Brookings County, South Dakota

Brookings County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 34,375,^[1] making it the fifth most populous county in South Dakota. Its county seat is Brookings.^[2] The county was created in 1862 and organized in 1871.^[3]

Brookings County
County
Brookings County Courthouse in Brookings
Location within the U.S. state of South Dakota
South Dakota's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 44°22′N 96°47′W
Country	United States
State	South Dakota
Founded	1862 (created) July 3, 1871 (organized)
Named after	Wilmot Wood Brookings
Seat	Brookings
Largest city	Brookings
Area
• Total	805 sq mi (2,080 km2)
• Land	792 sq mi (2,050 km2)
• Water	13 sq mi (30 km2)  1.6%
Population  (2020)
• Total	34,375
• Estimate  (2024)	36,359
• Density	43/sq mi (16/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	At-large
Website	www.brookingscountysd.gov

Brookings County comprises the Brookings, SD Micropolitan Statistical Area. It is also the location of South Dakota State University.

History

The county was organized July 3, 1871, and was named for Wilmot Wood Brookings (1830-1905), a politician and pioneer of southeastern South Dakota. Medary was the first county seat, from 1871 to 1879, when it was moved to the city of Brookings.

Geography

Soils of Brookings County

Brookings County is on the east side of South Dakota. Its east boundary line abuts the west boundary line of the state of Minnesota. The Big Sioux River flows south-southeastward through the east central part of the county; its point of entry into Moody County marks Brookings County's lowest elevation: 1,568 ft (478 m) ASL.^[4]

The county terrain consists of sloped flatlands, marked by numerous lakes and ponds especially in the western part. The area is largely devoted to agricultural use.^[5] The county has a total area of 805 square miles (2,080 km²), of which 782 square miles (2,030 km²) is land and 13 square miles (34 km²) (1.6%) is water.^[6]

Major highways

• Interstate 29
• U.S. Highway 14

• U.S. Highway 14 Bypass
• U.S. Highway 81
• South Dakota Highway 13
• South Dakota Highway 30
• South Dakota Highway 324

Airports

• Brookings Regional Airport
• Arlington Municipal Airport

Transit

• Jefferson Lines

Adjacent counties

• Deuel County – north
• Lincoln County, Minnesota – east
• Pipestone County, Minnesota – southeast
• Moody County – south
• Lake County – southwest
• Kingsbury County – west
• Hamlin County – northwest

Lakes

• Brush Lake
• Johnson Lake
• Lake Campbell
• Lake Goldsmith
• Lake Hendricks (partial)
• Lake Poinsett
• Lake Sinai
• Lake Tetonkaha
• Oak Lake^[7]
• Oakwood Lake

Protected areas

• Aurora Prairie Nature Preserve^[8]
• Black Slough State Game Production Area
• Brookings County State Game Production Area
• Brookings Prairie Park^[9]
• Dakota Nature Park^[10]
• Deer Creek State Game Production Area
• Kvernmoe Slough State Game Production Area
• Lake Hendricks State Lakeside Use Area
• Lake Poinsett State Recreation Area
• Mehegan State Game Production Area
• Moe Slough State game Production Area
• Nelson State Game Production Area
• Oak Lake State Game Production Area
• Oakwood Lake State Game Production Area
• Oakwood Lakes State Park

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1870	163		—
1880	4,965		2,946.0%
1890	10,132		104.1%
1900	12,561		24.0%
1910	14,178		12.9%
1920	16,119		13.7%
1930	16,847		4.5%
1940	16,560		−1.7%
1950	17,851		7.8%
1960	20,046		12.3%
1970	22,158		10.5%
1980	24,332		9.8%
1990	25,207		3.6%
2000	28,220		12.0%
2010	31,965		13.3%
2020	34,375		7.5%
2024 (est.)	36,359	[11]	5.8%
U.S. Decennial Census[12] 1790–1960[13] 1900–1990[14] 1990–2000[15] 2010–2020[1]

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 34,375 people, 13,120 households, and 7,419 families residing in the county.^[16] The population density was 43.4 inhabitants per square mile (16.8/km²). There were 14,849 housing units.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 31,965 people, 12,029 households, and 6,623 families in the county. The population density was 40.3 inhabitants per square mile (15.6/km²). There were 13,137 housing units at an average density of 16.6 per square mile (6.4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.2% white, 2.7% Asian, 0.9% American Indian, 0.8% black or African American, 0.9% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.0% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 47.9% were German, 24.3% were Norwegian, 11.9% were Irish, 6.9% were English, 6.1% were Dutch, and 2.0% were American.

Of the 12,029 households, 25.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.6% were married couples living together, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 44.9% were non-families, and 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.93. The median age was 26.3 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $45,134 and the median income for a family was $63,338. Males had a median income of $40,425 versus $30,023 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,995. About 5.9% of families and 19.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.2% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

• Arlington (partial)
• Brookings (county seat)
• Bruce
• Elkton
• Volga
• White

Towns

• Aurora
• Bushnell
• Sinai

Census-designated places

• Lake Poinsett
• Newdale Colony
• Norfeld Colony
• Rolland Colony

Unincorporated communities

• Ahnberg
• Medary
• Sunnyview

Townships

• Afton
• Alton
• Argo
• Aurora
• Bangor
• Brookings
• Elkton
• Eureka
• Lake Hendricks
• Lake Sinai
• Laketon
• Medary
• Oaklake
• Oakwood
• Oslo
• Parnell
• Preston
• Richland
• Sherman
• Sterling
• Trenton
• Volga
• Winsor

Politics

Typical of the Great Plains, Brookings County voters are reliably Republican, even for a county with politics influenced by a college town. In only two national elections since 1932 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate. Despite being reliably Republican territory, no Republican has taken over 60% of the vote since Ronald Reagan in 1984.

United States presidential election results for Brookings County, South Dakota^[17]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	8,575	57.40%	5,978	40.02%	386	2.58%
2020	8,000	54.92%	6,110	41.94%	457	3.14%
2016	6,748	53.22%	4,879	38.48%	1,053	8.30%
2012	6,220	50.16%	5,827	46.99%	353	2.85%
2008	6,431	46.12%	7,207	51.68%	307	2.20%
2004	7,662	57.29%	5,443	40.70%	270	2.02%
2000	6,212	56.55%	4,546	41.39%	226	2.06%
1996	5,112	45.35%	5,105	45.29%	1,055	9.36%
1992	4,698	39.14%	4,645	38.70%	2,659	22.15%
1988	5,394	52.34%	4,860	47.16%	51	0.49%
1984	6,679	61.76%	4,089	37.81%	46	0.43%
1980	5,727	52.15%	3,934	35.83%	1,320	12.02%
1976	5,278	52.64%	4,685	46.73%	63	0.63%
1972	5,182	52.26%	4,701	47.41%	33	0.33%
1968	4,674	57.84%	3,202	39.62%	205	2.54%
1964	3,692	46.83%	4,191	53.17%	0	0.00%
1960	5,710	65.75%	2,974	34.25%	0	0.00%
1956	5,293	66.89%	2,620	33.11%	0	0.00%
1952	5,988	76.29%	1,861	23.71%	0	0.00%
1948	3,975	57.39%	2,907	41.97%	44	0.64%
1944	4,136	66.61%	2,073	33.39%	0	0.00%
1940	5,016	65.25%	2,671	34.75%	0	0.00%
1936	3,899	53.40%	3,161	43.29%	242	3.31%
1932	3,231	48.96%	3,247	49.20%	121	1.83%
1928	4,586	70.05%	1,915	29.25%	46	0.70%
1924	4,708	48.51%	1,010	10.41%	3,987	41.08%
1920	2,743	68.64%	564	14.11%	689	17.24%
1916	1,638	51.79%	1,385	43.79%	140	4.43%
1912	0	0.00%	740	30.90%	1,655	69.10%
1908	1,697	63.58%	588	22.03%	384	14.39%
1904	2,220	76.18%	353	12.11%	341	11.70%
1900	1,707	57.36%	1,084	36.42%	185	6.22%
1896	1,263	48.71%	1,288	49.67%	42	1.62%
1892	1,082	51.57%	189	9.01%	827	39.42%

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Brookings County, South Dakota