Meade County, South Dakota facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Meade County
U.S. county
Black Hills National Cemetery
Location within the U.S. state of South Dakota
South Dakota's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	South Dakota
Founded	February 7, 1889
Named for	George Meade
Seat	Sturgis
Largest city	Sturgis
Area
• Total	3,483 sq mi (9,020 km2)
• Land	3,471 sq mi (8,990 km2)
• Water	12 sq mi (30 km2)  0.3%
Population  (2020)
• Total	29,852
• Estimate  (2021)	30,173
• Density	8.5708/sq mi (3.3092/km2)
Time zone	UTC−7 (Mountain)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (MDT)
Congressional district	At-large

Meade County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 29,852. Its county seat is Sturgis. The county was created in 1889 and named for Fort Meade, which was garrisoned as a United States military post in the area in 1878 and itself named for General George Meade.

Meade County is part of the Rapid City Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 3,483 square miles (9,020 km²), of which 3,471 square miles (8,990 km²) is land and 12 square miles (31 km²) (0.3%) is water. It is the largest county by area in South Dakota.

Major highways

• Interstate 90
• U.S. Highway 14
• U.S. Highway 14A
• U.S. Highway 212
• South Dakota Highway 34
• South Dakota Highway 73
• South Dakota Highway 79

Adjacent counties

• Perkins County, South Dakota - north
• Ziebach County, South Dakota - east
• Pennington County, South Dakota - south
• Lawrence County, South Dakota - southwest
• Butte County, South Dakota - northwest

National protected area

• Bear Butte National Wildlife Refuge
• Black Hills National Forest (part)

Demographics

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 25,434 people, 9,903 households, and 7,067 families in the county. The population density was 7.3 inhabitants per square mile (2.8/km²). There were 11,000 housing units at an average density of 3.2 per square mile (1.2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 92.0% white, 2.3% American Indian, 1.3% black or African American, 0.6% Asian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 0.8% from other races, and 2.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.0% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 40.5% were German, 15.3% were Irish, 13.2% were Norwegian, 11.3% were English, and 6.9% were American.

Of the 9,903 households, 33.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.2% were married couples living together, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 28.6% were non-families, and 23.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.93. The median age was 35.9 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $46,180 and the median income for a family was $54,200. Males had a median income of $34,113 versus $27,548 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,045. About 6.6% of families and 10.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.1% of those under age 18 and 10.1% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

• Box Elder
• Faith
• Piedmont
• Sturgis (county seat)
• Summerset

Census-designated places

• Blackhawk
• Blucksberg Mountain
• Ellsworth AFB (former)

Unincorporated communities

• Elm Springs
• Enning
• Howes
• Mud Butte
• Redowl
• Tilford
• Union Center
• Viewfield
• White Owl

Townships

The county is divided into seven townships:

• Dakota
• Eagle
• Howard
• Lakeside
• Smithville
• Upper Red Owl

Unorganized territories

The county contains three areas of unorganized territory:

• Belle Fourche-Cheyenne Valleys
• North Meade
• Southwest Meade

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Meade (Dakota del Sur) para niños