Jones County, South Dakota | |
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 Location within the U.S. state ofSouth Dakota | |
 South Dakota's location within theU.S. | |
| Coordinates:43°57′7.168″N100°41′10.096″W / 43.95199111°N 100.68613778°W /43.95199111; -100.68613778 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  South Dakota |
| Founded | 1916 (created) January 15, 1917 (organized) |
| Named after | George Wallace Jones |
| Seat | Murdo |
| Largest city | Murdo |
| Area | |
• Total | 970.883 sq mi (2,514.58 km2) |
| • Land | 969.668 sq mi (2,511.43 km2) |
| • Water | 1.215 sq mi (3.15 km2) 0.1% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 917 |
• Estimate (2024) | 874 |
| • Density | 0.882/sq mi (0.341/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| Congressional district | At-large |
Jones County is acounty in theU.S. state ofSouth Dakota. As of the2020 census, the population was 917,[1] making it the least populous county in South Dakota. Itscounty seat isMurdo.[2] Created in 1916 and organized in 1917, it is the most recently established county in South Dakota.[3]It was named after Granville Whittington Jones, an Arkansas-born clergyman/lawyer, who moved to Chamberlain, SD and became a noted Chautauqua speaker.
The terrain of Jones County consists of semi-arid rolling hills, partially devoted to agriculture. TheBad River flows north easterly through the northwest corner of the county, and theWhite River forms the county's southern boundary. The southern areas of the county are carved with gullies and drainages flowing to the White River.[4] The terrain generally slopes to the northeast, and its highest point is on the lower western boundary, at 2,444 ft (745 m) ASL.[5]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 970.883 square miles (2,514.58 km2), of which 969.668 square miles (2,511.43 km2) is land and 1.215 square miles (3.15 km2) (0.1%) is water.[6]
The eastern portion of South Dakota's counties (48 of 66) observeCentral Time; the western counties (18 of 66) observeMountain Time. Jones County is one of the SD counties to observe Central Time.[7]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920 | 3,004 | — | |
| 1930 | 3,177 | 5.8% | |
| 1940 | 2,509 | −21.0% | |
| 1950 | 2,281 | −9.1% | |
| 1960 | 2,066 | −9.4% | |
| 1970 | 1,882 | −8.9% | |
| 1980 | 1,463 | −22.3% | |
| 1990 | 1,324 | −9.5% | |
| 2000 | 1,193 | −9.9% | |
| 2010 | 1,006 | −15.7% | |
| 2020 | 917 | −8.8% | |
| 2024 (est.) | 874 | [8] | −4.7% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[9] 1790–1960[10] 1900–1990[11] 1990–2000[12] 2010–2020[13] | |||
As of the2020 census, there were 917 people, 399 households, and 245 families residing in the county.[14] Thepopulation density was 0.9 inhabitants per square mile (0.35/km2). There were 504 housing units.
As of the2010 census, there were 1,006 people, 458 households, and 280 families in the county. The population density was 1.0 inhabitant per square mile (0.39/km2). There were 589 housing units at an average density of 0.6 units per square mile (0.23 units/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 95.6% white, 2.0% American Indian, 0.4% Pacific islander, 0.1% black or African American, 0.0% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.3% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 48.8% wereGerman, 15.9% wereIrish, 10.2% wereNorwegian, 9.0% wereDutch, and 1.9% wereAmerican.
In terms of ancestry in 2016, 39.1% were ofGerman, 14.3% were ofIrish, 13.9% were ofNorwegian, 11.4% were ofDutch, 6.4% were ofEnglish, 6.2 were ofFrench.
Of the 458 households, 26.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.7% were married couples living together, 5.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 38.9% were non-families, and 35.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.86. The median age was 46.9 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $49,464 and the median income for a family was $56,589. Males had a median income of $33,021 versus $27,115 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,630. About 6.6% of families and 9.1% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 16.7% of those under age 18 and 8.4% of those age 65 or over.
Jones County voters have been reliably Republican. The last Democrat to carry Jones County in a Presidential election wasLyndon Johnson in 1964, andJimmy Carter in 1976 was the last to top one third of the county's ballots. Even before the Democratic Party turned towards its modern liberalism, Jones County did not vote for any Democrat except LBJ and Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932 and 1936 – and in the latter election when Roosevelt won 46 of 48 states he beatAlf Landon in Jones County by just twelve votes.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1920 | 609 | 62.33% | 255 | 26.10% | 113 | 11.57% |
| 1924 | 732 | 55.45% | 141 | 10.68% | 447 | 33.86% |
| 1928 | 857 | 66.43% | 422 | 32.71% | 11 | 0.85% |
| 1932 | 472 | 32.44% | 929 | 63.85% | 54 | 3.71% |
| 1936 | 608 | 48.10% | 620 | 49.05% | 36 | 2.85% |
| 1940 | 832 | 62.09% | 508 | 37.91% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1944 | 465 | 63.79% | 264 | 36.21% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1948 | 522 | 55.06% | 414 | 43.67% | 12 | 1.27% |
| 1952 | 739 | 69.59% | 323 | 30.41% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1956 | 601 | 56.06% | 471 | 43.94% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 644 | 60.36% | 423 | 39.64% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1964 | 415 | 43.09% | 548 | 56.91% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1968 | 562 | 55.75% | 358 | 35.52% | 88 | 8.73% |
| 1972 | 642 | 64.39% | 346 | 34.70% | 9 | 0.90% |
| 1976 | 515 | 57.87% | 374 | 42.02% | 1 | 0.11% |
| 1980 | 689 | 74.97% | 189 | 20.57% | 41 | 4.46% |
| 1984 | 689 | 76.64% | 206 | 22.91% | 4 | 0.44% |
| 1988 | 521 | 66.28% | 261 | 33.21% | 4 | 0.51% |
| 1992 | 454 | 58.28% | 166 | 21.31% | 159 | 20.41% |
| 1996 | 463 | 63.51% | 184 | 25.24% | 82 | 11.25% |
| 2000 | 509 | 76.66% | 137 | 20.63% | 18 | 2.71% |
| 2004 | 565 | 78.80% | 134 | 18.69% | 18 | 2.51% |
| 2008 | 463 | 73.84% | 147 | 23.44% | 17 | 2.71% |
| 2012 | 490 | 80.46% | 108 | 17.73% | 11 | 1.81% |
| 2016 | 450 | 80.65% | 69 | 12.37% | 39 | 6.99% |
| 2020 | 498 | 83.14% | 90 | 15.03% | 11 | 1.84% |
| 2024 | 477 | 86.73% | 60 | 10.91% | 13 | 2.36% |
Places adjacent to Jones County, South Dakota | ||||||||||||||||
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Municipalities and communities ofJones County, South Dakota,United States | ||
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