Dewey County, South Dakota: Bellwether county. In 2024, voted D+13%. Democratic peak: D+42 in 1912.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+13MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- BellwetherAkashic typology
- Population
- 5,2052024 5-year
- Median household income
- $54,1042024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 21.0%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.5%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 1.0%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+42 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+41 in 1924MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Buffalo County, SD · similarity 0.96
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Dewey CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Dewey County, with each precinct boundary colored by Democratic-vs-Republican margin.
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Margin—
Turnout—
Harris +50Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 1,032 | 793 | 1,871 | ||
| D | 1,131 | 790 | 1,966 | ||
| D | 888 | 723 | 1,708 | ||
| D | 1,207 | 663 | 1,895 | ||
| D | 1,328 | 659 | 2,019 | ||
| D | 1,606 | 921 | 2,564 | ||
| R | 761 | 880 | 1,681 | ||
| D | 1,114 | 657 | 1,979 | ||
| D | 766 | 642 | 1,752 | ||
| D | 1,007 | 765 | 1,789 | ||
| R | 772 | 941 | 1,727 | ||
| R | 600 | 1,045 | 1,767 | ||
| R | 706 | 820 | 1,534 | ||
| R | 699 | 1,008 | 1,712 | ||
| R | 721 | 941 | 1,785 | ||
| D | 1,259 | 981 | 2,240 | ||
| R | 1,044 | 1,168 | 2,212 | ||
| R | 912 | 1,197 | 2,109 | ||
| R | 665 | 1,307 | 1,972 | ||
| R | 733 | 865 | 1,613 | ||
| R | 515 | 913 | 1,428 | ||
| R | 1,081 | 1,396 | 2,477 | ||
| D | 1,216 | 1,012 | 2,287 | ||
| D | 1,608 | 710 | 2,344 | ||
| R | 1,003 | 1,293 | 2,300 | ||
| R | 222 | 956 | 1,802 | ||
| R | 335 | 880 | 1,390 | ||
| R | 352 | 379 | 749 | ||
| O | 411 | 0 | 974 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
11.5%
Irish
4.3%
American
2.8%
English
1.8%
French
0.7%
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander combined.
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: 27.7 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
$54,104
Dewey County ranks in the bottom 25% of US counties.
Dewey County$54,104
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
33.0%
Children face higher poverty than working-age adults.
Children under 1836.3%
Working age (18–64)31.2%
Seniors (65+)25.4%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
93.9%
speak English only
Other languages5.8%
Spanish0.2%
Other Indo-European0.1%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 55.0% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Dewey County's electorate is shaped by the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation, which covers much of its land area and drives Democratic margins that stand out sharply in an otherwise deeply Republican state.
The Democratic margin in Dewey County has rarely exceeded forty-two points in modern history; the Republican margin has rarely exceeded forty-one points. 2024 delivered the county to the Democratic candidate by thirteen points.
Its demographics resemble the country more than they resemble most counties. A 21% non-Hispanic-white share, a 33% poverty rate, and a median household income of $54,104 — all within the broad national range. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Buffalo County and Todd County.
Most similar counties
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Dewey County, South Dakota — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://akashic.app/county/46041/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in South Dakota
More bellwether counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Dewey County, South Dakota vote in 2024?
In 2024, Dewey County, South Dakota voted Democratic by 12.8 points (D+13), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 1,871 votes cast, 1,032 went Democratic and 793 went Republican.
What is Dewey County, South Dakota's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Dewey County, South Dakota as a "Bellwether" county based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the county has voted Democratic 12 times, Republican 16 times, and other 1 times.
When did Dewey County, South Dakota last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Dewey County, South Dakota voted Republican was 2000.
How many people live in Dewey County, South Dakota?
Dewey County, South Dakota has a population of 5,205 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Dewey County, South Dakota?
Median household income in Dewey County, South Dakota is $54,104 — below the national median of $80,734. The South Dakota state median is $75,081.
What is the political history of Dewey County, South Dakota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Dewey County, South Dakota from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 12 went Democratic and 16 went Republican. The county's archetype — "Bellwether" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.