Moody County, South Dakota

Moody County
County
Location within the U.S. state of South Dakota
South Dakota's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 44°01′N96°40′W / 44.02°N 96.67°W / 44.02; -96.67
Country	United States
State	South Dakota
Founded	1873
Named for	Gideon C. Moody
Seat	Flandreau
Largest city	Flandreau
Area
• Total	521 sq mi (1,350 km2)
• Land	519 sq mi (1,340 km2)
• Water	1.4 sq mi (4 km2)  0.3%
Population  (2020)
• Total	6,336
• Estimate  (2023)	6,450
• Density	12/sq mi (4.7/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	At-large
Website	www.moodycounty.net

Moody County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota, United States. The population was 6,336 at the 2020 census. ^[1] Its county seat is Flandreau. ^[2] The county is named for Gideon C. Moody. ^[3]

Geography

Moody County lies on the east side of South Dakota. Its east boundary line abuts the west boundary line of the state of Minnesota. The Big Sioux River flows southerly through the center of the county. Its terrain consists of rolling hills, devoted to agriculture, with lakes in the western portion. ^[4] The terrain slopes to the south, with its high point near its northeast corner, at 1,749 ft (533 m) ASL, although the east and west sides also slope into the river valley through the center of the county. ^[5] The county has a total area of 521 square miles (1,350 km²), of which 519 square miles (1,340 km²) is land and 1.4 square miles (3.6 km²) (0.3%) is water. ^[6]

Major highways

• Interstate 29
• South Dakota Highway 11
• South Dakota Highway 13
• South Dakota Highway 32
• South Dakota Highway 34

Adjacent counties

• Brookings County - north
• Lincoln County, Minnesota - northeast
• Pipestone County, Minnesota - east
• Rock County, Minnesota - southeast
• Minnehaha County - south
• Lake County - west

Lakes

• Anderson Slough
• Lake Campbell (part)
• Mud Lake
• Poison Lake
• Bull Slough ^[4]

Protected areas

• Anderson Slough State Game Production Area
• Boles Slough State Game Production Area
• Gideon State Game Production Area
• Hazels Haven State Game Production Area
• Kamp State Game Production Area
• Olson Lake State Game Production Area ^[4]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	3,915		—
1890	5,941		51.7%
1900	8,326		40.1%
1910	8,695		4.4%
1920	9,742		12.0%
1930	9,603		−1.4%
1940	9,341		−2.7%
1950	9,252		−1.0%
1960	8,810		−4.8%
1970	7,622		−13.5%
1980	6,692		−12.2%
1990	6,507		−2.8%
2000	6,595		1.4%
2010	6,486		−1.7%
2020	6,336		−2.3%
2023 (est.)	6,450	[7]	1.8%
U.S. Decennial Census [8] 1790-1960 [9] 1900-1990 [10] 1990-2000 [11] 2010-2020 [1]

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 6,336 people, 2,474 households, and 1,685 families residing in the county. ^[12] The population density was 12.2 inhabitants per square mile (4.7/km²). There were 2,728 housing units.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 6,486 people, 2,554 households, and 1,751 families in the county. The population density was 12.5 inhabitants per square mile (4.8/km²). There were 2,824 housing units at an average density of 5.4 units per square mile (2.1 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 81.0% white, 14.0% American Indian, 1.1% Asian, 0.5% black or African American, 0.7% from other races, and 2.7% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.7% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 39.9% were German, 20.1% were Norwegian, 8.9% were Irish, 6.1% were Dutch, 5.1% were English, and 1.6% were American.

Of the 2,554 households, 30.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.3% were married couples living together, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 31.4% were non-families, and 27.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.00. The median age was 40.5 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $52,354 and the median income for a family was $61,667. Males had a median income of $36,364 versus $30,854 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,948. About 4.7% of families and 7.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.8% of those under age 18 and 13.1% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

• Colman
• Egan
• Flandreau (county seat)

Towns

• Trent
• Ward

Census-designated place

• Pleasant Valley Colony

Unincorporated community

• Lone Tree

Townships

• Alliance
• Blinsmon
• Clare
• Colman
• Egan
• Enterprise
• Flandreau
• Fremont
• Grovena
• Jefferson
• Lone Rock
• Lynn
• Riverview
• Spring Creek
• Union
• Ward

Politics

Moody County voters tend to split between the two major political parties. Between 1960 and 2012, the national election results in Moody County were almost always evenly split. Since 2016, the county has started supporting Republican candidates more strongly.

United States presidential election results for Moody County, South Dakota ^[13]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	1,951	60.85%	1,179	36.77%	76	2.37%
2016	1,731	59.02%	1,043	35.56%	159	5.42%
2012	1,535	50.61%	1,429	47.12%	69	2.27%
2008	1,508	46.34%	1,663	51.11%	83	2.55%
2004	1,790	51.87%	1,609	46.62%	52	1.51%
2000	1,361	49.76%	1,318	48.19%	56	2.05%
1996	1,024	37.01%	1,443	52.15%	300	10.84%
1992	898	28.93%	1,473	47.45%	733	23.61%
1988	1,161	40.19%	1,715	59.36%	13	0.45%
1984	1,633	50.59%	1,586	49.13%	9	0.28%
1980	1,807	51.93%	1,364	39.20%	309	8.88%
1976	1,475	43.03%	1,942	56.65%	11	0.32%
1972	1,648	46.37%	1,895	53.32%	11	0.31%
1968	1,689	48.87%	1,614	46.70%	153	4.43%
1964	1,461	38.84%	2,301	61.16%	0	0.00%
1960	2,119	52.49%	1,918	47.51%	0	0.00%
1956	2,133	53.69%	1,840	46.31%	0	0.00%
1952	2,728	71.47%	1,089	28.53%	0	0.00%
1948	1,691	50.19%	1,630	48.38%	48	1.42%
1944	2,080	59.43%	1,420	40.57%	0	0.00%
1940	2,749	60.17%	1,820	39.83%	0	0.00%
1936	1,992	43.68%	2,366	51.89%	202	4.43%
1932	1,289	33.00%	2,547	65.21%	70	1.79%
1928	2,108	59.63%	1,416	40.06%	11	0.31%
1924	1,181	41.69%	234	8.26%	1,418	50.05%
1920	1,667	63.55%	371	14.14%	585	22.30%
1916	973	49.09%	898	45.31%	111	5.60%
1912	0	0.00%	637	35.61%	1,152	64.39%
1908	1,275	63.50%	623	31.03%	110	5.48%
1904	1,471	75.13%	295	15.07%	192	9.81%
1900	1,190	56.91%	875	41.85%	26	1.24%
1896	780	43.36%	1,012	56.25%	7	0.39%
1892	735	53.30%	96	6.96%	548	39.74%

See also

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

References

1. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. Homepage at MoodyCounty.net; published 2011; retrieved January 9, 2014
4. Moody County SD Google Maps (accessed February 7, 2019)
5. ""Find an Altitude" Google Maps (accessed February 7, 2019)". Archived from the original on May 21, 2019. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
6. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". US Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
7. "County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020-2023" . Retrieved March 17, 2024.
8. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
9. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
10. Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
11. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
12. "US Census Bureau, Table P16: Household Type". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
13. Leip, David. "Atlas of US Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved April 15, 2018.

External links

• Official website