county

Hughes County, SD

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

AI Overview

Hughes County, SD is the home of South Dakota's state capital, Pierre, giving it an economic base concentrated in government administration and public-sector employment, with a workforce of roughly 9,500 labor force participants and an unemployment rate of just 0.6%. About 35.9% of residents hold a bachelor's degree or higher, median worker earnings stand at $45,173, and a GDP per capita of $71,127 reflects the output of a relatively small but productive workforce. Housing costs remain modest—median home value of $221,100 and median gross rent of $930/month—and a mean commute of 14.6 minutes points to a compact, accessible labor market.

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

Population

17,732

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$81,395

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

39.5 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+0.7% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone14,252 (80.7%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone1,941 (11.0%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races834 (4.7%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race315 (1.8%)
  • Some Other Race Alone197 (1.1%)
  • Asian Alone116 (0.7%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish261
  2. 2.Vietnamese133
  3. 3.German or other West Germanic53
  4. 4.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)20
  5. 5.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic6

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

24.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

57.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

17.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.1%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,226

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$71,127

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$38,880

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

0.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

9.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Public Administration (Group)2,040
  2. 2.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,993
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)911
  4. 4.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services647
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services608

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations4,295
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations1,743
  3. 3.Service Occupations1,265
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations838
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations777

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Public Administration (LQ 4.94×)2,103
  2. 2.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 3.32×)476
  3. 3.Construction (LQ 1.12×)697
  4. 4.Information (LQ 1.11×)187
  5. 5.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 0.98×)2,071

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$221,100

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$930/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

72.0%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,999787 (15.1%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999768 (14.7%)
  • $400,000 to $499,999566 (10.8%)
  • $500,000 to $749,999547 (10.5%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999506 (9.7%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999469 (9.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

35.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

96.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

65.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$45,173

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

14.6 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

5.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone7,008 (79.1%)
  • Carpooled1,003 (11.3%)
  • Worked At Home419 (4.7%)
  • Walked279 (3.2%)
  • Public Transit90 (1.0%)
  • Other36 (0.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Similar Locations

5 counties with comparable population, workforce, income, education, and cost of living. Click any to compare.

More on FDI Connect

Compare Hughes County against other US geographies, save it to your shortlist, see active property listings on the interactive map, and unlock the full demographic dashboard.

Open full dashboardCreate free account

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