Butte County, South Dakota

• White (non-Hispanic) 9,395 88.0%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race) 456 4.3%
• Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 0 0.0%
• Asian (non-Hispanic) 50 0.5%
• Two or more races (non-Hispanic) 627 5.9%
• American Indian / Alaska Native (non-Hispanic) 114 1.1%
• Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic) 16 0.1%
• Some other race (non-Hispanic) 18 0.2%

• Under 18 2,647 24.8%
• 18–24 777 7.3%
• 25–44 2,415 22.6%
• 45–64 2,688 25.2%
• 65 and over 2,149 20.1%

Median household income

$64,896

90% interval $57,474–$72,318

−$12,598 vs SD · 46th of 66

Below poverty line

11.6%

90% interval 8.9%–14.3%

+1.1 pp vs SD · 32nd of 66

Unemployment (12-mo)

2.0%

−0.17 pp vs. state

County GDP

$474.8M

0.62% of state

Avg. annual pay

$47,766

Establishments

483

• Trade, transportation & utilities 758 26.0%
• Leisure & hospitality 344 11.8%
• Education & health services 296 10.1%
• Construction 239 8.2%
• Professional & business services 226 7.7%
• Manufacturing 161 5.5%
• Natural resources & mining 116 4.0%
• Other services 111 3.8%
• Financial activities 96 3.3%
• Public administration 48 1.6%
• Information 4 0.1%

The sectors listed cover 82.1% of covered employment; BLS withholds the rest to avoid disclosing individual employers.

Home ownership

76.1%

+7.5 pp vs SD · 30th of 66

Median gross rent

$972

+$26 vs SD · 10th of 66

Owner-occupied

3,279

Renter-occupied

1,027

• Diversified

  Top three sectors employ 48% of the workforce, a relatively diversified local economy. Expect mixed employer backgrounds on the panel rather than concentration in any one institution or industry.

• Wide wage spread

  Highest-paid sector (Information, $131,788/yr) pays 6.1× the lowest (Leisure & hospitality, $21,594/yr). Stark intra-economy class divisions on the panel; calibrate damages and lost-wages framing to that range.

• Small-business scale

  Average establishment employs only 6.0 workers, a small-business-dominated local economy. Expect more self-employed and small-business-owner panelists than in institutional-employer venues.

• Republican 4,024 79.2%
• Democratic 942 18.5%
• Other / third-party 116 2.3%

• Spanish 175 1.8%
• German or other West Germanic 56 0.6%
• Vietnamese 26 0.3%
• French, Haitian, or Cajun 4 0.0%
• Tagalog 3 0.0%

Households

4,306

Family households

2,939

68.3% of households

Married couples w/ children

843

28.7% of families

Single-mother families

216

7.3% of families

Veterans

560

7% of civilians 18+

• Evangelical Protestant 2,484 24.3%
• Mainline Protestant 981 9.6%
• Catholic 931 9.1%
• Other (non-Christian + minor traditions) 349 3.4%

Health insured

88.5%

±3.3 pp

Uninsured

11.5%

±3.3 pp

16th of 66

With a disability

15.4%

±2.3 pp

10th of 66

Bachelor's or higher

19.9%

±3.5 pp

−12.0 pp vs SD · 52nd of 66

Uninsured, under 65 (2024)

15.7%

90% interval 14.1%–17.3% · Census SAHIE

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

Trial court

4th Judicial Circuit Court

Judges

3 (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

Belle Fourche, Bison, Buffalo, Deadwood, Dupree, McIntosh, Sturgis, Timber Lake

This judicial district spans multiple counties.

Traffic fatalities

3

37.36 per 100k adults (18+)

Fatal crashes

3