Brule County, South Dakota

• White (non-Hispanic) 4,289 81.2%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race) 121 2.3%
• Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 34 0.6%
• Asian (non-Hispanic) 0 0.0%
• Two or more races (non-Hispanic) 308 5.8%
• American Indian / Alaska Native (non-Hispanic) 531 10.1%
• Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic) 0 0.0%
• Some other race (non-Hispanic) 0 0.0%

• Under 18 1,283 24.3%
• 18–24 440 8.3%
• 25–44 1,110 21.0%
• 45–64 1,340 25.4%
• 65 and over 1,110 21.0%

Median household income

$71,448

90% interval $64,919–$77,977

−$6,046 vs SD · 37th of 66

Below poverty line

12.7%

90% interval 9.6%–15.8%

+2.2 pp vs SD · 24th of 66

Unemployment (12-mo)

1.6%

−0.52 pp vs. state

County GDP

$335.7M

0.44% of state

Avg. annual pay

$42,625

Establishments

256

• Trade, transportation & utilities 457 23.5%
• Leisure & hospitality 364 18.7%
• Education & health services 347 17.8%
• Natural resources & mining 78 4.0%
• Financial activities 67 3.4%
• Public administration 21 1.1%

The sectors listed cover 68.5% of covered employment; BLS withholds the rest to avoid disclosing individual employers.

Home ownership

76.4%

+7.8 pp vs SD · 26th of 66

Median gross rent

$835

−$111 vs SD · 24th of 66

Owner-occupied

1,493

Renter-occupied

462

• Moderately concentrated

  Top three sectors employ 60% of the county workforce. Substantial intra-sector overlap among panelists is likely; confirm employer relationships before sector-specific framing.

• Moderate wage spread

  Highest-paid sector (Financial activities, $78,306/yr) pays 4.0× the lowest (Leisure & hospitality, $19,824/yr). Expect meaningful income variation across the panel.

• Small-business scale

  Average establishment employs only 7.6 workers, a small-business-dominated local economy. Expect more self-employed and small-business-owner panelists than in institutional-employer venues.

• Republican 1,694 69.9%
• Democratic 666 27.5%
• Other / third-party 63 2.6%

• German or other West Germanic 115 2.3%
• Spanish 82 1.7%
• Tagalog 19 0.4%
• Vietnamese 17 0.3%
• Arabic 5 0.1%

Households

1,955

Family households

1,191

60.9% of households

Married couples w/ children

390

32.7% of families

Single-mother families

105

8.8% of families

Veterans

171

4.3% of civilians 18+

• Evangelical Protestant 1,429 27.2%
• Mainline Protestant 1,051 20.0%
• Catholic 622 11.9%
• Other (non-Christian + minor traditions) 292 5.6%

Health insured

93.2%

±2.4 pp

Uninsured

6.8%

±2.4 pp

39th of 66

With a disability

17.0%

±3.1 pp

5th of 66

Bachelor's or higher

28.7%

±3.5 pp

−3.2 pp vs SD · 20th of 66

Uninsured, under 65 (2024)

12.7%

90% interval 11.3%–14.1% · Census SAHIE

The under-65 uninsured rate is not comparable to the ACS insurance figures, which cover all ages.

Trial court

1st Judicial Circuit Court

Judges

4 (Circuit Court judges per circuit (general civil + felony criminal trial jurisdiction); vintage 2026 ujs.sd.gov directory + SDCL § 16-5-1. SD has 46 Circuit Court judges statewide (2025 UJS Guide to South Dakota Courts); the per-circuit figures shown are approximate (judges may sit by assignment across circuits). Magistrate Court judges (limited jurisdiction: misdemeanors, small claims) are separately allocated and not counted here.)

Court seats

Alexandria, Armour, Chamberlain, Elk Point, Gann Valley, Lake Andes, Mitchell, Olivet, Parker, Plankinton, Salem, Tyndall, Vermillion, Yankton

This judicial district spans multiple counties.

Traffic fatalities

1

25 per 100k adults (18+)

Fatal crashes

1