Jury Pool Profile

Jackson County, South Dakota

Republican +35.1 (2024)

County seat: Kadoka
Judicial district: 6th Judicial Circuit Court
Population (July 2025 estimate): 2,666; Census PEP. The five-year ACS survey average is 2,802.

At a glance

Jackson County is a 2,666-person venue. The county population is 37% White (Census race-alone categories). Median household income is $50,228, $27,266 below the SD state median of $77,494; 12.4% of residents 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher. 5.0% of residents 5 and older speak a language other than English at home, most commonly Spanish. The largest employment sector is Leisure & hospitality, at 25.3% of covered employment, average pay $40,043/year. Trailing-12-month unemployment is 3.85%, above the 2.15% state average. The county carried the Republican presidential candidate in 2016, 2020, and 2024, taking roughly 66% of the vote each time.

Population: 2,802
Median household income: $35,417
Unemployment: 3.9%

Who sits on a jury?

Majority-minority

<50% in any single race-alone group. White here: 37%; Black: 0%.

Jackson County has a population of 2,802, with a median age of 34.3. By Census race-alone categories, White residents make up 36.6%; Black residents 0.0%.

The median household earns $50,228; 12.4% of residents 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher; 29.1% live below the federal poverty line.

Race & ethnicity

White (non-Hispanic) 1,026 36.6%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 12 0.4%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 0 0.0%
Asian (non-Hispanic) 0 0.0%
Two or more races (non-Hispanic) 49 1.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native (non-Hispanic) 1,715 61.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic) 0 0.0%
Some other race (non-Hispanic) 0 0.0%

U.S. Census ACS 2024

Age distribution

Median age 34.3

Under 18 923 32.9%
18–24 182 6.5%
25–44 700 25.0%
45–64 649 23.2%
65 and over 348 12.4%

U.S. Census ACS 2024

Income & poverty

Median household income: $50,228; 90% interval $44,181–$56,275; −$27,266 vs SD · 60th of 66
Below poverty line: 29.1%; 90% interval 22.7%–35.5%; +18.6 pp vs SD · 7th of 66

U.S. Census SAIPE 2024

Economic context

Service-sector economy

None of the heuristic anchors fired (oil & gas <5%, healthcare/education <20%, manufacturing <15%). Top sector: Leisure & hospitality (25.3%).

Leisure & hospitality is the largest employment sector at 25.3% of covered employment, followed by Trade, transportation & utilities at 18.7%. Trailing-12-month unemployment is 3.85%, above the South Dakota state average.

Local economy

Unemployment (12-mo): 3.9%; +1.7 pp vs. state
County GDP: $107.2M; 0.14% of state
Avg. annual pay: $43,358
Establishments: 83

U.S. BLS 2026M07 · U.S. BEA 2024 · BLS QCEW 2025

Top employment sectors

Average annual employment by supersector

Leisure & hospitality 175 25.3%
Trade, transportation & utilities 129 18.7%
Public administration 33 4.8%
Construction 17 2.5%
Financial activities 12 1.7%
Other services 12 1.7%

The sectors listed cover 54.7% of covered employment; BLS withholds the rest to avoid disclosing individual employers.

BLS QCEW 2025

Housing

Home ownership: 67.3%; −1.3 pp vs SD · 52nd of 66
Median gross rent: $442; −$504 vs SD · 66th of 66
Owner-occupied: 559
Renter-occupied: 271

U.S. Census ACS 2024

Local economy in 3 reads

Diversified

Top three sectors employ 49% of the workforce, a relatively diversified local economy. Expect mixed employer backgrounds on the panel rather than concentration in any one institution or industry.
Moderate wage spread

Highest-paid sector (Public administration, $96,408/yr) pays 2.9× the lowest (Trade, transportation & utilities, $33,474/yr). Expect meaningful income variation across the panel.
Small-business scale

Average establishment employs only 8.3 workers, a small-business-dominated local economy. Expect more self-employed and small-business-owner panelists than in institutional-employer venues.

BLS QCEW 2025

Political composition

Consistently strongly Republican

Republican candidate carried this county in 2016, 2020, and 2024 (avg winning share: 66%). 'Strongly' threshold: ≥60% avg.

Jackson County was carried by the Republican candidate in the 2016, 2020, and 2024 cycles, with 66.7% in 2024, 66.2% in 2020, 65.9% in 2016.

Presidential results

2024 presidential · 1,129 votes cast

Republican
Democratic

Republican 753 66.7%
Democratic 357 31.6%
Other / third-party 19 1.7%

Election results 2024

Languages, households, faith & health

Family-dominant, English-speaking

Family households are 72% of all households (thresholds: ≥70% = 'family-dominant'; 50–70% = 'family-majority'; <50% = 'singles/nonfamily-majority'). 5.0% of residents 5 and older speak a language other than English at home (threshold for 'linguistically diverse' is ≥10%).

5.0% of residents 5 years and older speak a language other than English at home. The most common are Spanish. Veterans account for 3.4% of the adult civilian population (64 individuals).

Languages spoken at home

95.0% speak only English at home

Spanish 1 0.0%

U.S. Census ACS 2024

Household composition

Households: 830
Family households: 601; 72.4% of households
Married couples w/ children: 66; 11.0% of families
Single-mother families: 147; 24.5% of families
Veterans: 64; 3.4% of civilians 18+

U.S. Census ACS 2024

Religious composition

24.6% overall adherence rate

Mainline Protestant 237 8.4%
Evangelical Protestant 170 6.1%
Black Protestant 150 5.3%
Catholic 80 2.9%
Other (non-Christian + minor traditions) 54 1.9%

US Religion Census 2020

Health & education

Health insured: 72.6%; ±6.1 pp
Uninsured: 27.4%; ±6.1 pp; 4th of 66
With a disability: 12.0%; ±2.7 pp; 39th of 66
Bachelor's or higher: 12.4%; ±3.7 pp; −19.5 pp vs SD · 64th of 66
Uninsured, under 65 (2024): 13.6%; 90% interval 11.8%–15.4% · Census SAHIE

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

U.S. Census ACS 2024

Court infrastructure

Trial court: 6th Judicial Circuit Court
Judges: 2 (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: Burke, Fort Pierre, Gettysburg, Highmore, Kadoka, Kennebec, Martin, Mission, Murdo, Onida, Philip, Pierre, White River, Winner

This judicial district spans multiple counties.

Court reference

Traffic safety context

Jackson totals, 2024 — the per-100k rate is based on 3 recorded deaths, too few to be statistically reliable

Traffic fatalities: 3; 159.66 per 100k adults (18+)
Fatal crashes: 3

NHTSA FARS 2024

Presidential vote share by year
Year	Republican	Democratic
2016	65.9%	29.5%
2020	66.2%	32.2%
2024	66.7%	31.6%