Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota: Bellwether county. In 2024, voted D+71%. Democratic peak: D+87 in 2012.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+71MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- BellwetherAkashic typology
- Population
- 13,4912024 5-year
- Median household income
- $41,4172024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 7.0%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.1%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 1.9%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+87 in 2012MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+81 in 1924MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Sioux County, ND · similarity 0.91
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Oglala Lakota CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Oglala Lakota 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 | 2,567 | 406 | 3,062 | ||
| D | 2,829 | 297 | 3,200 | ||
| D | 2,510 | 241 | 2,905 | ||
| D | 2,937 | 188 | 3,145 | ||
| D | 2,971 | 331 | 3,350 | ||
| D | 3,566 | 526 | 4,214 | ||
| D | 24,696 | 11,123 | 36,557 | ||
| R | 12,784 | 19,293 | 35,516 | ||
| R | 11,106 | 18,052 | 37,669 | ||
| D | 1,206 | 256 | 1,479 | ||
| D | 1,489 | 324 | 1,829 | ||
| D | 1,132 | 438 | 1,687 | ||
| D | 756 | 301 | 1,081 | ||
| D | 1,246 | 356 | 1,611 | ||
| D | 1,202 | 533 | 1,796 | ||
| D | 1,748 | 557 | 2,305 | ||
| D | 1,135 | 655 | 1,790 | ||
| D | 949 | 782 | 1,731 | ||
| R | 774 | 957 | 1,731 | ||
| D | 803 | 641 | 1,454 | ||
| R | 480 | 562 | 1,042 | ||
| R | 1,093 | 1,429 | 2,522 | ||
| D | 868 | 825 | 1,728 | ||
| D | 1,140 | 620 | 1,765 | ||
| D | 829 | 674 | 1,508 | ||
| R | 107 | 1,269 | 1,432 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
American
2.3%
German
1.6%
French
1.2%
English
0.9%
Irish
0.6%
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: 28.2 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
$41,417
Oglala Lakota County ranks in the bottom 10% of US counties.
Oglala Lakota County$41,417
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
57.6%
Nearly half of children live in poverty.
Children under 1860.1%
Working age (18–64)55.9%
Seniors (65+)62.3%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
85.4%
speak English only
Other languages14.0%
Spanish0.4%
Other Indo-European0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 76.0% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Oglala Lakota County, coextensive with the Pine Ridge Reservation, routinely posts presidential margins exceeding 70 points, reflecting both its nearly 90% Lakota population and decades of consistent Native American electoral solidarity.
The Democratic margin in Oglala Lakota County has rarely exceeded eighty-seven points in modern history; the Republican margin has rarely exceeded eighty-one points. 2024 delivered the county to the Democratic candidate by seventy-one points.
Its demographics resemble the country more than they resemble most counties. A 7% non-Hispanic-white share, a 58% poverty rate, and a median household income of $41,417 — all within the broad national range. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Sioux County and Humboldt County.
Most similar counties
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://akashic.app/county/46102/. 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 Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota vote in 2024?
In 2024, Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota voted Democratic by 70.6 points (D+71), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 3,062 votes cast, 2,567 went Democratic and 406 went Republican.
What is Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Oglala Lakota 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 20 times, Republican 6 times, and other 0 times.
When did Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota voted Republican was 1996.
How many people live in Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota?
Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota has a population of 13,491 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota?
Median household income in Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota is $41,417 — below the national median of $80,734. The South Dakota state median is $75,081.
What is the political history of Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 20 went Democratic and 6 went Republican. The county's archetype — "Bellwether" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.