County: | Douglas County |
State: | South Dakota |
Founded Year: | 1873 (created) 1882 (organized) |
Seat Wl: | Armour |
Largest City Wl: | Armour |
Area Total Sq Mi: | 434 |
Area Land Sq Mi: | 432 |
Area Water Sq Mi: | 1.9 |
Area Percentage: | 0.4 |
Population As Of: | 2020 |
Population Total: | 2835 |
Pop Est As Of: | 2023 |
Population Est: | 2838 |
Population Density Sq Mi: | auto |
Web: | douglas.sdcounties.org |
Ex Image: | Douglas County, South Dakota courthouse 2.jpg |
Ex Image Cap: | Douglas County Courthouse in Armour |
District: | At-large |
Named For: | Stephen A. Douglas |
Douglas County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,835.[1] Its county seat is Armour.[2] The county was established in 1873 and organized in 1882.[3] It is named for Stephen Douglas,[4] Illinois political figure.
The terrain of Douglas County consists of rolling hills, mostly dedicated to agriculture. The county's highest point is on its southwestern boundary, toward the SW corner, at 1677feet ASL. The terrain slopes to the east.[5] The county has a total area of, of which is land and (0.4%) is water.[6] It is the second-smallest county in South Dakota by area.
As of the 2020 census, there were 2,835 people, 1,134 households, and 779 families residing in the county.[8] The population density was . There were 1,341 housing units.
As of the 2010 census, there were 3,002 people, 1,210 households, and 819 families in the county. The population density was . There were 1,439 housing units at an average density of 3.3/mi2. The racial makeup of the county was 96.6% white, 1.8% American Indian, 0.4% black or African American, 0.1% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.8% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 34.8% were Dutch, 33.9% were German, 5.6% were Norwegian, 5.5% were Irish, 5.4% were Russian, and 5.1% were American.
Of the 1,210 households, 25.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.8% were married couples living together, 4.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 32.3% were non-families, and 29.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.89. The median age was 48.3 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $42,794 and the median income for a family was $53,750. Males had a median income of $36,689 versus $24,883 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,200. About 7.2% of families and 9.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.9% of those under age 18 and 15.2% of those age 65 or over.
Douglas County voters have long been reliably Republican. In only two national elections since 1892 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate.