Brookings County, South Dakota
Brookings County | |
---|---|
![]() Brookings County Courthouse in Brookings | |
![]() Location within the U.S. state of South Dakota | |
![]() South Dakota's location within the U.S. | |
Coordinates: 44°22′N 96°47′W / 44.37°N 96.79°W | |
Country | ![]() |
State | ![]() |
Founded | 1862 (created) July 3, 1871 (organized) |
Named for | Wilmot Wood Brookings |
Seat | Brookings |
Largest city | Brookings |
Area | |
• Total | 805 sq mi (2,080 km2) |
• Land | 792 sq mi (2,050 km2) |
• Water | 13 sq mi (30 km2) 1.6% |
Population (2020) | |
• Total | 34,375 |
• Estimate (2023) | 35,980 ![]() |
• Density | 43/sq mi (16/km2) |
Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
Congressional district | At-large |
Website | www |
Brookings County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 34,375,[1] making it the fifth most populous county in South Dakota. Its county seat is Brookings.[2] The county was created in 1862 and organized in 1871.[3]
Brookings County comprises the Brookings, SD Micropolitan Statistical Area. It is also the location of South Dakota State University.
History
[edit]The county was organized July 3, 1871, and was named for Wilmot Wood Brookings (1830-1905), a politician and pioneer of southeastern South Dakota. Medary was the first county seat, from 1871 to 1879, when it was moved to the city of Brookings.
Geography
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/84/Brookings_Co_SD_Pie_Chart_No_Text_Version.pdf/page1-220px-Brookings_Co_SD_Pie_Chart_No_Text_Version.pdf.jpg)
Brookings County is on the east side of South Dakota. Its east boundary line abuts the west boundary line of the state of Minnesota. The Big Sioux River flows south-southeastward through the east central part of the county; its point of entry into Moody County marks Brookings County's lowest elevation: 1,568 ft (478 m) ASL.[4]
The county terrain consists of sloped flatlands, marked by numerous lakes and ponds especially in the western part. The area is largely devoted to agricultural use.[5] The county has a total area of 805 square miles (2,080 km2), of which 782 square miles (2,030 km2) is land and 13 square miles (34 km2) (1.6%) is water.[6]
Major highways
[edit]Airports
[edit]Transit
[edit]Adjacent counties
[edit]- Deuel County – north
- Lincoln County, Minnesota – east
- Pipestone County, Minnesota – southeast
- Moody County – south
- Lake County – southwest
- Kingsbury County – west
- Hamlin County – northwest
Lakes
[edit]- Brush Lake
- Johnson Lake
- Lake Campbell
- Lake Goldsmith
- Lake Hendricks (partial)
- Lake Poinsett
- Lake Sinai
- Lake Tetonkaha
- Oak Lake[7]
- Oakwood Lake
Protected areas
[edit]- Aurora Prairie Nature Preserve[8]
- Black Slough State Game Production Area
- Brookings County State Game Production Area
- Brookings Prairie Park[9]
- Dakota Nature Park[10]
- Deer Creek State Game Production Area
- Kvernmoe Slough State Game Production Area
- Lake Hendricks State Lakeside Use Area
- Lake Poinsett State Recreation Area
- Mehegan State Game Production Area
- Moe Slough State game Production Area
- Nelson State Game Production Area
- Oak Lake State Game Production Area
- Oakwood Lake State Game Production Area
- Oakwood Lakes State Park
Demographics
[edit]Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1870 | 163 | — | |
1880 | 4,965 | 2,946.0% | |
1890 | 10,132 | 104.1% | |
1900 | 12,561 | 24.0% | |
1910 | 14,178 | 12.9% | |
1920 | 16,119 | 13.7% | |
1930 | 16,847 | 4.5% | |
1940 | 16,560 | −1.7% | |
1950 | 17,851 | 7.8% | |
1960 | 20,046 | 12.3% | |
1970 | 22,158 | 10.5% | |
1980 | 24,332 | 9.8% | |
1990 | 25,207 | 3.6% | |
2000 | 28,220 | 12.0% | |
2010 | 31,965 | 13.3% | |
2020 | 34,375 | 7.5% | |
2023 (est.) | 35,980 | [11] | 4.7% |
US Decennial Census[12] 1790-1960[13] 1900-1990[14] 1990-2000[15] 2010-2020[1] |
2020 census
[edit]As of the 2020 census, there were 34,375 people, 13,120 households, and 7,419 families residing in the county.[16] The population density was 43.4 inhabitants per square mile (16.8/km2). There were 14,849 housing units.
2010 census
[edit]As of the 2010 census, there were 31,965 people, 12,029 households, and 6,623 families in the county. The population density was 40.3 inhabitants per square mile (15.6/km2). There were 13,137 housing units at an average density of 16.6 per square mile (6.4/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 93.2% white, 2.7% Asian, 0.9% American Indian, 0.8% black or African American, 0.9% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.0% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 47.9% were German, 24.3% were Norwegian, 11.9% were Irish, 6.9% were English, 6.1% were Dutch, and 2.0% were American.
Of the 12,029 households, 25.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.6% were married couples living together, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 44.9% were non-families, and 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.93. The median age was 26.3 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $45,134 and the median income for a family was $63,338. Males had a median income of $40,425 versus $30,023 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,995. About 5.9% of families and 19.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.2% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.
Communities
[edit]Cities
[edit]Towns
[edit]Census-designated places
[edit]Unincorporated communities
[edit]Townships
[edit]- Afton
- Alton
- Argo
- Aurora
- Bangor
- Brookings
- Elkton
- Eureka
- Lake Hendricks
- Lake Sinai
- Laketon
- Medary
- Oaklake
- Oakwood
- Oslo
- Parnell
- Preston
- Richland
- Sherman
- Sterling
- Trenton
- Volga
- Winsor
Politics
[edit]Typical of the Great Plains, Brookings County voters are reliably Republican, even for a county with politics influenced by a college town. In only two national elections since 1932 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate. Despite being reliably Republican territory, no Republican has taken over 60% of the vote since Ronald Reagan in 1984.
Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
2020 | 8,000 | 54.92% | 6,110 | 41.94% | 457 | 3.14% |
2016 | 6,748 | 53.22% | 4,879 | 38.48% | 1,053 | 8.30% |
2012 | 6,220 | 50.16% | 5,827 | 46.99% | 353 | 2.85% |
2008 | 6,431 | 46.12% | 7,207 | 51.68% | 307 | 2.20% |
2004 | 7,662 | 57.29% | 5,443 | 40.70% | 270 | 2.02% |
2000 | 6,212 | 56.55% | 4,546 | 41.39% | 226 | 2.06% |
1996 | 5,112 | 45.35% | 5,105 | 45.29% | 1,055 | 9.36% |
1992 | 4,698 | 39.14% | 4,645 | 38.70% | 2,659 | 22.15% |
1988 | 5,394 | 52.34% | 4,860 | 47.16% | 51 | 0.49% |
1984 | 6,679 | 61.76% | 4,089 | 37.81% | 46 | 0.43% |
1980 | 5,727 | 52.15% | 3,934 | 35.83% | 1,320 | 12.02% |
1976 | 5,278 | 52.64% | 4,685 | 46.73% | 63 | 0.63% |
1972 | 5,182 | 52.26% | 4,701 | 47.41% | 33 | 0.33% |
1968 | 4,674 | 57.84% | 3,202 | 39.62% | 205 | 2.54% |
1964 | 3,692 | 46.83% | 4,191 | 53.17% | 0 | 0.00% |
1960 | 5,710 | 65.75% | 2,974 | 34.25% | 0 | 0.00% |
1956 | 5,293 | 66.89% | 2,620 | 33.11% | 0 | 0.00% |
1952 | 5,988 | 76.29% | 1,861 | 23.71% | 0 | 0.00% |
1948 | 3,975 | 57.39% | 2,907 | 41.97% | 44 | 0.64% |
1944 | 4,136 | 66.61% | 2,073 | 33.39% | 0 | 0.00% |
1940 | 5,016 | 65.25% | 2,671 | 34.75% | 0 | 0.00% |
1936 | 3,899 | 53.40% | 3,161 | 43.29% | 242 | 3.31% |
1932 | 3,231 | 48.96% | 3,247 | 49.20% | 121 | 1.83% |
1928 | 4,586 | 70.05% | 1,915 | 29.25% | 46 | 0.70% |
1924 | 4,708 | 48.51% | 1,010 | 10.41% | 3,987 | 41.08% |
1920 | 2,743 | 68.64% | 564 | 14.11% | 689 | 17.24% |
1916 | 1,638 | 51.79% | 1,385 | 43.79% | 140 | 4.43% |
1912 | 0 | 0.00% | 740 | 30.90% | 1,655 | 69.10% |
1908 | 1,697 | 63.58% | 588 | 22.03% | 384 | 14.39% |
1904 | 2,220 | 76.18% | 353 | 12.11% | 341 | 11.70% |
1900 | 1,707 | 57.36% | 1,084 | 36.42% | 185 | 6.22% |
1896 | 1,263 | 48.71% | 1,288 | 49.67% | 42 | 1.62% |
1892 | 1,082 | 51.57% | 189 | 9.01% | 827 | 39.42% |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
- ^ "Dakota Territory, South Dakota, and North Dakota: Individual County Chronologies". Dakota Territory Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. 2006. Archived from the original on April 2, 2018. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
- ^ ""Find an Elevation" Google Maps (accessed January 30, 2019)". Archived from the original on May 21, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
- ^ Brookings County SD Google Maps (accessed January 30, 2019)
- ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". US Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
- ^ Oak Lake, Brookings County, SD Google Maps (accessed January 30, 2019)
- ^ Aurora Prairie Google Maps (accessed January 30, 2019)
- ^ Brookings Prairie Google Maps (accessed January 30, 2019)
- ^ Dakota Nature Park Google Maps (accessed January 30, 2019)
- ^ "County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020-2023". Retrieved March 17, 2024.
- ^ "US Decennial Census". US Census Bureau. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
- ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
- ^ Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". US Census Bureau. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
- ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). US Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
- ^ "US Census Bureau, Table P16: Household Type". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
- ^ Leip, David. "Atlas of US Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
External links
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)