Jones County, South Dakota

Jones County
County
Freier Round Barn
Location within the U.S. state of South Dakota
South Dakota's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 43°57′7.168″N100°41′10.096″W / 43.95199111°N 100.68613778°W / 43.95199111; -100.68613778
Country	United States
State	South Dakota
Founded	1916 (created) January 15, 1917 (organized)
Named after	George Wallace Jones
Seat	Murdo
Largest city	Murdo
Area
• Total	970.883 sq mi (2,514.58 km2)
• Land	969.668 sq mi (2,511.43 km2)
• Water	1.215 sq mi (3.15 km2)  0.1%
Population  (2020)
• Total	917
• Estimate  (2024)	874
• Density	0.882/sq mi (0.341/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	At-large

Jones County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 917, ^[1] making it the least populous county in South Dakota. Its county seat is Murdo. ^[2] Created in 1916 and organized in 1917, it is the most recently established county in South Dakota. ^[3] It was named after Granville Whittington Jones, an Arkansas-born clergyman/lawyer, who moved to Chamberlain, SD and became a noted Chautauqua speaker.

Geography

The terrain of Jones County consists of semi-arid rolling hills, partially devoted to agriculture. The Bad River flows north easterly through the northwest corner of the county, and the White River forms the county's southern boundary. The southern areas of the county are carved with gullies and drainages flowing to the White River. ^[4] The terrain generally slopes to the northeast, and its highest point is on the lower western boundary, at 2,444 ft (745 m) ASL. ^[5]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 970.883 square miles (2,514.58 km²), of which 969.668 square miles (2,511.43 km²) is land and 1.215 square miles (3.15 km²) (0.1%) is water. ^[6] It is the _th largest county in South Dakota by total area.

The eastern portion of South Dakota's counties (48 of 66) observe Central Time; the western counties (18 of 66) observe Mountain Time. Jones County is one of the SD counties to observe Central Time. ^[7]

Major highways

• Interstate 90
• U.S. Highway 83

Adjacent counties

• Stanley County - north
• Lyman County - east
• Mellette County - south
• Jackson County - southwest (observes Mountain Time)
• Haakon County - northwest (observes Mountain Time)

Protected area

• Buxcel State Game Production Area
• Fort Pierre National Grassland (part)

Lakes

• Sheriff Reservoir ^[4]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1920	3,004		—
1930	3,177		5.8%
1940	2,509		−21.0%
1950	2,281		−9.1%
1960	2,066		−9.4%
1970	1,882		−8.9%
1980	1,463		−22.3%
1990	1,324		−9.5%
2000	1,193		−9.9%
2010	1,006		−15.7%
2020	917		−8.8%
2024 (est.)	874	[8]	−4.7%
U.S. Decennial Census [9] 1790–1960 [10] 1900–1990 [11] 1990–2000 [12] 2010–2020 [13]

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 917 people, 399 households, and 245 families residing in the county. ^[14] The population density was 0.9 inhabitants per square mile (0.35/km²). There were 504 housing units.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 1,006 people, 458 households, and 280 families in the county. The population density was 1.0 inhabitant per square mile (0.39/km²). There were 589 housing units at an average density of 0.6 units per square mile (0.23 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.6% white, 2.0% American Indian, 0.4% Pacific islander, 0.1% black or African American, 0.0% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.3% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 48.8% were German, 15.9% were Irish, 10.2% were Norwegian, 9.0% were Dutch, and 1.9% were American.

In terms of ancestry in 2016, 39.1% were of German, 14.3% were of Irish, 13.9% were of Norwegian, 11.4% were of Dutch, 6.4% were of English, 6.2 were of French.

Of the 458 households, 26.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.7% were married couples living together, 5.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 38.9% were non-families, and 35.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.86. The median age was 46.9 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $49,464 and the median income for a family was $56,589. Males had a median income of $33,021 versus $27,115 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,630. About 6.6% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.7% of those under age 18 and 8.4% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

City

• Murdo (county seat)

Town

• Draper

Census-designated place

• Okaton

Unincorporated community

• Capa

Townships

• Buffalo
• Draper
• Dunkel
• Grandview
• Kolls
• Morga
• Mullen
• Mussman
• Okaton
• Scovil
• South Creek
• Williams Creek
• Zickrick

Unorganized territories

• Central Jones
• North Jones
• Rich Valley
• Westover

Politics

Jones County voters have been reliably Republican. The last Democrat to carry Jones County in a Presidential election was Lyndon Johnson in 1964, and Jimmy Carter in 1976 was the last to top one third of the county's ballots. Even before the Democratic Party turned towards its modern liberalism, Jones County did not vote for any Democrat except LBJ and Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932 and 1936 – and in the latter election when Roosevelt won 46 of 48 states he beat Alf Landon in Jones County by just twelve votes.

United States presidential election results for Jones County, South Dakota ^[15]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	477	86.73%	60	10.91%	13	2.36%
2020	498	83.14%	90	15.03%	11	1.84%
2016	450	80.65%	69	12.37%	39	6.99%
2012	490	80.46%	108	17.73%	11	1.81%
2008	463	73.84%	147	23.44%	17	2.71%
2004	565	78.80%	134	18.69%	18	2.51%
2000	509	76.66%	137	20.63%	18	2.71%
1996	463	63.51%	184	25.24%	82	11.25%
1992	454	58.28%	166	21.31%	159	20.41%
1988	521	66.28%	261	33.21%	4	0.51%
1984	689	76.64%	206	22.91%	4	0.44%
1980	689	74.97%	189	20.57%	41	4.46%
1976	515	57.87%	374	42.02%	1	0.11%
1972	642	64.39%	346	34.70%	9	0.90%
1968	562	55.75%	358	35.52%	88	8.73%
1964	415	43.09%	548	56.91%	0	0.00%
1960	644	60.36%	423	39.64%	0	0.00%
1956	601	56.06%	471	43.94%	0	0.00%
1952	739	69.59%	323	30.41%	0	0.00%
1948	522	55.06%	414	43.67%	12	1.27%
1944	465	63.79%	264	36.21%	0	0.00%
1940	832	62.09%	508	37.91%	0	0.00%
1936	608	48.10%	620	49.05%	36	2.85%
1932	472	32.44%	929	63.85%	54	3.71%
1928	857	66.43%	422	32.71%	11	0.85%
1924	732	55.45%	141	10.68%	447	33.86%
1920	609	62.33%	255	26.10%	113	11.57%

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Jones County, South Dakota

References

1. "Explore Census Data". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved March 22, 2025.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties . Retrieved March 21, 2025.
3. "Dakota Territory, South Dakota, and North Dakota: Individual County Chronologies". Dakota Territory Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. 2006. Archived from the original on April 2, 2018. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
4. "Jones County · South Dakota". Google Maps. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
5. ""Find an Altitude" Google Maps (accessed February 4, 2019)". Archived from the original on May 21, 2019. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
6. "2024 County Gazetteer Files – South Dakota". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved March 21, 2025.
7. Map of Time Zone Line through South Dakota (accessed January 30, 2019)
8. "County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020-2024" . Retrieved March 15, 2025.
9. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
10. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. 2007. Archived from the original on December 12, 2009. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
11. Forstall, Richard L. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 19, 1999. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
12. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
13. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
14. "US Census Bureau, Table P16: Household Type". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
15. Leip, David. "Atlas of US Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved April 15, 2018.