Brookings, SD, South Dakota: Tossup metro. In 2024, voted R+17%. Republican peak: R+64 in 1904.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+17MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- TossupAkashic typology
- Population
- 35,3532024 5-year
- Median household income
- $70,0642024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 87.9%2024 5-year
- Black
- 1.1%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 4.6%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+31 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+64 in 1904MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Brookings, SD, SDOne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
R+60D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 5,978 | 8,575 | 14,939 | ||
| R | 6,110 | 8,000 | 14,567 | ||
| R | 4,879 | 6,748 | 12,680 | ||
| R | 5,827 | 6,220 | 12,400 | ||
| D | 7,207 | 6,431 | 13,945 | ||
| R | 5,443 | 7,662 | 13,375 | ||
| D | 6,212 | 4,546 | 10,984 | ||
| R | 5,105 | 5,112 | 11,272 | ||
| R | 4,645 | 4,698 | 12,002 | ||
| R | 4,860 | 5,394 | 10,305 | ||
| R | 4,089 | 6,679 | 10,814 | ||
| R | 3,934 | 5,727 | 10,981 | ||
| R | 4,685 | 5,278 | 10,026 | ||
| R | 4,701 | 5,182 | 9,916 | ||
| R | 3,202 | 4,674 | 8,081 | ||
| D | 4,191 | 3,692 | 7,883 | ||
| R | 2,974 | 5,710 | 8,684 | ||
| R | 2,620 | 5,293 | 7,913 | ||
| R | 1,861 | 5,988 | 7,849 | ||
| R | 2,907 | 3,975 | 6,926 | ||
| R | 2,073 | 4,136 | 6,209 | ||
| R | 2,671 | 5,016 | 7,687 | ||
| R | 3,161 | 3,899 | 7,302 | ||
| D | 3,247 | 3,231 | 6,599 | ||
| R | 1,915 | 4,586 | 6,547 | ||
| R | 1,010 | 4,708 | 9,705 | ||
| R | 564 | 2,743 | 3,996 | ||
| D | 1,638 | 1,385 | 3,163 | ||
| O | 740 | 0 | 2,395 | ||
| R | 588 | 1,697 | 2,669 | ||
| R | 353 | 2,220 | 2,914 | ||
| R | 1,084 | 1,707 | 2,976 | ||
| D | 1,288 | 1,263 | 2,593 | ||
| R | 189 | 1,082 | 2,098 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
38.5%
Irish
10.4%
English
7.4%
American
1.5%
Polish
1.4%
French
1.3%
Scottish
1.1%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 28.0 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$70,064
Brookings, SD ranks near the middle of US counties.
Brookings, SD$70,064
South Dakota$75,081
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
13.2%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 184.8%
Working age (18–64)15.9%
Seniors (65+)12.1%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
90.3%
speak English only
Other Indo-European4.2%
Spanish3.5%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.2%
Other languages0.8%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 49.3% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Brookings anchors a small but education-driven metro where the university population shapes turnout patterns and keeps the area's demographics younger and more transient than surrounding rural Kingsbury and Moody counties.
The metro's recent history is a story of close margins. The Democratic margin reached thirty-one points in 1912; the Republican margin reached sixty-four points in 1904. Most other elections have been decided by single-digit points.
Its demographics — a population of 35,353, a 88% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $70,064 — situate the metro close to national averages on several dimensions.
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Brookings, SD, South Dakota. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cbsa/15100/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Brookings, SD, South Dakota vote in 2024?
In 2024, Brookings, SD, South Dakota voted Republican by 17.4 points (R+17), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 14,939 votes cast, 5,978 went Democratic and 8,575 went Republican.
What is Brookings, SD, South Dakota's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Brookings, SD, South Dakota as a "Tossup" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 6 times, Republican 27 times, and other 1 times.
When did Brookings, SD, South Dakota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Brookings, SD, South Dakota voted Democratic was 2008.
How many people live in Brookings, SD, South Dakota?
Brookings, SD, South Dakota has a population of 35,353 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Brookings, SD, South Dakota?
Median household income in Brookings, SD, South Dakota is $70,064 — below the national median of $80,734. The South Dakota state median is $75,081.
What is the political history of Brookings, SD, South Dakota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Brookings, SD, South Dakota from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 6 went Democratic and 27 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Tossup" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.