net domestic migration · 2025
20112025
Net +23,747 over 2011–2025 · gain loss
Domestic migration in Rapid City in Rapid City: net domestic migration by year
Year
Net domestic migration
2011
+531
2012
+1,034
2013
+1,890
2014
+629
2015
−223
2016
+1,125
2017
+976
2018
+1,232
2019
+1,981
2021
+4,710
2022
+4,759
2023
+2,923
2024
+1,135
2025
+1,045
The Rapid City media market anchors western South Dakota and pulls in corners of Wyoming and Nebraska, blending rural agricultural precincts with an urban core that has shifted measurably as the metro's population climbed past 80,000.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 35.2 points in 1912 and a Republican high of 45.5 points in 1984. Between 2020 and 2024 the market moved 1.8 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 40.6 points.
A population of 265,694, a 82% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $73,385 describe the market. The market's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Casper-Riverton and Cheyenne-Scottsbluff.
Akashic
Political twins — media markets
The media markets 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 →
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All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Rapid City, South Dakota. Akashic. https://akashic.app/dma/764/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
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In 2024, Rapid City, South Dakota voted Republican by 40.6 points (R+40.6), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 136,667 votes cast, 38,820 went Democratic and 94,367 went Republican.
When did Rapid City, South Dakota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Rapid City, South Dakota voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in Rapid City, South Dakota?
Rapid City, South Dakota has a population of 265,694 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Rapid City, South Dakota?
Median household income in Rapid City, South Dakota is $73,385 — below the national median of $80,734. The South Dakota state median is $75,081.
What is the political history of Rapid City, South Dakota?
Akashic tracks 34 presidential elections in Rapid City, South Dakota from 1892 to 2024. Of those, 5 went Democratic and 28 went Republican.
