county

Meade County, SD

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

AI Overview

Meade County, SD is a small, largely rural county of about 30,300 residents that grew 10.5% over the past five years, reflecting steady population gains uncommon in many rural Great Plains communities. The labor force participation rate of 69.6% and a low unemployment rate of 3.5% point to a relatively tight local workforce, with 26.9% holding a bachelor's degree or higher and median worker earnings of $37,800. Housing costs remain moderate—median home value of $274,800 and median gross rent of $1,150/month—alongside a poverty rate of just 7.6% and a median household income of $74,790.

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

Population

30,297

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$74,790

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

37.3 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+10.5% since 2018

Meade County added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone26,380 (86.4%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races1,579 (5.2%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race854 (2.8%)
  • Black or African American Alone656 (2.1%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone558 (1.8%)
  • Some Other Race Alone294 (1.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish494
  2. 2.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)130
  3. 3.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic99
  4. 4.German or other West Germanic86
  5. 5.Other Asian and Pacific Island60

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

21.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

62.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

16.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.7%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

2,861

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$32,337

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$36,301

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

3.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

7.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance3,602
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)1,938
  3. 3.Construction (Group)1,579
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services1,444
  5. 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services985

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations5,108
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations3,380
  3. 3.Service Occupations2,945
  4. 4.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations2,193
  5. 5.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,469

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 3.41×)821
  2. 2.Public Administration (LQ 1.50×)1,067
  3. 3.Other Services (LQ 1.46×)1,038
  4. 4.Construction (LQ 1.44×)1,499
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.24×)1,645

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$274,800

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$1,150/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

72.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,9992,019 (23.1%)
  • $400,000 to $499,9991,225 (14.0%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9991,056 (12.1%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999871 (10.0%)
  • $500,000 to $749,999819 (9.4%)
  • $750,000 to $999,999359 (4.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

26.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

94.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

69.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$37,800

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

19.8 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

3.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone12,615 (76.6%)
  • Worked At Home1,340 (8.1%)
  • Carpooled1,231 (7.5%)
  • Walked861 (5.2%)
  • Public Transit159 (1.0%)
  • Other144 (0.9%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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