Sanborn County, South Dakota

2024 results by precinct

4 precincts · 1,212 votes cast

Trump · R+55

Harris +50

Trump +50

Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.

38 presidential elections

Year	Won	Margin	Democratic	Republican	Total
2024	R	−55.3%	259	929	1,212
2020	R	−54.7%	257	905	1,185
2016	R	−51.5%	241	819	1,123
2012	R	−26.8%	389	688	1,115
2008	R	−14.0%	500	669	1,207
2004	R	−16.5%	581	817	1,426
2000	R	−72.5%	252	1,667	1,953
1996	D	+73.2%	1,926	253	2,284
1992	D	+63.1%	1,267	225	1,651
1988	R	−2.8%	770	815	1,595
1984	R	−27.7%	611	1,080	1,695
1980	R	−28.5%	628	1,178	1,932
1976	D	+7.5%	1,025	881	1,912
1972	D	+0.5%	1,074	1,064	2,145
1968	R	−3.3%	956	1,024	2,060
1964	D	+21.1%	1,401	912	2,313
1960	R	−0.2%	1,249	1,254	2,503
1956	R	−1.0%	1,302	1,327	2,629
1952	R	−32.1%	905	1,761	2,666
1948	D	+2.7%	1,046	990	2,061
1944	R	−9.7%	998	1,212	2,210
1940	R	−10.7%	1,398	1,732	3,130
1936	D	+23.3%	1,919	1,174	3,204
1932	D	+46.9%	2,398	860	3,281
1928	R	−8.8%	1,321	1,576	2,914
1924	R	−34.3%	327	1,184	2,501
1920	R	−27.0%	517	1,125	2,255
1916	R	−11.0%	711	898	1,693
1912	D	+37.1%	577	0	1,554
1908	R	−22.8%	513	847	1,468
1904	R	−54.7%	265	1,013	1,368
1900	R	−6.5%	549	628	1,218
1896	R	−2.9%	500	530	1,045
1892	R	−46.3%	95	564	1,014
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: 40.1 in this county, 39.1 nationally

Male

Age

Female

0.8%

85+

2.0%

2.1%

75–84

2.3%

6.9%

65–74

6.2%

7.1%

55–64

7.0%

5.1%

45–54

3.9%

7.3%

35–44

5.9%

5.6%

25–34

5.3%

3.9%

18–24

2.8%

10.4%

5–17

8.1%

3.7%

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

Median household income

2024 inflation-adjusted dollars

$78,750

Sanborn County ranks in the top 25% of US counties.

Sanborn County$78,750

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

8.5%

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

Catholic & Orthodox

18.2%

Mainline Protestant

14.8%

Other Christian

13.8%

Methodist

9.3%

Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 43.9% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Sanborn County's roughly 2,700 residents make it one of South Dakota's least-populous jurisdictions, yet its presidential margins have run consistently above R+50 for over a decade, reflecting the heavily rural, agricultural character of the James River lowlands.

The unraveling was not abrupt. The Democratic margin in Sanborn County peaked at seventy-three points in 1996; it narrowed steadily over the late twentieth century. The 2000 election delivered the county to the Republican party for the first time in many years, by a margin of seventy-two points. By 2024, the margin had widened further.

The economic and demographic context is severe. Sanborn County's median household income of $78,750 is among the lowest of any county in the United States; 9% of residents live below the federal poverty line. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Klickitat County and Tyrrell County.

Most similar counties

Sanborn County changed its political identity.