county

Union County, SD

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

AI Overview

Union County is a small South Dakota county of 16,916 residents that has grown 11.5% over five years, with a GDP per capita of $107,073 well above median worker earnings of $47,837, suggesting capital-intensive or employer-dense activity. The labor force participation rate stands at 67.4%, unemployment at 3.5%, and 36.5% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher against a base of 94.9% high school attainment. Housing remains relatively affordable at a $269,500 median home value and $1,055 median monthly rent, with a 73.1% homeownership rate and a 7.3% poverty rate.

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

Population

16,916

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$89,636

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

41.5 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+11.5% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone15,367 (90.0%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race641 (3.8%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races413 (2.4%)
  • Asian Alone190 (1.1%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone167 (1.0%)
  • Black or African American Alone160 (0.9%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish327
  2. 2.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic87
  3. 3.Other Indo-European67
  4. 4.German or other West Germanic60
  5. 5.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)21

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

24.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

56.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

18.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

2.0%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

979

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$107,073

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$49,563

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

3.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

7.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance2,091
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)1,219
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)875
  4. 4.Construction (Group)863
  5. 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services795

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations4,039
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations1,835
  3. 3.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,210
  4. 4.Service Occupations960
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations903

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 3.90×)538
  2. 2.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.64×)328
  3. 3.Construction (LQ 1.34×)804
  4. 4.Finance, Insurance, & Real Estate (LQ 1.31×)755
  5. 5.Manufacturing (LQ 1.31×)1,125

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$269,500

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$1,055/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

73.1%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,999964 (18.0%)
  • $500,000 to $749,999657 (12.3%)
  • $400,000 to $499,999638 (11.9%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999554 (10.4%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999527 (9.9%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999345 (6.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

36.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

94.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

67.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$47,837

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

17.7 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

3.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone7,369 (82.6%)
  • Worked At Home709 (7.9%)
  • Carpooled605 (6.8%)
  • Walked119 (1.3%)
  • Other80 (0.9%)
  • Bicycle26 (0.3%)

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.