McPherson County, South Dakota

McPherson County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,411. Its county seat is Leola.

History

The county was created in 1873 and organized in 1884. It is named for American Civil War General James B. McPherson.

Geography

McPherson County lies on the north line of South Dakota. The north boundary line of McPherson County abuts the south boundary line of the state of North Dakota. Its terrain consists of rolling hills, largely devoted to agriculture, and dotted with small lakes and ponds. The terrain generally slopes to the south and east.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.3%) is water. It is the 24th largest county in South Dakota by total area.

The Samuel H. Ordway Jr., Memorial Prairie, a grassland owned by The Nature Conservancy on the south side of South Dakota Highway 10 about west of Leola, is home to a bison herd.

Major highways

20px South Dakota Highway 10
20px South Dakota Highway 45
20px South Dakota Highway 47
23px South Dakota Highway 247
23px South Dakota Highway 239

Adjacent counties

McIntosh County, North Dakota – north
Dickey County, North Dakota – northeast
Brown County – east
Edmunds County – south
Walworth County – southwest
Campbell County – west

Protected areas

Source:

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Survey estimates

As of the third quarter of 2024, the median home value in McPherson County was $81,400.

As of the 2023 American Community Survey, there are 896 estimated households in McPherson County with an average of 2.25 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $62,024. Approximately 15.4% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. McPherson County has an estimated 59.8% employment rate, with 22.4% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 81.0% holding a high school diploma.

The top five reported ancestries (people were allowed to report up to two ancestries, thus the figures will generally add to more than 100%) were English (83.4%), Spanish (0.8%), Indo-European (15.8%), Asian and Pacific Islander (0.0%), and Other (0.0%).

The median age in the county was 48.8 years.

McPherson County, South Dakota – racial and ethnic composition

{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible" style="font-size: 95%;"

! Race / ethnicity (NH = non-Hispanic)

! Pop. 1980 !! Pop. 1990 !! Pop. 2010 !!

| White alone (NH)

| 4,018 (99.78%) || 3,223 (99.85%) || 2,880 (99.17%) || 2,405 (97.80%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |2,265 (93.94%)

| Black or African American alone (NH)

| 0 (0.00%) || 1 (0.03%) || 0 (0.00%) || 1 (0.04%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |3 (0.12%)

| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

| 0 (0.00%) || 2 (0.06%) || 8 (0.28%) || 1 (0.04%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |27 (1.12%)

| Asian alone (NH)

| 1 (0.02%) || 2 (0.06%) || 4 (0.14%) || 4 (0.16%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |3 (0.12%)

| Pacific Islander alone (NH)

| — || — || 0 (0.00%) || 3 (0.12%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |1 (0.04%)

| Other race alone (NH)

| 6 (0.15%) || 0 (0.00%) || 0 (0.00%) || 0 (0.00%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |0 (0.00%)

| Mixed race or multiracial (NH)

| — || — || 6 (0.21%) || 20 (0.81%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |59 (2.45%)

| Hispanic or Latino (any race)

| 2 (0.05%) || 0 (0.00%) || 6 (0.21%) || 25 (1.02%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |53 (2.20%)

| Total

| 4,027 (100.00%) || 3,228 (100.00%) || 2,904 (100.00%) || 2,459 (100.00%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |2,411 (100.00%)

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 2,411 people, 940 households, and 580 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 1,258 housing units at an average density of .

Of the residents counted by the 2020 census, 20.6% were under the age of 18 and 29.2% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 51.6 years. For every 100 females there were 106.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 105.7 males.

The 2020 census reported the racial makeup of the county as 94.4% White, 0.1% Black or African American, 1.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% Asian, 1.3% from some other race, and 2.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.2% of the population.

Of the 940 households, 21.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 20.3% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 34.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. and 1980 McPherson was among the five most Republican counties in the country, and in 1964 it was rivalled only by neighbouring Campbell County and the famous Republican bastions of Hooker County, Nebraska and Jackson County, Kentucky as Barry Goldwater’s best county outside the former Confederacy.