county

Brown County, SD

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

AI Overview

Brown County anchors a regional agricultural and service economy, with a labor force participation rate of 70.1% and an unemployment rate of 3.5% across a population of 38,079. About 33.2% of residents hold a bachelor's degree or higher, median worker earnings sit at $41,407, and median gross rent is low at $794/month, with a median home value of $212,900. Population has edged down 2.0% over five years, though GDP per capita of $65,276 outpaces median household income of $70,898, and a mean commute of 13.9 minutes reflects the county's compact, low-density character.

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

Population

38,079

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$70,898

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

37.8 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-2.0% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone32,343 (85.4%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races1,333 (3.5%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone1,154 (3.0%)
  • Asian Alone1,121 (3.0%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race717 (1.9%)
  • Some Other Race Alone620 (1.6%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish976
  2. 2.Other Asian and Pacific Island376
  3. 3.German or other West Germanic231
  4. 4.Korean142
  5. 5.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)140

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

23.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

58.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

17.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

4.3%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,899

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$65,276

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$39,599

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

3.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

10.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance5,106
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)2,427
  3. 3.Manufacturing (Group)2,171
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services1,958
  5. 5.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining1,257

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations7,371
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations3,525
  3. 3.Service Occupations3,438
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations3,069
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations2,434

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 3.93×)1,276
  2. 2.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.33×)622
  3. 3.Manufacturing (LQ 1.19×)2,408
  4. 4.Public Administration (LQ 1.18×)1,133
  5. 5.Other Services (LQ 1.13×)1,087

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$212,900

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$794/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

67.6%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,9991,521 (13.8%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9991,428 (13.0%)
  • $300,000 to $399,9991,334 (12.1%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999924 (8.4%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999907 (8.2%)
  • $400,000 to $499,999782 (7.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

33.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

93.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

70.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$41,407

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

13.9 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

5.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone15,393 (79.3%)
  • Carpooled1,890 (9.7%)
  • Worked At Home1,231 (6.3%)
  • Walked598 (3.1%)
  • Other122 (0.6%)
  • Public Transit103 (0.5%)

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.