Dewey County, South Dakota | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Location within the U.S. state ofSouth Dakota | |
| Coordinates:45°10′N100°53′W / 45.16°N 100.88°W /45.16; -100.88 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  South Dakota |
| Founded | 1883 (created) 1910 (organized) |
| Named after | William P. Dewey |
| Seat | Timber Lake |
| Largest community | North Eagle Butte |
| Area | |
• Total | 2,445 sq mi (6,330 km2) |
| • Land | 2,302 sq mi (5,960 km2) |
| • Water | 143 sq mi (370 km2) 5.8% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 5,239 |
• Estimate (2024) | 5,322 |
| • Density | 2.276/sq mi (0.8787/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−7 (Mountain) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−6 (MDT) |
| Congressional district | At-large |
Dewey County is acounty in theU.S. state ofSouth Dakota. As of the2020 census, the population was 5,239.[1] Itscounty seat isTimber Lake.[2] The county was created in 1883 and organized in 1910.[3] It was named for William P. Dewey,[4] Territorial surveyor-general from 1873 to 1877.
Almost the entire county lies in theCheyenne River Indian Reservation. The balance of the county, along its extreme northern county line, lies in theStanding Rock Sioux Reservation. It is one of five South Dakota counties that are contained withinIndian reservations.
The Moreau River flows east-northeasterly through the upper central parts of Dewey County, discharging into theMissouri River near the county's NE corner. Smaller drainages move runoff water northward from the central-eastern portions to the Missouri River, discharging near the community of Promise. A significant arm of the Missouri River forms the county's southeastern border. The county terrain consists of rolling hills, sloping southeastward and dropping off into the Missouri River basin.[5]
The county has a total area of 2,445 square miles (6,330 km2), of which 2,302 square miles (5,960 km2) is land and 143 square miles (370 km2) (5.8%) is water.[6]
The eastern portion of South Dakota's counties (48 of 66) observeCentral Time; the western counties (18 of 66) observeMountain Time. Dewey County is the easternmost of the SD counties to observe Mountain Time.[7]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1910 | 1,145 | — | |
| 1920 | 4,802 | 319.4% | |
| 1930 | 6,476 | 34.9% | |
| 1940 | 5,709 | −11.8% | |
| 1950 | 4,916 | −13.9% | |
| 1960 | 5,257 | 6.9% | |
| 1970 | 5,170 | −1.7% | |
| 1980 | 5,366 | 3.8% | |
| 1990 | 5,523 | 2.9% | |
| 2000 | 5,972 | 8.1% | |
| 2010 | 5,301 | −11.2% | |
| 2020 | 5,239 | −1.2% | |
| 2024 (est.) | 5,322 | [8] | 1.6% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[9] 1790–1960[10] 1900–1990[11] 1990–2000[12] 2010–2020[1] | |||
As of the2020 census, the county had a population of 5,239, 1,705 households, and 1,180 families, yielding a population density of 2.3 inhabitants per square mile (0.89/km2).[13][14]
Of the residents, 31.4% were under the age of 18 and 12.0% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 32.4 years. For every 100 females there were 100.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 97.6 males.[13]
The racial makeup of the county was 16.3% White, 0.2%Black or African American, 78.9%American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%Asian, 0.3% from some other race, and 4.2% fromtwo or more races.Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 1.5% of the population.[14]
There were 1,705 households in the county, of which 42.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 31.8% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 24.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[13]
There were 1,923 housing units, of which 11.3% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 58.4% were owner-occupied and 41.6% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.3% and the rental vacancy rate was 10.3%.[13]
As of the2010 census, there were 5,301 people, 1,730 households, and 1,239 families in the county. The population density was 2.3 inhabitants per square mile (0.89/km2). There were 2,002 housing units at an average density of 0.9 units per square mile (0.35 units/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 74.9% Native American, 21.0% white, 0.2% Asian, 0.1% black or African American, 0.2% from other races, and 3.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.8% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 13.2% wereGerman, 6.5% wereIrish, and 0.6% wereAmerican.
Of the 1,730 households, 45.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.6% were married couples living together, 24.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 28.4% were non-families, and 24.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 3.05 and the average family size was 3.60. The median age was 30.0 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $33,255 and the median income for a family was $40,500. Males had a median income of $33,942 versus $28,594 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,632. About 20.5% of families and 30.5% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 39.5% of those under age 18 and 13.5% of those age 65 or over.
The county is divided into two areas of unorganized territory: North Dewey and South Dewey.
Dewey has since the 1990s been a strongly Democratic county in solidly Republican South Dakota. The last Republican to carry the county wasRonald Reagan in his 1984 landslide when he came within 3,761 votes of claiming all fifty states. Before this period, by contrast, Dewey was a Republican-leaning county even for South Dakota. Between its formation and 1984, Dewey had voted Democratic only in the three landslide Democratic wins of 1964, 1936 and 1932, plus forWoodrow Wilson in 1916 when his anti-war policies had strong appeal in the West.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1912 | 0 | 0.00% | 411 | 42.20% | 563 | 57.80% |
| 1916 | 352 | 47.00% | 379 | 50.60% | 18 | 2.40% |
| 1920 | 880 | 63.31% | 335 | 24.10% | 175 | 12.59% |
| 1924 | 956 | 53.05% | 222 | 12.32% | 624 | 34.63% |
| 1928 | 1,293 | 56.39% | 996 | 43.44% | 4 | 0.17% |
| 1932 | 710 | 30.51% | 1,591 | 68.37% | 26 | 1.12% |
| 1936 | 1,012 | 44.25% | 1,216 | 53.17% | 59 | 2.58% |
| 1940 | 1,396 | 56.36% | 1,081 | 43.64% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1944 | 913 | 64.12% | 511 | 35.88% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1948 | 864 | 53.80% | 727 | 45.27% | 15 | 0.93% |
| 1952 | 1,301 | 66.34% | 660 | 33.66% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1956 | 1,197 | 56.76% | 912 | 43.24% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 1,168 | 52.80% | 1,044 | 47.20% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1964 | 981 | 43.79% | 1,259 | 56.21% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1968 | 941 | 52.72% | 721 | 40.39% | 123 | 6.89% |
| 1972 | 1,008 | 58.88% | 699 | 40.83% | 5 | 0.29% |
| 1976 | 820 | 53.46% | 706 | 46.02% | 8 | 0.52% |
| 1980 | 1,045 | 59.14% | 600 | 33.96% | 122 | 6.90% |
| 1984 | 941 | 54.49% | 772 | 44.70% | 14 | 0.81% |
| 1988 | 765 | 42.76% | 1,007 | 56.29% | 17 | 0.95% |
| 1992 | 642 | 36.64% | 766 | 43.72% | 344 | 19.63% |
| 1996 | 657 | 33.20% | 1,114 | 56.29% | 208 | 10.51% |
| 2000 | 761 | 45.27% | 880 | 52.35% | 40 | 2.38% |
| 2004 | 921 | 35.92% | 1,606 | 62.64% | 37 | 1.44% |
| 2008 | 659 | 32.64% | 1,328 | 65.78% | 32 | 1.58% |
| 2012 | 663 | 34.99% | 1,207 | 63.69% | 25 | 1.32% |
| 2016 | 723 | 42.33% | 888 | 51.99% | 97 | 5.68% |
| 2020 | 790 | 40.18% | 1,131 | 57.53% | 45 | 2.29% |
| 2024 | 793 | 42.38% | 1,032 | 55.16% | 46 | 2.46% |
School districts include:[19]
Places adjacent to Dewey County, South Dakota | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||
Municipalities and communities ofDewey County, South Dakota,United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cities |  | |
| Town | ||
| CDPs | ||
| Other communities | ||
| Indian reservations | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
45°10′N100°53′W / 45.16°N 100.88°W /45.16; -100.88
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
