county

McPherson County, SD

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

AI Overview

McPherson County is a small, agriculture-oriented county in north-central South Dakota with a population of 2,278 and a labor force participation rate of 59.8%, reflecting its older median age of 50.0 years. The workforce is largely locally educated, with 22.4% holding a bachelor's degree or higher, and median worker earnings of $37,131 against a very low unemployment rate of 0.6%. Housing costs are among the lowest measurable, with a median home value of $78,400 and median gross rent of $580/month, though the county has seen a population decline of 3.6% over five years.

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

Population

2,278

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$66,906

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

50.0 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-3.6% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone2,076 (96.8%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races60 (2.8%)
  • Native Hawaiian & Other Pacific Islander Alone4 (0.2%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone3 (0.1%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race2 (0.1%)
  • Black or African American Alone0 (0.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.German or other West Germanic335
  2. 2.Spanish17
  3. 3.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic3

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

21.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

48.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

30.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

0.3%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

204

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$48,400

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$40,645

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

0.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

12.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining265
  2. 2.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance248
  3. 3.Other Services, Except Public Administration (Group)101
  4. 4.Manufacturing (Group)67
  5. 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services47

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations526
  2. 2.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations173
  3. 3.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations110
  4. 4.Sales & Office Occupations105
  5. 5.Service Occupations96

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 16.10×)284
  2. 2.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.09×)283

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$78,400

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$580/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

81.3%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $100,000 to $124,99971 (9.5%)
  • $200,000 to $249,99968 (9.1%)
  • $60,000 to $69,99964 (8.6%)
  • $50,000 to $59,99961 (8.2%)
  • $125,000 to $149,99960 (8.1%)
  • $70,000 to $79,99953 (7.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

22.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

81.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

59.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$37,131

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

18.4 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

3.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone683 (67.8%)
  • Worked At Home117 (11.6%)
  • Walked99 (9.8%)
  • Carpooled94 (9.3%)
  • Other14 (1.4%)
  • Motorcycle1 (0.1%)

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.