county

Buffalo County, SD

Demographic and economic profile of Buffalo County, SD, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Buffalo County is an extremely small, rural South Dakota county with a population of 1,757 that has contracted 14.4% over five years, with labor force participation at just 53.6% and unemployment at 9.7%, reflecting a structurally constrained local economy. The workforce skews very young—median age 22.8—with only 7.0% holding a bachelor's degree, and median worker earnings of $33,140 against a poverty rate of 32.5%. Housing costs are low, with a median home value of $108,000 and median gross rent of $535/month, and the average commute of 14.1 minutes points to a self-contained, localized labor market.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

1,757

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$47,045

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

22.8 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-14.4% since 2018

Buffalo County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone1,428 (79.0%)
  • White Alone316 (17.5%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races30 (1.7%)
  • Some Other Race Alone17 (0.9%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race17 (0.9%)
  • Black or African American Alone0 (0.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

Not yet cached for this geography.

Population Under 18

36.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

54.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

9.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

0.0%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

116

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$47,673

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$17,408

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

9.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

32.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance200
  2. 2.Public Administration (Group)106
  3. 3.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining60
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services43
  5. 5.Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing35

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Service Occupations183
  2. 2.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations180
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations96
  4. 4.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations80
  5. 5.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations39

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Public Administration (LQ 3.61×)100
  2. 2.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.42×)195

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$108,000

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$535/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

52.6%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $175,000 to $199,99956 (21.0%)
  • $100,000 to $124,99926 (9.7%)
  • $150,000 to $174,99925 (9.4%)
  • $20,000 to $24,99924 (9.0%)
  • Less Than $10,00019 (7.1%)
  • $125,000 to $149,99916 (6.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

7.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

85.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

53.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$33,140

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

13.4 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

16.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone467 (82.2%)
  • Worked At Home70 (12.3%)
  • Walked19 (3.3%)
  • Other9 (1.6%)
  • Carpooled3 (0.5%)
  • Public Transit0 (0.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Similar Locations

5 counties with comparable population, workforce, income, education, and cost of living. Click any to compare.

More on FDI Connect

Compare Buffalo County against other US geographies, save it to your shortlist, see active property listings on the interactive map, and unlock the full demographic dashboard.

Open full dashboardCreate free account

Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.