Lincoln County | |
|---|---|
 Lincoln County Courthouse in Canton | |
 Location within the U.S. state ofSouth Dakota | |
 South Dakota's location within theU.S. | |
| Coordinates:43°17′N96°43′W / 43.28°N 96.72°W /43.28; -96.72 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  South Dakota |
| Founded | December 30, 1867 |
| Named after | Abraham Lincoln[1] |
| Seat | Canton |
| Largest city | Sioux Falls |
| Area | |
• Total | 578 sq mi (1,500 km2) |
| • Land | 577 sq mi (1,490 km2) |
| • Water | 0.5 sq mi (1 km2) 0.08% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 65,161 |
• Estimate (2024) | 75,244 |
| • Density | 110/sq mi (44/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| Congressional district | At-large |
| Website | lincolncountysd |
Lincoln County is acounty in theU.S. state ofSouth Dakota. As of the2020 census, the population was 65,161,[2] making it thethird most populous county in South Dakota. Itscounty seat isCanton.[3] The county was named forAbraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States.[1] Lincoln County is included in theSioux Falls, SD,Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is one of the top 10 fastest-growing counties in the United States in terms of rate of population increase, rate of housing unit increase, and many other factors. This is due to the southward growth ofSioux Falls, and the expansion of its suburbs.
TheBig Sioux River flows south-southeastward along the east line of Lincoln County. Lincoln County is on the eastern line of South Dakota. Its east boundary line abuts the west boundary line of the state ofIowa (across the river).
The county terrain consists of low rolling hills. The county area is largely devoted to agriculture.[4] The terrain slopes to the southeast, and drops off to the river valley along its east edge.[5] The county has a total area of 578 square miles (1,500 km2), of which 577 square miles (1,490 km2) is land and 0.5 square miles (1.3 km2) (0.08%) is water.[6]
Source:[4]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 712 | — | |
| 1880 | 5,896 | 728.1% | |
| 1890 | 9,148 | 55.2% | |
| 1900 | 12,161 | 32.9% | |
| 1910 | 12,712 | 4.5% | |
| 1920 | 13,893 | 9.3% | |
| 1930 | 13,918 | 0.2% | |
| 1940 | 13,171 | −5.4% | |
| 1950 | 12,767 | −3.1% | |
| 1960 | 12,371 | −3.1% | |
| 1970 | 11,761 | −4.9% | |
| 1980 | 13,942 | 18.5% | |
| 1990 | 15,427 | 10.7% | |
| 2000 | 24,131 | 56.4% | |
| 2010 | 44,828 | 85.8% | |
| 2020 | 65,161 | 45.4% | |
| 2024 (est.) | 75,244 | [7] | 15.5% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[8] 1790–1960[9] 1900–1990[10] 1990–2000[11] 2010–2020[2] | |||
As of the2020 census, there were 65,161 people, 24,877 households, and 17,239 families residing in the county.[12] Thepopulation density was 112.9 inhabitants per square mile (43.6/km2). There were 26,227 housing units.
As of the2010 census, there were 44,828 people, 16,649 households, and 12,287 families in the county. The population density was 77.7 inhabitants per square mile (30.0/km2). There were 17,875 housing units at an average density of 31.0 per square mile (12.0/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 96.1% white, 1.0% Asian, 0.7% black or African American, 0.5% American Indian, 0.3% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.2% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 47.1% wereGerman, 20.9% wereNorwegian, 11.7% wereIrish, 7.2% wereDutch, 5.2% wereEnglish, and 3.9% wereAmerican.
Of the 16,649 households, 41.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.3% were married couples living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 26.2% were non-families, and 20.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.11. The median age was 32.8 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $67,365 and the median income for a family was $75,231. Males had a median income of $43,537 versus $34,715 for females. The per capita income for the county was $33,261. About 2.7% of families and 4.3% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 4.9% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.
Source:[4]
Lincoln County voters have been reliably Republican for decades. In no national election since 1964 has the county selected a Democratic Party candidate. Only three times in its history has it voted for a different party, twice for theDemocratic Party[14][15] and once for theProgressive Party.[16] In 1924 the county voted for independent candidateLaFollete[17] who was nominated by the progressive party but ran without a label in South Dakota.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 2024 | 22,621 | 62.16% | 12,981 | 35.67% | 791 | 2.17% |
| 2020 | 19,617 | 60.55% | 11,981 | 36.98% | 798 | 2.46% |
| 2016 | 15,499 | 61.43% | 8,076 | 32.01% | 1,656 | 6.56% |
| 2012 | 13,611 | 62.00% | 7,982 | 36.36% | 359 | 1.64% |
| 2008 | 11,803 | 56.84% | 8,642 | 41.61% | 322 | 1.55% |
| 2004 | 11,161 | 65.40% | 5,703 | 33.42% | 202 | 1.18% |
| 2000 | 6,546 | 62.01% | 3,844 | 36.42% | 166 | 1.57% |
| 1996 | 4,201 | 48.92% | 3,643 | 42.42% | 743 | 8.65% |
| 1992 | 3,365 | 42.47% | 2,943 | 37.15% | 1,615 | 20.38% |
| 1988 | 3,537 | 52.35% | 3,190 | 47.21% | 30 | 0.44% |
| 1984 | 3,988 | 60.10% | 2,626 | 39.57% | 22 | 0.33% |
| 1980 | 3,848 | 57.45% | 2,261 | 33.76% | 589 | 8.79% |
| 1976 | 3,105 | 51.04% | 2,957 | 48.60% | 22 | 0.36% |
| 1972 | 3,201 | 54.92% | 2,617 | 44.90% | 10 | 0.17% |
| 1968 | 3,259 | 59.89% | 1,961 | 36.03% | 222 | 4.08% |
| 1964 | 2,740 | 49.14% | 2,836 | 50.86% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 3,553 | 64.16% | 1,985 | 35.84% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1956 | 3,529 | 62.24% | 2,141 | 37.76% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1952 | 4,387 | 78.35% | 1,212 | 21.65% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1948 | 2,771 | 59.51% | 1,826 | 39.22% | 59 | 1.27% |
| 1944 | 3,298 | 66.99% | 1,625 | 33.01% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1940 | 4,081 | 66.59% | 2,048 | 33.41% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1936 | 2,918 | 48.42% | 2,541 | 42.17% | 567 | 9.41% |
| 1932 | 2,160 | 38.85% | 3,300 | 59.35% | 100 | 1.80% |
| 1928 | 3,463 | 71.40% | 1,364 | 28.12% | 23 | 0.47% |
| 1924 | 1,825 | 43.81% | 265 | 6.36% | 2,076 | 49.83% |
| 1920 | 2,790 | 73.54% | 441 | 11.62% | 563 | 14.84% |
| 1916 | 1,591 | 60.29% | 936 | 35.47% | 112 | 4.24% |
| 1912 | 0 | 0.00% | 719 | 28.52% | 1,802 | 71.48% |
| 1908 | 1,887 | 69.40% | 699 | 25.71% | 133 | 4.89% |
| 1904 | 2,471 | 80.49% | 378 | 12.31% | 221 | 7.20% |
| 1900 | 1,908 | 59.96% | 1,226 | 38.53% | 48 | 1.51% |
| 1896 | 1,516 | 51.86% | 1,393 | 47.66% | 14 | 0.48% |
| 1892 | 1,130 | 55.53% | 206 | 10.12% | 699 | 34.35% |
School districts include:[19]
Places adjacent to Lincoln County, South Dakota | ||||||||||||||||
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Municipalities and communities ofLincoln County, South Dakota,United States | ||
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| Cities |  | |
| Towns | ||
| Townships | ||
| CDP | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
| International | |
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| National | |
