Lincoln County, South Dakota: Republican loyalist county. In 2024, voted R+26%. Republican peak: R+68 in 1904.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+26MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- Republican loyalistAkashic typology
- Population
- 70,6382024 5-year
- Median household income
- $99,1662024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 89.5%2024 5-year
- Black
- 2.4%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 3.2%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+29 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+68 in 1904MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Meade County, SD · similarity 0.98
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Lincoln CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Lincoln 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 12,981 | 22,621 | 36,393 | ||
| R | 11,981 | 19,617 | 32,396 | ||
| R | 8,076 | 15,499 | 25,231 | ||
| R | 7,982 | 13,611 | 21,952 | ||
| R | 8,642 | 11,803 | 20,767 | ||
| R | 5,703 | 11,161 | 17,066 | ||
| D | 6,546 | 3,844 | 10,556 | ||
| R | 3,643 | 4,201 | 8,587 | ||
| R | 2,943 | 3,365 | 7,923 | ||
| R | 3,190 | 3,537 | 6,757 | ||
| R | 2,626 | 3,988 | 6,636 | ||
| R | 2,261 | 3,848 | 6,698 | ||
| R | 2,957 | 3,105 | 6,084 | ||
| R | 2,617 | 3,201 | 5,828 | ||
| R | 1,961 | 3,259 | 5,442 | ||
| D | 2,836 | 2,740 | 5,576 | ||
| R | 1,985 | 3,553 | 5,538 | ||
| R | 2,141 | 3,529 | 5,670 | ||
| R | 1,212 | 4,387 | 5,599 | ||
| R | 1,826 | 2,771 | 4,656 | ||
| R | 1,625 | 3,298 | 4,923 | ||
| R | 2,048 | 4,081 | 6,129 | ||
| R | 2,541 | 2,918 | 6,026 | ||
| D | 3,300 | 2,160 | 5,560 | ||
| R | 1,364 | 3,463 | 4,850 | ||
| O | 265 | 1,825 | 4,166 | ||
| R | 441 | 2,790 | 3,794 | ||
| D | 1,591 | 936 | 2,639 | ||
| O | 719 | 0 | 2,521 | ||
| R | 699 | 1,887 | 2,719 | ||
| R | 378 | 2,471 | 3,070 | ||
| R | 1,226 | 1,908 | 3,182 | ||
| R | 1,393 | 1,516 | 2,923 | ||
| R | 206 | 1,130 | 2,035 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
35.8%
Irish
9.2%
English
7.1%
American
5.1%
Polish
1.6%
Italian
1.5%
French
1.4%
African American
1.9%
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
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: 35.9 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
$99,166
Lincoln County ranks in the top 5% of US counties.
Lincoln County$99,166
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
5.6%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 186.9%
Working age (18–64)5.1%
Seniors (65+)5.3%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
94.2%
speak English only
Other Indo-European3.0%
Spanish1.7%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.6%
Other languages0.5%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 74.1% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Lincoln County has been one of South Dakota's fastest-expanding counties by population, driven by Sioux Falls metro spillover. Despite that growth, its presidential margins have held firmly in the mid-to-high double digits for Republicans across successive cycles.
The Republican margin in Lincoln County reached its widest at sixty-eight points in 1904. The margin in 2024 was twenty-six points, in line with the county's deep historical pattern.
Its loyalty is rooted in its place. Median household income of $99,166, a 90% non-Hispanic-white share, and a population of 70,638 together describe a community whose political habits are deeply settled. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Meade County and Custer County.
Most similar counties
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Lincoln County, South Dakota — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://akashic.app/county/46083/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in South Dakota
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Frequently asked questions
How did Lincoln County, South Dakota vote in 2024?
In 2024, Lincoln County, South Dakota voted Republican by 26.5 points (R+26), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 36,393 votes cast, 12,981 went Democratic and 22,621 went Republican.
What is Lincoln County, South Dakota's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Lincoln County, South Dakota as a "Republican loyalist" county based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the county has voted Democratic 4 times, Republican 28 times, and other 2 times.
When did Lincoln County, South Dakota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Lincoln County, South Dakota voted Democratic was 2000.
How many people live in Lincoln County, South Dakota?
Lincoln County, South Dakota has a population of 70,638 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Lincoln County, South Dakota?
Median household income in Lincoln County, South Dakota is $99,166 — above the national median of $80,734. The South Dakota state median is $75,081.
What is the political history of Lincoln County, South Dakota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Lincoln County, South Dakota from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 4 went Democratic and 28 went Republican. The county's archetype — "Republican loyalist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.