Harding County, South Dakota | |
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 Location within the U.S. state ofSouth Dakota | |
 South Dakota's location within theU.S. | |
| Coordinates:45°35′47.8″N103°28′25.935″W / 45.596611°N 103.47387083°W /45.596611; -103.47387083 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  South Dakota |
| Founded | 1881 (created) 1898 (dissolved) 1908 (re-created w revised shape) 1909 (organized) |
| Named after | J. A. Harding |
| Seat | Buffalo |
| Largest town | Buffalo |
| Area | |
• Total | 2,678 sq mi (6,940 km2) |
| • Land | 2,671 sq mi (6,920 km2) |
| • Water | 6.5 sq mi (17 km2) 0.2% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 1,311 |
• Estimate (2024) | 1,325 |
| • Density | 0.4908/sq mi (0.1895/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−7 (Mountain) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−6 (MDT) |
| Congressional district | At-large |
Harding County is acounty in theU.S. state ofSouth Dakota. As of the2020 census, the population was 1,311,[1] making it the third-least populous county in South Dakota. Itscounty seat isBuffalo.[2]
Harding County was established as a county in theDakota Territory on March 5, 1881, but was not organized at that time. Its name recognized J. A. Harding, who had been Speaker of the House of Dakota Territory.[3] Its boundaries were altered in 1883, in 1889, and in 1894. On November 8, 1898, Harding County was dissolved and its territory assigned to Butte County. However, on November 3, 1908, it was again created (with altered boundaries) from Butte County's area, and on February 17, 1909 its governing organization was completed.[4]
Custer National Forest has its South Dakota portion in Harding County, andSouth Dakota State University operates theAntelope Range and Livestock Research Station about 14 miles (23 km) east of Buffalo.
Harding County lies at the northwest corner of South Dakota. Its western boundary line abuts the east boundary line of the state ofMontana, and its north boundary line abuts the south boundary line of the state ofNorth Dakota.[5] Its terrain consists of high hills, generally sloping to the east. Its highest point is a ridge that runs northwest to southeast near the county's southwest corner, at 3,366 ft (1,026 m) ASL.[6]
Harding County has a total area of 2,678 square miles (6,940 km2), of which 2,671 square miles (6,920 km2) is land and 6.5 square miles (17 km2) (0.2%) is water.[7] It is the fourth-largest county in South Dakota by area.
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1910 | 4,228 | — | |
| 1920 | 3,953 | −6.5% | |
| 1930 | 3,589 | −9.2% | |
| 1940 | 3,010 | −16.1% | |
| 1950 | 2,289 | −24.0% | |
| 1960 | 2,371 | 3.6% | |
| 1970 | 1,855 | −21.8% | |
| 1980 | 1,700 | −8.4% | |
| 1990 | 1,669 | −1.8% | |
| 2000 | 1,353 | −18.9% | |
| 2010 | 1,255 | −7.2% | |
| 2020 | 1,311 | 4.5% | |
| 2024 (est.) | 1,325 | [8] | 1.1% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[9] 1790–1960[10] 1900–1990[11] 1990–2000[12] 2010–2020[1] | |||
As of the2020 census, there were 1,311 people, 537 households, and 358 families residing in the county.[13] Thepopulation density was 0.5 inhabitants per square mile (0.19/km2). There were 720 housing units.
As of the2010 census, there were 1,255 people, 539 households, and 348 families in the county. The population density was 0.5 inhabitants per square mile (0.19/km2). There were 731 housing units at an average density of 0.27 units per square mile (0.10 units/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 95.9% white, 1.5% American Indian, 0.1% black or African American, 0.1% Asian, 0.7% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.6% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 41.4% wereNorwegian, 31.8% wereGerman, 18.4% wereIrish, 13.2% wereEnglish, and 2.6% wereAmerican.
Of the 539 households, 26.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.5% were married couples living together, 4.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 35.4% were non-families, and 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.87. The median age was 43.3 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $34,792 and the median income for a family was $46,111. Males had a median income of $38,929 versus $20,924 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,004. About 13.7% of families and 16.1% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 19.5% of those under age 18 and 16.9% of those age 65 or over.
Harding is a heavily Republican county inPresidential andCongressional elections. The last Democrat to win a majority in the county wasFranklin D. Roosevelt in his 46-state 1936 landslide.Jimmy Carter in 1976 almost carried the county, but since then the solitary Democrat to top 22 percent of Harding County's ballots has beenMichael Dukakis in thedrought-influenced 1988 election – and none of the last seven Democratic presidential candidates have topped so much as twenty percent. In 2008, RepublicanJohn McCain won 78% of the county's vote, while in 2012Mitt Romney won 86% of the vote, andDonald Trump in 2016 won 90%, his strongest showing in South Dakota,[citation needed] withHillary Clinton narrowly securing second place fromGary Johnson.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1912 | 0 | 0.00% | 325 | 29.49% | 777 | 70.51% |
| 1916 | 520 | 41.57% | 597 | 47.72% | 134 | 10.71% |
| 1920 | 648 | 58.43% | 213 | 19.21% | 248 | 22.36% |
| 1924 | 702 | 62.07% | 107 | 9.46% | 322 | 28.47% |
| 1928 | 1,032 | 72.78% | 368 | 25.95% | 18 | 1.27% |
| 1932 | 625 | 43.28% | 715 | 49.52% | 104 | 7.20% |
| 1936 | 524 | 37.92% | 819 | 59.26% | 39 | 2.82% |
| 1940 | 755 | 52.98% | 670 | 47.02% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1944 | 552 | 52.82% | 493 | 47.18% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1948 | 529 | 50.87% | 479 | 46.06% | 32 | 3.08% |
| 1952 | 809 | 73.35% | 294 | 26.65% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1956 | 650 | 63.35% | 376 | 36.65% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 676 | 63.89% | 382 | 36.11% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1964 | 489 | 50.10% | 487 | 49.90% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1968 | 564 | 63.02% | 266 | 29.72% | 65 | 7.26% |
| 1972 | 637 | 71.57% | 253 | 28.43% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1976 | 470 | 49.74% | 459 | 48.57% | 16 | 1.69% |
| 1980 | 727 | 74.64% | 205 | 21.05% | 42 | 4.31% |
| 1984 | 723 | 79.28% | 186 | 20.39% | 3 | 0.33% |
| 1988 | 633 | 70.33% | 259 | 28.78% | 8 | 0.89% |
| 1992 | 515 | 58.46% | 139 | 15.78% | 227 | 25.77% |
| 1996 | 537 | 68.41% | 151 | 19.24% | 97 | 12.36% |
| 2000 | 650 | 88.92% | 64 | 8.76% | 17 | 2.33% |
| 2004 | 704 | 86.38% | 94 | 11.53% | 17 | 2.09% |
| 2008 | 575 | 78.34% | 135 | 18.39% | 24 | 3.27% |
| 2012 | 638 | 86.33% | 82 | 11.10% | 19 | 2.57% |
| 2016 | 695 | 90.26% | 38 | 4.94% | 37 | 4.81% |
| 2020 | 748 | 92.00% | 49 | 6.03% | 16 | 1.97% |
| 2024 | 754 | 91.95% | 48 | 5.85% | 18 | 2.20% |
In theSouth Dakota Senate Harding is part of the 28th Senate district, which is held by RepublicanRyan Maher. In theState House Harding is part of district 28B, which is held by RepublicanNeil Pinnow.
Places adjacent to Harding County, South Dakota | |
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Municipalities and communities ofHarding County, South Dakota,United States | ||
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| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
| International | |
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| Other | |
