Gregory County, South Dakota

Gregory County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,994.^[1] Its county seat is Burke.^[2] The county was created in 1862 and organized in 1898.^[3] It was named for the politician J. Shaw Gregory.^[4]

Gregory County
County
Carnegie Library in Dallas, South Dakota
Location within the U.S. state of South Dakota
South Dakota's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 43°12′N 99°11′W
Country	United States
State	South Dakota
Founded	1862 (created) 1898 (organized)
Named after	J. Shaw Gregory
Seat	Burke
Largest city	Gregory
Area
• Total	1,054 sq mi (2,730 km2)
• Land	1,015 sq mi (2,630 km2)
• Water	39 sq mi (100 km2)  3.7%
Population  (2020)
• Total	3,994
• Estimate  (2024)	4,110
• Density	3.8/sq mi (1.5/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	At-large
Website	gregory.sdcounties.org

Geography

Gregory County lies on the south line of South Dakota. Its south boundary line abuts the north boundary line of Nebraska. The Missouri River flows southeastward along its east boundary line. The county terrain consists of rolling hills, sloping to the southeast. The eastern part of the county is etched with gullies and drainages, flowing to the river basin.^[5] The county's highest point is in the SW corner, at 2,247 ft (685 m) ASL.^[6]

Gregory County has a total area of 1,054 square miles (2,730 km²), of which 1,015 square miles (2,630 km²) is land and 39 square miles (100 km²) (3.7%) is water.^[7]

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 18
• U.S. Highway 281
• South Dakota Highway 43
• South Dakota Highway 44
• South Dakota Highway 47
• South Dakota Highway 251
• South Dakota Highway 1806

Adjacent counties

• Lyman County - north
• Charles Mix County - east
• Boyd County, Nebraska - south
• Keya Paha County, Nebraska - southwest
• Tripp County - west

Protected areas

Source:^[5]

• Burke Lake State Recreation Area
• Buryanek State Game Production Area
• Buryanek State Recreation Area
• Central Gregory State Game Production Area
• Dixon Dam State Game Production Area
• Herrick Lake State Game Production Area
• Karl E. Mundt National Wildlife Refuge (part)
• Landing Creek State Game Production Area
• Missouri National Recreational River (part)
• Randall Creek State Recreation Area
• Scalp Creek State Game Production Area
• Southern Gregory State Game Production Area
• South Scalp Creek State Lakeside Use Area
• South Shore State Lakeside Use Area
• South Wheeler State Lakeside Area
• Whetstone Bay State Lakeside Use Area
• Whetstone State Game Production Area

Lakes

Source:^[5]

• Burke Lake
• Indian Lake
• Lake Berry
• Lake Burch
• Lake Francis Case (part)

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1890	295		—
1900	2,211		649.5%
1910	13,061		490.7%
1920	12,700		−2.8%
1930	11,420		−10.1%
1940	9,554		−16.3%
1950	8,556		−10.4%
1960	7,399		−13.5%
1970	6,710		−9.3%
1980	6,015		−10.4%
1990	5,359		−10.9%
2000	4,792		−10.6%
2010	4,271		−10.9%
2020	3,994		−6.5%
2024 (est.)	4,110	[8]	2.9%
U.S. Decennial Census[9] 1790–1960[10] 1900–1990[11] 1990–2000[12] 2010–2020[1]

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 3,994 people, 1,721 households, and 1,070 families residing in the county.^[13] The population density was 3.9 inhabitants per square mile (1.5/km²). There were 2,186 housing units.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 4,271 people, 1,936 households, and 1,172 families in the county. The population density was 4.2 inhabitants per square mile (1.6/km²). There were 2,503 housing units at an average density of 2.5 units per square mile (0.97 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 89.6% white, 7.5% American Indian, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% black or African American, 0.2% from other races, and 2.2% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.9% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 54.5% were German, 11.4% were Irish, 10.9% were Czech, 7.1% were English, 6.0% were Norwegian, and 2.4% were American.

Of the 1,936 households, 23.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.9% were married couples living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 39.5% were non-families, and 36.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.84. The median age was 48.2 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $33,940 and the median income for a family was $44,333. Males had a median income of $30,401 versus $25,804 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,311. About 10.7% of families and 16.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.1% of those under age 18 and 19.2% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

• Bonesteel
• Burke (County Seat)
• Gregory

Towns

• Dallas
• Fairfax
• Herrick

Census-designated place

• St. Charles

Unincorporated communities

• Carlock^[14]
• Dixon^[15]
• Lucas^[16]

Townships

• Burke
• Carlock
• Dickens
• Dixon
• Edens
• Ellston
• Fairfax
• Jones
• Landing Creek
• Pleasant Valley
• Star Valley
• Whetstone

Unorganized territories

• East Gregory
• North Gregory
• Southeast Gregory
• Spring Valley

Economy

Farming and ranching are two main economic factors of the county.

Politics

Like all of South Dakota outside Native American counties, Gregory County is powerfully Republican. No Democrat has carried Gregory County since Jimmy Carter in 1976. Like almost all of rural America, recent swings away from the Democratic Party have been very rapid: Donald Trump's 79.0 percent of the county's vote is the largest any candidate has obtained in the county since South Dakota statehood.

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

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	1,790	78.96%	426	18.79%	51	2.25%
2020	1,771	78.43%	455	20.15%	32	1.42%
2016	1,600	76.52%	391	18.70%	100	4.78%
2012	1,507	70.06%	599	27.85%	45	2.09%
2008	1,423	63.33%	771	34.31%	53	2.36%
2004	1,685	66.18%	813	31.93%	48	1.89%
2000	1,487	65.88%	718	31.81%	52	2.30%
1996	1,208	49.65%	923	37.94%	302	12.41%
1992	1,027	39.27%	879	33.61%	709	27.11%
1988	1,566	57.53%	1,138	41.81%	18	0.66%
1984	1,777	69.17%	780	30.36%	12	0.47%
1980	2,283	68.35%	883	26.44%	174	5.21%
1976	1,475	46.90%	1,658	52.72%	12	0.38%
1972	1,670	51.59%	1,555	48.04%	12	0.37%
1968	1,810	54.40%	1,266	38.05%	251	7.54%
1964	1,644	45.18%	1,995	54.82%	0	0.00%
1960	2,063	53.71%	1,778	46.29%	0	0.00%
1956	1,945	52.01%	1,795	47.99%	0	0.00%
1952	2,463	64.22%	1,372	35.78%	0	0.00%
1948	1,723	48.37%	1,793	50.34%	46	1.29%
1944	2,067	56.17%	1,613	43.83%	0	0.00%
1940	2,478	54.91%	2,035	45.09%	0	0.00%
1936	1,868	41.10%	2,603	57.27%	74	1.63%
1932	1,169	26.14%	3,278	73.30%	25	0.56%
1928	2,274	53.04%	2,001	46.68%	12	0.28%
1924	1,643	44.61%	818	22.21%	1,222	33.18%
1920	1,833	57.61%	744	23.38%	605	19.01%
1916	1,434	51.86%	1,242	44.92%	89	3.22%
1912	0	0.00%	1,176	44.46%	1,469	55.54%
1908	1,550	52.83%	1,266	43.15%	118	4.02%
1904	675	67.10%	282	28.03%	49	4.87%
1900	323	55.03%	259	44.12%	5	0.85%
1896	110	48.67%	116	51.33%	0	0.00%

National Register of Historic Places sites

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Gregory County, South Dakota
• Fort Randall