McPherson County, South Dakota

2024 results by precinct

4 precincts · 1,299 votes cast

Trump · R+69

Harris +50

Trump +50

Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.

38 presidential elections

Year	Won	Margin	Democratic	Republican	Total
2024	R	−69.2%	188	1,087	1,299
2020	R	−64.4%	222	1,075	1,324
2016	R	−61.6%	192	892	1,137
2012	R	−53.4%	272	921	1,215
2008	R	−34.5%	441	915	1,375
2004	R	−24.9%	1,201	2,017	3,271
2000	D	+54.9%	1,073	295	1,417
1996	R	−35.6%	463	1,080	1,735
1992	R	−26.7%	478	945	1,752
1988	R	−40.7%	571	1,358	1,936
1984	R	−62.4%	418	1,813	2,236
1980	R	−73.6%	287	2,056	2,402
1976	R	−40.9%	693	1,662	2,367
1972	R	−54.1%	579	1,950	2,535
1968	R	−65.5%	389	2,105	2,620
1964	R	−44.7%	723	1,891	2,614
1960	R	−58.5%	616	2,354	2,970
1956	R	−0.1%	1,635	1,639	3,274
1952	R	−74.0%	436	2,915	3,351
1948	R	−53.3%	611	2,034	2,668
1944	R	−69.6%	410	2,290	2,700
1940	R	−54.9%	826	2,839	3,665
1936	R	−10.4%	1,556	1,921	3,505
1932	D	+61.9%	2,650	606	3,302
1928	D	+8.6%	1,468	1,234	2,711
1924	R	−25.6%	94	833	2,889
1920	R	−67.4%	112	1,470	2,016
1916	D	+62.0%	992	224	1,239
1912	D	+32.9%	327	0	995
1908	R	−65.5%	157	785	959
1904	R	−62.4%	144	727	934
1900	R	−49.6%	297	898	1,211
1896	R	−17.2%	361	512	879
1892	R	−27.6%	221	487	964
1888	—	No data	—	—	—
1884	—	No data	—	—	—
1880	—	No data	—	—	—
1876	—	No data	—	—	—

Demographics

Race, ethnicity, and ancestry

Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.

American

100.0%

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. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.

Age distribution by sex

Median age: 50.0 in this county, 39.1 nationally

Male

Age

Female

3.4%

85+

2.6%

3.0%

75–84

6.9%

10.5%

65–74

6.8%

7.1%

55–64

7.5%

3.7%

45–54

3.7%

4.4%

35–44

4.1%

4.3%

25–34

5.5%

4.1%

18–24

3.0%

6.9%

5–17

7.3%

1.7%

3.4%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Median household income

2024 inflation-adjusted dollars

$66,906

McPherson County ranks near the middle of US counties.

McPherson County$66,906

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

12.9%

Children face moderate poverty.

Children under 1818.0%

Working age (18–64)100.0%

Seniors (65+)18.0%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Language at home

Population aged 5 and older

0.0%

speak English only

Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.

Religious adherents

Adherents per capita by tradition

Mainline Protestant

22.1%

Other Christian

21.7%

Catholic & Orthodox

12.5%

Methodist

7.6%

Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 36.1% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

McPherson County sits in the sparsely settled north-central plains, where a small, heavily rural electorate has produced some of the widest presidential margins in the state — R+69.2 in 2024.

The unraveling was not abrupt. The Democratic margin in McPherson County peaked at sixty-two points in 1916; it narrowed steadily over the late twentieth century. The 2004 election delivered the county to the Republican party for the first time in many years, by a margin of twenty-five points. By 2024, the margin had widened further.

The economic and demographic context is severe. McPherson County's median household income of $66,906 is among the lowest of any county in the United States; 13% of residents live below the federal poverty line. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Campbell County and Polk County.

Most similar counties

McPherson County changed its political identity.