Brookings County, SD

County

Add Comparison

2024 Population

35,353

US Senator

John Thune

Republican Party

US Senator

Mike Rounds

Republican Party

2024 Poverty Rate

13.2%

2.62% 1-year increase

2024 Median Household Income

$70,064

4.04% 1-year growth

2024 Median Property Value

$264,600

7.43% 1-year growth

2024 Employed Population

19,061

0.021% 1-year decline

About

None of the households in Brookings County, SD reported speaking a non-English language at home as their primary shared language. This does not consider the potential multi-lingual nature of households, but only the primary self-reported language spoken by all members of the household.

95.5% of the residents in Brookings County, SD are U.S. citizens.

The largest universities in Brookings County, SD are South Dakota State University (2,530 degrees awarded in 2023) and Institute of Lutheran Theology (7 degrees).

In 2024, the median property value in Brookings County, SD was $264,600, and the homeownership rate was 57.2%.

Most people in Brookings County, SD drove alone to work, and the average commute time was 14.3 minutes. The average car ownership in Brookings County, SD was 2 cars per household.

Brookings County, SD borders Lake County, SD, Lincoln County, MN, Pipestone County, MN, Deuel County, SD, Hamlin County, SD, Kingsbury County, SD, and Moody County, SD.

United States South Dakota Brookings, SD

Population & Diversity

Brookings County, SD is home to a population of 35.4k people, from which 95.5% are citizens. As of 2024, 6.1% of Brookings County, SD residents were born outside of the country (2.16k people).

In 2024, there were 26.7 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (30.9k people) in Brookings County, SD than any other race or ethnicity. There were 1.16k Asian (Non-Hispanic) and 821 Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

95.5%

2024 Citizenship

96.2%

2023 Citizenship

As of 2024, 95.5% of Brookings County, SD residents were US citizens, which is higher than the national average of 93.2%. In 2023, the percentage of US citizens in Brookings County, SD was 96.2%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been decreasing.

The following chart shows US citizenship percentages in Brookings County, SD compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Brookings County, SD

White (Non-Hispanic)
30.9k ± 106
Asian (Non-Hispanic)
1.16k ± 104
Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic)
821 ± 179

4.55%

Hispanic Population

1.61k people

4.55% of the people in Brookings County, SD are hispanic (1.61k people).

The following chart shows the 8 races represented in Brookings County, SD as a share of the total population.

Global Diversity

The PUMS dataset is not available at the County level, so we are showing data for South Dakota.

Most Common Origin

Mexico
3,626 ± 1,475 people
Guatemala
2,932 ± 1,327 people
Ethiopia
2,627 ± 1,257 people

In 2023, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of South Dakota was Mexico, the natal country of 3,626 South Dakota residents, followed by Guatemala with 2,932 and Ethiopia with 2,627.

Foreign-Born Population

6.1%

2024 Foreign-Born Population

2.16k people

5.52%

2023 Foreign-Born Population

1.93k people

As of 2024, 6.1% of Brookings County, SD residents (2.16k people) were born outside of the United States, which is approximately the same as the national average of 14%. In 2023, the percentage of foreign-born citizens in Brookings County, SD was 5.52%, meaning that the rate has been increasing.

The following chart shows the percentage of foreign-born residents in Brookings County, SD compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period

Vietnam
525 ± 157
Gulf War (2001-)
258 ± 113
Gulf War (1990s)
158 ± 81

Brookings County, SD has a large population of military personnel who served in Vietnam, 2.03 times greater than any other conflict.

The chart shows the distribution of veterans by conflict in Brookings County, SD.

Economy

The economy of Brookings County, SD employs 19.1k people. In 2024, the largest industries in Brookings County, SD were Manufacturing (4,000 people), Educational Services (3,249 people), and Health Care & Social Assistance (1,944 people), and the highest paying industries were Mining, Quarrying, & Oil & Gas Extraction ($118,798), Wholesale Trade ($59,191), and Public Administration ($56,289).

Employment

Occupations

19.1k

2024 Value

± 1,032

−0.021%

1 Year decline

± 7.57%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Brookings County, SD declined at a rate of −0.021%, from 19.1k employees to 19.1k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Brookings County, SD, are Management Occupations (2,173 people), Production Occupations (2,089 people), and Office & Administrative Support Occupations (1,775 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Brookings County, SD.

Unemployment Insurance Claims

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for South Dakota.

This chart shows weekly unemployment insurance claims in South Dakota (not-seasonally adjusted) compared with the four states with the most similar impact.

The most recent data point uses Advance State Claims data, which can be revised in subsequent weeks.

Industries

Employment by Industries

19.1k

2024 Value

± 1,032

−0.021%

1 Year decline

± 7.57%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Brookings County, SD declined at a rate of −0.021%, from 19.1k employees to 19.1k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Brookings County, SD, are Manufacturing (4,000 people), Educational Services (3,249 people), and Health Care & Social Assistance (1,944 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Brookings County, SD, though some of these residents may live in Brookings County, SD and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

$47,908

Median earning men ± $2,845

$34,268

Median earning women ± $3,405

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2024 are Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($66,623), Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services ($65,833), and Manufacturing ($60,343).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2024 are Wholesale Trade ($63,000), Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services ($53,229), and Construction ($52,708).

Employment by Industry Sector

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for South Dakota.

Y-Axis

2.37%

Year-over-year growth

Employment change between February 2022 and February 2023

As of February 2023, there are 450k people employed in South Dakota. This represents a 2.37% increase in employment when compared to February 2022.

Right after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, during April 2020, a general dip can be seen across industry sectors, resulting in an overall decline in employment by 8.96%.

The following chart shows monthly employment numbers for each industry sector in South Dakota.

Establishments by Size

The industries with the most establishments

74
Construction
62
Other Services (except Public Administration)
44
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

The visualization shows the distribution of establishments by industry and by size according to the number of employees.

The visualization shows the number of establishments and its share across establishment sizes.

Payroll by Industry Sector

The industries with the highest total annual payroll

$316k
Manufacturing
$63.2k
Health Care and Social Assistance
$51k
Retail Trade

The chart shows the total annual payroll and the average annual payroll by industry.

Education

In 2023, universities in Brookings County, SD awarded 2,537 degrees. The student population of Brookings County, SD in 2023 is skewed towards women, with 5,078 male students and 6,420 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in Brookings County, SD are White (2,172 and 90.4%), Hispanic or Latino (54 and 2.25%), Two or More Races (50 and 2.08%), and Black or African American (46 and 1.91%).

The largest universities in Brookings County, SD by number of degrees awarded are South Dakota State University (2,530 and 99.7%) and Institute of Lutheran Theology (7 and 0.276%).

The most popular majors in Brookings County, SD are Registered Nursing (316 and 12.5%), General Animal Sciences (100 and 3.94%), and General Studies (99 and 3.9%).

The median tuition costs are $9,960 for private four year colleges, and $7,773 and $11,283 respectively, for public four year colleges for in-state students and out-of-state students.

Admissions & Enrollments

Applicants, Admissions & Enrolled

University

Measure

In 2023 in Brookings County, SD, the percentage of applicants admitted was 98.7%, while the percentage of admitted who enrolled was 39.2%. The number of students enrolled in 2023 was 11,498 (44.2% men and 55.8% women).

The line chart shows the evolution of the percentage of applicants admitted, admitted who enrolled or the number of students enrolled according to the option selected in the upper button.

Enrollments by Gender and Races

Universities

In 2023 there were 11,498 students enrolled in Brookings County, SD, 44.2% men and 55.8% women.

By race, the largest number of students enrolled was concentrated in White with 9,496 records, of which 56.6% were women and 43.4% men.

Completions

Concentrations

Most Common

Registered Nursing
290 degrees awarded
Business & Managerial Economics
87 degrees awarded
General Animal Sciences
86 degrees awarded

In 2023, the most common concentation for Bachelors Degree recipients in Brookings County, SD was Registered Nursing with 290 degrees awarded.

This visualization illustrates the percentage of students graduating with a Bachelors Degree from schools in Brookings County, SD according to their major.

Universities

Gender

Race

Largest Universities by degrees awarded

South Dakota State University
2,530 degrees awarded
Institute of Lutheran Theology
7 degrees awarded

In 2023, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was South Dakota State University with 2,530 degrees awarded.

Student Diversity

University

In 2023, 1,078 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Brookings County, SD, which is 0.739 times less than the 1,459 female students who received degrees in the same year.

In 2023, the most common race/ethnicity group awarded degrees at institutions was White students. These 2,172 degrees mean that there were 40.2 times more degrees awarded to White students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, Hispanic or Latino, with 54 degrees awarded.

Awarded Degrees over Time

The graph shows the evolution of awarded degrees by degrees. Under the paragraphs, the average number of awarded degrees by university in each degree is shown.

Tuition

Average Net Price by Sector

Universities

Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above ($9,960) is the sector with the highest median state tuition in 2023.

Public, 4-year or above ($1,526) is the sector with the highest median state fee in 2023.

Public, 4-year or above ($1,200) is the sector with the highest average net price of books and supplies.

The graph shows the average net price by sector and year.

Housing & Living

The median property value in Brookings County, SD was $264,600 in 2024, which is 0.795 times smaller than the national average of $332,700. Between 2023 and 2024 the median property value increased from $246,300 to $264,600, a 7.43% increase. The homeownership rate in Brookings County, SD is 57.2%, which is lower than the national average of 65.2%.

People in Brookings County, SD have an average commute time of 14.3 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Brookings County, SD is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

In 2025, 11% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Brookings County, SD. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator declined 3.04%.

Housing

Property

$264,600

Median Property Value 2024

±$11,840

$7,896

Median Property Taxes

±$573

The following chart display owner-occupied housing units distributed between a series of property tax buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. In Brookings County, SD the largest share of households pay taxes in the $3k+ range.

The chart underneath the paragraph shows the property taxes in Brookings County, SD compared to it's parent and neighbor geographies.

Rent vs Own

57.2%

Homeownership

2024

64.5%

Homeowners with Mortgage

2024

In 2024, 57.2% of the housing units in Brookings County, SD were occupied by their owner. This percentage declined from the previous year's rate of 58.9%.

This chart shows the percentage of owner in Brookings County, SD compared it's parent and neighboring geographies.

Equity

Household Income

Please note that the buckets used in this visualization were not evenly distributed by ACS when publishing the data.

$70,064

Median Household Income

± $6,292

13.8k

Number of Households

± 891

In 2024, the median household income of the 13.8k households in Brookings County, SD grew to $70,064 from the previous year's value of $67,341.

The following chart displays the households in Brookings County, SD distributed between a series of income buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households have an income in the $75k - $100k range.

Wage Distribution

The closest comparable wage GINI for Brookings County, SD is from South Dakota.

0.443

2023 Wage GINI in South Dakota

0.438

2022 Wage GINI in South Dakota

In 2023, the income inequality in South Dakota was 0.443 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 1.14% growth from 2022 to 2023, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat less even. The GINI for South Dakota was lower than than the national average of 0.476. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly in South Dakota in comparison to the national average.

This chart shows the number of workers in South Dakota across various wage buckets compared to the national average.

Transportation

Commuter Transportation

Most Common Commute in 2024

Drove Alone (73.9%)
Worked At Home (11.1%)
Carpooled (9.25%)

In 2024, 73.9% of workers in Brookings County, SD drove alone to work, followed by those who worked at home (11.1%) and those who carpooled to work (9.25%).

The following chart shows the number of households using each mode of transportation over time, using a logarithmic scale on the y-axis to help better show variations in the smaller means of commuting.

Commute Time

14.3 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Brookings County, SD have a shorter commute time (14.3 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.4 minutes). Additionally, 0.805% of the workforce in Brookings County, SD have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

The chart below shows how the median household income in Brookings County, SD compares to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Car Ownership

2 cars

Average Number

The following chart displays the households in Brookings County, SD distributed between a series of car ownership buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households in Brookings County, SD have 2 cars.

Poverty

Severe Housing Problems

In 2025, 11% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Brookings County, SD. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator declined 3.04%.

The graph shows the trend of the percentage of the population living with severe housing problems.

Poverty & Diversity

13.2% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Brookings County, SD (4.24k out of 32.2k people) live below the poverty line, a number that is higher than the national average of 12.5%. The largest demographic living in poverty are Females 18 - 24, followed by Males 18 - 24 and then Males 25 - 34.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Brookings County, SD is White, followed by Hispanic and Other.

The Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who classifies as impoverished. If a family's total income is less than the family's threshold than that family and every individual in it is considered to be living in poverty.

Children in Poverty

In 2025, 7.4% of the children was living in poverty in Brookings County, SD. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator declined 3.9%.

The graph shows the trend of the percentage of the children living in poverty.

Social Needs

Data only available at the state level.

Most prevalent states

California
35,798 individuals
New York
5,087 individuals
Florida
4,915 individuals

In 2017, California had the highest estimated number of chronically homeless individuals in the nation, at 35,798. New York has the second highest (5,087), followed by Florida (4,915).

The following map shows the estimated number of chronically homeless individuals by state over multiple years.

Security

Crimes & Accidents

Indicator

In 2022, the number of reported violent crimes offenses per 100,000 population was 114 in Brookings County, SD. From 2014 to 2022, the indicator grew 88.7 per 100,000 population.

The graph shows the trend in the number of reported violent crimes offenses per 100,000 population.

Health

94.9% of the population of Brookings County, SD has health coverage, with 61.3% on employee plans, 6.07% on Medicaid, 9.9% on Medicare, 15.8% on non-group plans, and 1.8% on military or VA plans.

Primary care physicians in Brookings County, SD see 1,732 patients per year on average, which represents a 0% change from the previous year (1,732 patients). Compare this to dentists who see 2218 patients per year, and mental health providers who see 620 patients per year.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 50.8% were men and 49.2% were women.

Coverage

Patient to Clinician Ratios

1,732 to 1

Patient to Primary Care Physician Ratio in Brookings County, SD

Primary care physicians in Brookings County, SD see an average of 1,732 patients per year. This represents a 0% change from the previous year (1,732 patients).

The following chart shows how the number of patients seen by primary care physicians has been changing over time in Brookings County, SD in comparison to its neighboring geographies.

Health Care Diversity

In 2024, insured persons according to age ranges were distributed in 24.8% under 18 years, 34% between 18 and 34 years, 28.1% between 35 and 64 years, and 13.1% over 64 years.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 50.8% were men and 49.2% were women.

The following chart shows the number of people with health coverage by gender.

Uninsured People

5.11%

Uninsured

61.3%

Employer Coverage

6.07%

Medicaid

9.9%

Medicare

15.8%

Non-Group

1.8%

Military or VA

Between 2023 and 2024, the percent of uninsured citizens in Brookings County, SD grew by 17.5% from 4.34% to 5.11%.

The following chart shows how the percent of uninsured individuals in Brookings County, SD changed over time compared with the percent of individuals enrolled in various types of health insurance.

Health Indicators

Health Outcomes

Indicator

In 2025, the number of deaths among residents under age 18 per 100,000 population was 41.9 in Brookings County, SD.

The graphic shows the trend of the indicator in Brookings County, SD.

Health Behaviors

Indicator

In 2025, the percentage of the adult population (age 18 and older) that reports a body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to 30 kg/m2 (age-adjusted) was 37.8% in Brookings County, SD.

The graphic shows the trend of the indicator in Brookings County, SD.