Clay County, South Dakota

• White (non-Hispanic) 12,807 84.2%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race) 504 3.3%
• Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 278 1.8%
• Asian (non-Hispanic) 452 3.0%
• Two or more races (non-Hispanic) 780 5.1%
• American Indian / Alaska Native (non-Hispanic) 392 2.6%
• Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic) 0 0.0%
• Some other race (non-Hispanic) 6 0.0%

• Under 18 2,645 17.4%
• 18–24 4,980 32.7%
• 25–44 3,284 21.6%
• 45–64 2,454 16.1%
• 65 and over 1,856 12.2%

Median household income

$59,556

90% interval $52,944–$66,168

−$17,938 vs SD · 54th of 66

Below poverty line

19.3%

90% interval 15.3%–23.3%

+8.8 pp vs SD · 12th of 66

Unemployment (12-mo)

2.2%

+0.03 pp vs. state

County GDP

$877.1M

1.14% of state

Avg. annual pay

$50,529

Establishments

475

• Trade, transportation & utilities 1,088 17.8%
• Leisure & hospitality 943 15.4%
• Education & health services 658 10.8%
• Professional & business services 247 4.0%
• Manufacturing 239 3.9%
• Other services 163 2.7%
• Construction 159 2.6%
• Financial activities 126 2.1%
• Public administration 89 1.5%
• Natural resources & mining 25 0.4%
• Information 24 0.4%

The sectors listed cover 61.5% of covered employment; BLS withholds the rest to avoid disclosing individual employers.

Home ownership

50.8%

−17.8 pp vs SD · 65th of 66

Median gross rent

$770

−$176 vs SD · 32nd of 66

Owner-occupied

2,819

Renter-occupied

2,728

• Diversified

  Top three sectors employ 44% 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, $117,168/yr) pays 7.6× the lowest (Leisure & hospitality, $15,372/yr). Stark intra-economy class divisions on the panel; calibrate damages and lost-wages framing to that range.

• Mixed business scale

  Average establishment employs 13 workers, a mix of institutional employers and small businesses. Both employed-by-large-institution and small-business-owner perspectives are likely on the panel.

• Democratic 2,944 52.0%
• Republican 2,574 45.5%
• Other / third-party 139 2.5%

• Spanish 122 0.8%
• Chinese 73 0.5%
• German or other West Germanic 56 0.4%
• Russian, Polish, or other Slavic 49 0.3%
• French, Haitian, or Cajun 29 0.2%
• Vietnamese 10 0.1%
• Tagalog 8 0.1%

Households

5,547

Family households

2,599

46.9% of households

Married couples w/ children

852

32.8% of families

Single-mother families

172

6.6% of families

Veterans

634

5.1% of civilians 18+

• Mainline Protestant 2,366 15.8%
• Catholic 1,458 9.7%
• Evangelical Protestant 768 5.1%
• Other (non-Christian + minor traditions) 520 3.5%

Health insured

90.9%

±2.6 pp

Uninsured

9.1%

±2.6 pp

25th of 66

With a disability

13.2%

±2 pp

27th of 66

Bachelor's or higher

45.4%

±5 pp

+13.5 pp vs SD · 1st of 66

Uninsured, under 65 (2024)

11.0%

90% interval 9.5%–12.5% · 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

2

15.91 per 100k adults (18+)

Fatal crashes

2