Lawrence County, South Dakota

• White (non-Hispanic) 24,182 88.8%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race) 1,057 3.9%
• Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 69 0.3%
• Asian (non-Hispanic) 122 0.4%
• Two or more races (non-Hispanic) 1,040 3.8%
• American Indian / Alaska Native (non-Hispanic) 675 2.5%
• Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic) 22 0.1%
• Some other race (non-Hispanic) 66 0.2%

• Under 18 4,435 16.3%
• 18–24 2,960 10.9%
• 25–44 6,279 23.1%
• 45–64 6,746 24.8%
• 65 and over 6,813 25.0%

Median household income

$78,721

90% interval $70,883–$86,559

+$1,227 vs SD · 16th of 66

Below poverty line

11.3%

90% interval 9.0%–13.6%

+0.8 pp vs SD · 33rd of 66

Unemployment (12-mo)

1.9%

−0.21 pp vs. state

County GDP

$1.8B

2.41% of state

Avg. annual pay

$50,959

Establishments

1,688

• Leisure & hospitality 3,874 28.3%
• Trade, transportation & utilities 2,334 17.0%
• Education & health services 1,818 13.3%
• Professional & business services 1,297 9.5%
• Construction 872 6.4%
• Financial activities 560 4.1%
• Natural resources & mining 433 3.2%
• Manufacturing 393 2.9%
• Other services 380 2.8%
• Public administration 208 1.5%
• Information 109 0.8%

The sectors listed cover 89.7% of covered employment; BLS withholds the rest to avoid disclosing individual employers.

Home ownership

65.1%

−3.5 pp vs SD · 54th of 66

Median gross rent

$938

−$8 vs SD · 15th of 66

Owner-occupied

7,846

Renter-occupied

4,208

• Moderately concentrated

  Top three sectors employ 59% 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 (Natural resources & mining, $98,379/yr) pays 3.2× the lowest (Leisure & hospitality, $31,061/yr). Expect meaningful income variation across the panel.

• Small-business scale

  Average establishment employs only 8.1 workers, a small-business-dominated local economy. Expect more self-employed and small-business-owner panelists than in institutional-employer venues.

• Republican 9,904 64.3%
• Democratic 5,074 32.9%
• Other / third-party 431 2.8%

• Spanish 519 2.0%
• German or other West Germanic 244 0.9%
• French, Haitian, or Cajun 50 0.2%
• Korean 19 0.1%
• Russian, Polish, or other Slavic 10 0.0%
• Arabic 6 0.0%
• Tagalog 1 0.0%

Households

12,054

Family households

6,711

55.7% of households

Married couples w/ children

1,432

21.3% of families

Single-mother families

391

5.8% of families

Veterans

2,366

10.4% of civilians 18+

• Evangelical Protestant 4,995 19.4%
• Mainline Protestant 2,649 10.3%
• Catholic 2,364 9.2%
• Other (non-Christian + minor traditions) 179 0.7%

Health insured

91.1%

±1.7 pp

Uninsured

8.9%

±1.7 pp

26th of 66

With a disability

16.5%

±1.6 pp

6th of 66

Bachelor's or higher

32.9%

±3.3 pp

+1.0 pp vs SD · 11th of 66

Uninsured, under 65 (2024)

9.8%

90% interval 8.7%–10.9% · 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

11

48.25 per 100k adults (18+)

Fatal crashes

10