Grant County, South Dakota

Grant County
Grant County
County
	County Courthouse
	Location within the U.S. state of South Dakota
	South Dakota's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 45°10′N 96°46′W / 45.17°N 96.77°W
Country	United States
State	South Dakota
Founded	1873 (created); January 8, 1878 (organized)
Named for	Ulysses S. Grant
Seat	Milbank
Largest city	Milbank
Area
• Total	688 sq mi (1,780 km2)
• Land	681 sq mi (1,760 km2)
• Water	6.1 sq mi (16 km2) 0.9%
Population (2020)
• Total	7,556
• Estimate (2023)	7,553
• Density	11/sq mi (4.2/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	At-large
Website	grantcounty.sd.gov

Grant County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,556.^[1] The county seat is Milbank.^[2] The county was founded in 1873 and organized in 1878.^[3] It is named for Ulysses S. Grant, 18th President of the United States.^[4]

Geography

Grant County lies on the east side of South Dakota. Its east boundary line abuts the west boundary line of the state of Minnesota. The terrain consists of rolling hills, sloping to the northeast. The area is largely devoted to agriculture.^[5] The highest point of the terrain is on the county's south boundary line, towards its southwest corner, at 2,014 ft (614 m) ASL.^[6]

Grant County has a total area of 688 square miles (1,780 km²), of which 681 square miles (1,760 km²) is land and 6.1 square miles (16 km²) (0.9%) is water.^[7]

The lowest point in the state of South Dakota is located on Big Stone Lake at Big Stone City in Grant County, adjacent to Ortonville, Minnesota, where the lake flows into the Minnesota River.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Protected areas

Mazeppa State Public Shooting Area^[8]
Mud Lake State Public Shooting Area^[9]

Lakes

Source:^[5]

Big Stone Lake (adjacent)
Crooked Lake
LaBolt Lake
Lake Albert
Lake Farley
Lonesome Lake (partial)
Mud Lake
Myers Lake
Summit Lake
Twin Lakes

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	3,010		—
1890	6,814		126.4%
1900	9,103		33.6%
1910	10,303		13.2%
1920	10,880		5.6%
1930	10,729		−1.4%
1940	10,552		−1.6%
1950	10,233		−3.0%
1960	9,913		−3.1%
1970	9,005		−9.2%
1980	9,013		0.1%
1990	8,372		−7.1%
2000	7,847		−6.3%
2010	7,356		−6.3%
2020	7,556		2.7%
2023 (est.)	7,553	^[10]	0.0%
U.S. Decennial Census^[11] 1790-1960^[12] 1900-1990^[13] 1990-2000^[14] 2010-2020^[1]

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 7,556 people, 3,103 households, and 2,014 families residing in the county.^[15] The population density was 11.1 inhabitants per square mile (4.3/km²). There were 3,426 housing units.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 7,356 people, 3,089 households, and 2,076 families in the county. The population density was 10.8 inhabitants per square mile (4.2/km²). There were 3,526 housing units at an average density of 5.2 units per square mile (2.0 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.1% white, 0.5% American Indian, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% black or African American, 1.1% from other races, and 0.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.3% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 49.9% were German, 16.8% were Norwegian, 8.9% were Irish, 6.7% were Swedish, 5.6% were English, and 5.2% were American.

Of the 3,089 households, 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.2% were married couples living together, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 32.8% were non-families, and 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.89. The median age was 45.1 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $42,625 and the median income for a family was $56,250. Males had a median income of $36,204 versus $25,567 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,887. About 7.0% of families and 11.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.8% of those under age 18 and 17.8% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

Big Stone City
Milbank (county seat)

Towns

Unincorporated communities

Troy

Townships

Adams
Alban
Big Stone
Blooming Valley
Farmington
Georgia
Grant Center
Kilborn
Lura
Madison
Mazeppa
Melrose
Osceola
Stockholm
Troy
Twin Brooks
Vernon

Education

School districts include:^[16]

Politics

Grant County voters have been reliably Republican for decades. In only three national elections since 1948 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate.

United States presidential election results for Grant County, South Dakota^[17]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	2,618	69.91%	1,056	28.20%	71	1.90%
2016	2,382	66.84%	971	27.24%	211	5.92%
2012	2,034	56.41%	1,493	41.40%	79	2.19%
2008	1,951	50.94%	1,786	46.63%	93	2.43%
2004	2,392	58.48%	1,633	39.93%	65	1.59%
2000	2,235	58.36%	1,475	38.51%	120	3.13%
1996	1,782	43.64%	1,805	44.21%	496	12.15%
1992	1,595	38.81%	1,484	36.11%	1,031	25.09%
1988	2,148	51.49%	1,988	47.65%	36	0.86%
1984	2,738	62.80%	1,606	36.83%	16	0.37%
1980	2,691	58.58%	1,602	34.87%	301	6.55%
1976	2,051	45.95%	2,398	53.72%	15	0.34%
1972	2,247	50.04%	2,231	49.69%	12	0.27%
1968	2,259	51.81%	1,890	43.35%	211	4.84%
1964	1,854	41.78%	2,583	58.22%	0	0.00%
1960	2,611	55.26%	2,114	44.74%	0	0.00%
1956	2,621	55.87%	2,070	44.13%	0	0.00%
1952	3,234	68.31%	1,500	31.69%	0	0.00%
1948	1,972	48.57%	2,052	50.54%	36	0.89%
1944	2,278	60.70%	1,475	39.30%	0	0.00%
1940	2,981	59.38%	2,039	40.62%	0	0.00%
1936	1,847	45.50%	2,101	51.76%	111	2.73%
1932	1,515	33.88%	2,887	64.56%	70	1.57%
1928	2,508	59.49%	1,656	39.28%	52	1.23%
1924	1,227	42.02%	202	6.92%	1,491	51.06%
1920	1,813	59.99%	350	11.58%	859	28.42%
1916	1,098	55.31%	772	38.89%	115	5.79%
1912	0	0.00%	619	39.13%	963	60.87%
1908	1,122	59.87%	628	33.51%	124	6.62%
1904	1,454	77.05%	309	16.38%	124	6.57%
1900	1,305	62.86%	716	34.49%	55	2.65%
1896	1,029	52.72%	902	46.21%	21	1.08%
1892	605	40.74%	188	12.66%	692	46.60%