Meade County, South Dakota

• White (non-Hispanic) 25,971 85.0%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race) 1,489 4.9%
• Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 533 1.7%
• Asian (non-Hispanic) 211 0.7%
• Two or more races (non-Hispanic) 1,647 5.4%
• American Indian / Alaska Native (non-Hispanic) 480 1.6%
• Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic) 14 0.0%
• Some other race (non-Hispanic) 201 0.7%

• Under 18 6,476 21.2%
• 18–24 3,051 10.0%
• 25–44 8,787 28.8%
• 45–64 7,128 23.3%
• 65 and over 5,104 16.7%

Median household income

$76,427

90% interval $68,529–$84,325

−$1,067 vs SD · 21st of 66

Below poverty line

8.1%

90% interval 6.3%–9.9%

−2.4 pp vs SD · 61st of 66

Unemployment (12-mo)

2.1%

−0.08 pp vs. state

County GDP

$1.3B

1.7% of state

Avg. annual pay

$59,192

Establishments

1,092

• Education & health services 1,509 16.4%
• Trade, transportation & utilities 1,469 16.0%
• Public administration 1,155 12.5%
• Construction 1,084 11.8%
• Leisure & hospitality 844 9.2%
• Professional & business services 589 6.4%
• Financial activities 311 3.4%
• Other services 291 3.2%

The sectors listed cover 78.8% of covered employment; BLS withholds the rest to avoid disclosing individual employers.

Home ownership

72.9%

+4.3 pp vs SD · 37th of 66

Median gross rent

$1,264

+$318 vs SD · 1st of 66

Owner-occupied

8,727

Renter-occupied

3,241

• Diversified

  Top three sectors employ 45% 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, $77,599/yr) pays 3.2× the lowest (Leisure & hospitality, $24,388/yr). Expect meaningful income variation across the panel.

• Small-business scale

  Average establishment employs only 8.4 workers, a small-business-dominated local economy. Expect more self-employed and small-business-owner panelists than in institutional-employer venues.

• Republican 10,887 74.2%
• Democratic 3,421 23.3%
• Other / third-party 364 2.5%

• Spanish 501 1.7%
• Chinese 152 0.5%
• German or other West Germanic 67 0.2%
• French, Haitian, or Cajun 46 0.2%
• Tagalog 38 0.1%
• Russian, Polish, or other Slavic 37 0.1%
• Korean 4 0.0%

Households

11,968

Family households

8,431

70.4% of households

Married couples w/ children

2,976

35.3% of families

Single-mother families

588

7.0% of families

Veterans

2,861

12.7% of civilians 18+

• Evangelical Protestant 4,109 13.8%
• Catholic 3,375 11.3%
• Mainline Protestant 2,092 7.0%
• Other (non-Christian + minor traditions) 910 3.0%

Health insured

90.6%

±2 pp

Uninsured

9.4%

±2 pp

23rd of 66

With a disability

14.0%

±1.6 pp

22nd of 66

Bachelor's or higher

27.8%

±2.8 pp

−4.1 pp vs SD · 25th of 66

Uninsured, under 65 (2024)

10.1%

90% interval 9.0%–11.2% · 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

7

29.08 per 100k adults (18+)

Fatal crashes

7