McPherson County lies on the north line of South Dakota. The north boundary line of McPherson County abuts the south boundary line of the state of North Dakota. Its terrain consists of rolling hills, largely devoted to agriculture, and dotted with small lakes and ponds.[5] The terrain generally slopes to the south and east.[6]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,151.535 square miles (2,982.46km2), of which 1,136.668 square miles (2,943.96km2) is land and 14.867 square miles (38.51km2) (1.3%) is water.[7] It is the 24th largest county in South Dakota by total area.
The Samuel H. Ordway Jr., Memorial Prairie, a 7,800-acre (3,200ha) grassland owned by The Nature Conservancy on the south side of South Dakota Highway 10 about 10 miles (16km) west of Leola, is home to a bison herd.[8][9]
U.S. Decennial Census[11] 1790–1960[12] 1900–1990[13] 1990–2000[14] 2010–2020[15]
As of the third quarter of 2024, the median home value in McPherson County was $81,400.[16]
As of the 2023 American Community Survey, there are 896 estimated households in McPherson County with an average of 2.25 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $62,024. Approximately 15.4% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. McPherson County has an estimated 59.8% employment rate, with 22.4% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 81.0% holding a high school diploma.[15]
The top five reported ancestries (people were allowed to report up to two ancestries, thus the figures will generally add to more than 100%) were English (83.4%), Spanish (0.8%), Indo-European (15.8%), Asian and Pacific Islander (0.0%), and Other (0.0%).
The median age in the county was 48.8 years.
McPherson County, South Dakota – racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
As of the 2020 census, there were 2,411 people, 940 households, and 580 families residing in the county.[22] The population density was 2.1 inhabitants per square mile (0.8/km2). There were 1,258 housing units at an average density of 1.1 per square mile (0.4/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 94.36% White, 0.12% African American, 1.16% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 1.29% from some other races and 2.82% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 2.20% of the population.[23]
2010 census
As of the 2010 census, there were 2,459 people, 1,025 households, and 632 families in the county. The population density was 2.2 inhabitants per square mile (0.8/km2). There were 1,418 housing units at an average density of 1.2 per square mile (0.5/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 98.17% White, 0.04% African American, 0.04% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 0.20% from some other races and 1.26% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 1.02% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 74.5% were German, 17.7% were Russian, 7.3% were Norwegian, 6.7% were English, and 2.5% were American.
Of the 1,025 households, 19.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.1% were married couples living together, 4.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 38.3% were non-families, and 36.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.06 and the average family size was 2.66. The median age was 50.8 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $31,923 and the median income for a family was $47,500. Males had a median income of $31,953 versus $27,941 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,255. About 12.5% of families and 16.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.3% of those under age 18 and 27.1% of those age 65 or over.
Except during the 1924, 1928 and 1932 elections when anti-Prohibition sentiment by the county's German Lutheran populace turned the county against Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover, McPherson County has been among the most overwhelmingly Republican jurisdictions in the country. Apart from these anomalous elections, the free silver-influenced 1896 election, and the 1936 Democratic landslide in the aftermath of Prohibition, the best performance by any Democrat has been Barack Obama’s 32 percent in 2008. In 1968[24] and 1980[25] McPherson was among the five most Republican counties in the country, and in 1964 it was rivalled only by neighbouring Campbell County and the famous Republican bastions of Hooker County, Nebraska and Jackson County, Kentucky as Barry Goldwater’s best county outside the former Confederacy.
United States presidential election results for McPherson County, South Dakota[26]
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