Todd County, South Dakota

Todd County
Todd County
County
	St. Charles Borromeo church in St. Francis, South Dakota at the Rosebud Indian Reservation
	Location within the U.S. state of South Dakota
	South Dakota's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 43°11′N 100°44′W / 43.18°N 100.73°W
Country	United States
State	South Dakota
Founded	1909
Named for	John Blair Smith Todd
Seat	None (de jure); Winner (de facto)
Largest city	Mission
Area
• Total	1,391 sq mi (3,600 km2)
• Land	1,389 sq mi (3,600 km2)
• Water	2.3 sq mi (6 km2) 0.2%
Population (2020)
• Total	9,319
• Estimate (2023)	9,199
• Density	6.7/sq mi (2.6/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	At-large
	Winner in neighboring Tripp County serves as Todd County's administrative center.

Todd County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,319.^[2] Todd County does not have its own county seat. Instead, Winner in neighboring Tripp County serves as its administrative center.^[3] Its largest city is Mission. The county was created in 1909, although it remains unorganized.^[1]^[4] The county was named for John Blair Smith Todd, a delegate from Dakota Territory to the United States House of Representatives^[1] and a Civil War general.

The county lies entirely within the Rosebud Indian Reservation and is coterminous with the main reservation (exclusive of off-reservation trust lands, which lie in four nearby counties). Its southern border is with the state of Nebraska. It is one of five South Dakota counties entirely within an Indian reservation.^[5] The county's per-capita income makes it the third poorest county in the United States. Unlike many rural counties in South Dakota, since 1960, its net population has increased.

History

Until 1981 Todd, Shannon (now Oglala Lakota), and Washabaugh were the last unorganized counties in the United States. Although then organized, Todd did not receive a home rule charter until 1983. It contracts with Tripp County for its Auditor, Treasurer, and Registrar of Deeds.^[6]

Geography

Todd County lies on the south line of South Dakota. Its south boundary line abuts the north boundary line of the state of Nebraska. Its terrain consists of semi-arid rolling hills, cut by gullies and drainages which flow to the northeast. The land is partially dedicated to agriculture, including center pivot irrigation.^[7] The terrain slopes to the northeast, and its highest point is near the SW corner, at 3,176 ft (968 m) ASL.^[8]

The eastern portion of South Dakota's counties (48 of 66) observe Central Time; the western counties (18 of 66) observe Mountain Time. Todd County is the westernmost of the SD counties to observe Central Time.^[9]

Todd County has a total area of 1,391 square miles (3,600 km²), of which 1,389 square miles (3,600 km²) is land and 2.3 square miles (6.0 km²) (0.2%) is water.^[10]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Mellette County - north
Tripp County - east
Cherry County, Nebraska - south (western half observes Mountain Time)
Keya Paha County, Nebraska - southeast^[8]
Bennett County - west (observes Mountain Time)
Jackson County - northwest^[7] (observes Mountain Time)

Protected areas^[7]

Hollow Horn Bear Village

Lakes^[7]

Antelope Lake
He Dog Lake
White Lake

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1910	2,164		—
1920	2,784		28.7%
1930	5,898		111.9%
1940	5,714		−3.1%
1950	4,758		−16.7%
1960	4,661		−2.0%
1970	6,606		41.7%
1980	7,328		10.9%
1990	8,352		14.0%
2000	9,050		8.4%
2010	9,612		6.2%
2020	9,319		−3.0%
2023 (est.)	9,199	^[11]	−1.3%
U.S. Decennial Census^[12] 1790-1960^[13] 1900-1990^[14] 1990-2000^[15] 2010-2020^[2]

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 9,319 people, 2,570 households, and 1,889 families residing in the county.^[16] The population density was 6.7 inhabitants per square mile (2.6/km²). There were 2,875 housing units.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 9,612 people, 2,780 households, and 2,091 families in the county. The population density was 6.9 inhabitants per square mile (2.7/km²). There were 3,142 housing units at an average density of 2.3 units per square mile (0.89 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 88.1% American Indian, 9.6% white, 0.2% black or African American, 0.2% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.4% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 5.1% were German, and 1.1% were American.

Of the 2,780 households, 55.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 28.5% were married couples living together, 34.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 24.8% were non-families, and 21.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 3.45 and the average family size was 3.95. The median age was 24.0 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $25,196 and the median income for a family was $29,010. Males had a median income of $26,971 versus $30,211 for females. The per capita income for the county was $11,010. About 44.2% of families and 48.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 59.0% of those under age 18 and 45.7% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

City

Mission

Town

St. Francis

Census-designated places

Other unincorporated communities^[7]

Grass Mountain
HeDog
Hidden Timber
Olsonville

Unorganized territories

East Todd
West Todd

Politics

Todd County heavily leans Democratic in politics. Similar to most other Native American-majority counties, Hillary Clinton won the majority of votes in Todd County in 2016. In 2020, Joe Biden received a larger majority of the county vote. The last election in which the Republican nominee won the county was in 1960 which the Richard Nixon-Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. ticket carried the county.

United States presidential election results for Todd County, South Dakota^[17]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	532	20.95%	1,963	77.31%	44	1.73%
2016	487	22.92%	1,505	70.82%	133	6.26%
2012	498	19.94%	1,976	79.13%	23	0.92%
2008	571	20.19%	2,208	78.08%	49	1.73%
2004	889	25.23%	2,543	72.16%	92	2.61%
2000	478	31.99%	993	66.47%	23	1.54%
1996	482	24.21%	1,380	69.31%	129	6.48%
1992	456	27.98%	915	56.13%	259	15.89%
1988	535	31.92%	1,117	66.65%	24	1.43%
1984	679	39.61%	1,022	59.63%	13	0.76%
1980	803	41.76%	972	50.55%	148	7.70%
1976	583	40.66%	826	57.60%	25	1.74%
1972	806	46.78%	907	52.64%	10	0.58%
1968	683	38.78%	987	56.05%	91	5.17%
1964	723	36.20%	1,274	63.80%	0	0.00%
1960	909	50.14%	904	49.86%	0	0.00%
1956	748	47.31%	833	52.69%	0	0.00%
1952	1,025	62.65%	611	37.35%	0	0.00%
1948	625	43.46%	796	55.35%	17	1.18%
1944	737	51.90%	683	48.10%	0	0.00%
1940	1,245	50.14%	1,238	49.86%	0	0.00%
1936	624	31.74%	1,318	67.04%	24	1.22%
1932	533	26.20%	1,485	73.01%	16	0.79%
1928	789	48.43%	831	51.01%	9	0.55%
1924	837	67.01%	237	18.98%	175	14.01%