Union County, South Dakota: Republican loyalist county. In 2024, voted R+41%. Democratic peak: D+43 in 1932.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+41MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- Republican loyalistAkashic typology
- Population
- 17,0812024 5-year
- Median household income
- $89,6362024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 90.0%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.9%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 4.8%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+43 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+41 in 1904MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Brule County, SD · similarity 0.98
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Union CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Union 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 | 2,548 | 6,160 | 8,876 | ||
| R | 2,725 | 5,944 | 8,855 | ||
| R | 2,227 | 5,290 | 7,897 | ||
| R | 2,782 | 4,698 | 7,596 | ||
| R | 3,244 | 4,310 | 7,701 | ||
| R | 3,000 | 3,987 | 7,048 | ||
| D | 3,265 | 2,358 | 5,772 | ||
| D | 2,378 | 2,234 | 5,207 | ||
| D | 2,210 | 1,784 | 5,097 | ||
| D | 2,612 | 1,907 | 4,550 | ||
| R | 2,221 | 2,431 | 4,677 | ||
| R | 1,830 | 2,788 | 5,054 | ||
| D | 2,540 | 2,297 | 4,860 | ||
| D | 2,554 | 2,271 | 4,842 | ||
| R | 2,014 | 2,212 | 4,451 | ||
| D | 2,828 | 1,727 | 4,555 | ||
| R | 2,331 | 2,688 | 5,019 | ||
| R | 2,343 | 2,636 | 4,979 | ||
| R | 1,645 | 3,393 | 5,038 | ||
| D | 2,237 | 2,205 | 4,465 | ||
| R | 2,057 | 2,501 | 4,558 | ||
| R | 2,608 | 3,116 | 5,724 | ||
| D | 3,520 | 1,845 | 5,785 | ||
| D | 3,530 | 1,381 | 4,957 | ||
| R | 2,106 | 2,415 | 4,540 | ||
| R | 877 | 1,665 | 3,697 | ||
| R | 841 | 1,942 | 2,935 | ||
| R | 1,108 | 1,313 | 2,465 | ||
| O | 965 | 0 | 2,469 | ||
| R | 1,009 | 1,392 | 2,458 | ||
| R | 730 | 1,813 | 2,654 | ||
| R | 1,358 | 1,571 | 2,964 | ||
| D | 1,491 | 1,297 | 2,805 | ||
| O | 241 | 860 | 1,986 | ||
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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
34.7%
Irish
14.2%
English
8.2%
American
4.9%
French
4.5%
Polish
1.9%
Scottish
1.4%
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
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: 41.5 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
$89,636
Union County ranks in the top 10% of US counties.
Union County$89,636
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
6.2%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 183.3%
Working age (18–64)6.0%
Seniors (65+)17.9%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
97.0%
speak English only
Spanish1.5%
Other Indo-European1.0%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.4%
Other languages0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 66.5% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Union County sits at South Dakota's southeastern tip where the Big Sioux meets the Missouri, with Elk Point as its seat. Despite proximity to Sioux City's metro influence, it has returned Republican presidential margins above 35 points in recent cycles.
The Republican margin in Union County reached its widest at forty-one points in 1904. The margin in 2024 was forty-one points, in line with the county's deep historical pattern.
Its loyalty is rooted in its place. Median household income of $89,636, a 90% non-Hispanic-white share, and a population of 17,081 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 Brule County and Alleghany County.
Most similar counties
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Union County, South Dakota — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://akashic.app/county/46127/. 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 Union County, South Dakota vote in 2024?
In 2024, Union County, South Dakota voted Republican by 40.7 points (R+41), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 8,876 votes cast, 2,548 went Democratic and 6,160 went Republican.
What is Union County, South Dakota's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Union 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 11 times, Republican 21 times, and other 2 times.
When did Union County, South Dakota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Union County, South Dakota voted Democratic was 2000.
How many people live in Union County, South Dakota?
Union County, South Dakota has a population of 17,081 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Union County, South Dakota?
Median household income in Union County, South Dakota is $89,636 — above the national median of $80,734. The South Dakota state median is $75,081.
What is the political history of Union County, South Dakota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Union County, South Dakota from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 11 went Democratic and 21 went Republican. The county's archetype — "Republican loyalist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.