Roberts County, South Dakota: Bellwether county. In 2024, voted R+23%. Republican peak: R+56 in 1904.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+23MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- BellwetherAkashic typology
- Population
- 10,2212024 5-year
- Median household income
- $65,1302024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 57.0%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.3%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 2.6%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+48 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+56 in 1904MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Howard County, IA · similarity 0.87
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Roberts CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Roberts 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 | 1,560 | 2,514 | 4,149 | ||
| R | 1,828 | 2,404 | 4,307 | ||
| R | 1,540 | 2,144 | 3,889 | ||
| D | 2,302 | 1,883 | 4,256 | ||
| D | 2,672 | 1,781 | 4,536 | ||
| D | 2,527 | 2,396 | 4,982 | ||
| D | 767 | 468 | 1,268 | ||
| D | 647 | 630 | 1,438 | ||
| D | 632 | 595 | 1,610 | ||
| D | 2,267 | 2,012 | 4,311 | ||
| R | 2,063 | 2,767 | 4,840 | ||
| R | 1,829 | 2,904 | 5,009 | ||
| D | 2,890 | 1,915 | 4,820 | ||
| D | 2,976 | 2,187 | 5,172 | ||
| D | 2,651 | 2,225 | 5,213 | ||
| D | 3,567 | 1,931 | 5,498 | ||
| D | 3,089 | 2,857 | 5,946 | ||
| D | 3,246 | 2,854 | 6,100 | ||
| R | 2,524 | 3,566 | 6,090 | ||
| D | 3,277 | 2,211 | 5,652 | ||
| D | 3,024 | 2,721 | 5,745 | ||
| D | 3,750 | 3,504 | 7,254 | ||
| D | 3,820 | 1,934 | 5,951 | ||
| D | 4,440 | 1,381 | 6,368 | ||
| R | 2,619 | 2,966 | 5,625 | ||
| O | 215 | 1,744 | 4,255 | ||
| R | 447 | 2,335 | 4,695 | ||
| D | 1,259 | 1,191 | 2,669 | ||
| O | 812 | 0 | 2,459 | ||
| R | 777 | 1,562 | 2,560 | ||
| R | 584 | 2,282 | 3,042 | ||
| R | 1,067 | 1,875 | 3,019 | ||
| R | 929 | 1,324 | 2,275 | ||
| R | 68 | 538 | 856 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
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| — | — | — | — | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
27.8%
Irish
4.2%
English
3.5%
Polish
1.6%
American
1.6%
French
0.9%
Italian
0.5%
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: 38.5 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
$65,130
Roberts County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Roberts County$65,130
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
15.7%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1820.7%
Working age (18–64)13.5%
Seniors (65+)16.0%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
94.7%
speak English only
Other languages2.6%
Spanish1.9%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.6%
Other Indo-European0.3%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 41.4% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Roberts County sits along the North Dakota border and includes the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate reservation, giving it one of South Dakota's more distinctive demographic compositions — Native American residents represent a substantial share of the electorate and have historically influenced local and statewide races.
The Democratic margin in Roberts County has rarely exceeded forty-eight points in modern history; the Republican margin has rarely exceeded fifty-six points. 2024 delivered the county to the Republican candidate by twenty-three points.
Its demographics resemble the country more than they resemble most counties. A 57% non-Hispanic-white share, a 16% poverty rate, and a median household income of $65,130 — all within the broad national range. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Howard County and Jackson County.
Most similar counties
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Roberts County, South Dakota — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://akashic.app/county/46109/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in South Dakota
Frequently asked questions
How did Roberts County, South Dakota vote in 2024?
In 2024, Roberts County, South Dakota voted Republican by 23.0 points (R+23), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 4,149 votes cast, 1,560 went Democratic and 2,514 went Republican.
What is Roberts County, South Dakota's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Roberts 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 19 times, Republican 13 times, and other 2 times.
When did Roberts County, South Dakota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Roberts County, South Dakota voted Democratic was 2012.
How many people live in Roberts County, South Dakota?
Roberts County, South Dakota has a population of 10,221 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Roberts County, South Dakota?
Median household income in Roberts County, South Dakota is $65,130 — below the national median of $80,734. The South Dakota state median is $75,081.
What is the political history of Roberts County, South Dakota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Roberts County, South Dakota from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 19 went Democratic and 13 went Republican. The county's archetype — "Bellwether" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.