Brown County, SD

County

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2024 Population

37,877

US Senator

John Thune

Republican Party

US Senator

Mike Rounds

Republican Party

US Representative

Dusty Johnson

Republican Party

2024 Poverty Rate

11.7%

10.7% 1-year increase

2024 Median Household Income

$70,898

0.938% 1-year growth

2024 Median Property Value

$221,100

3.85% 1-year growth

2024 Employed Population

19,837

2.55% 1-year decline

About

None of the households in Brown 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.

97.4% of the residents in Brown County, SD are U.S. citizens.

The largest universities in Brown County, SD are Northern State University (387 degrees awarded in 2024).

In 2024, the median property value in Brown County, SD was $221,100, and the homeownership rate was 67.6%.

Most people in Brown County, SD drove alone to work, and the average commute time was 13.9 minutes. The average car ownership in Brown County, SD was 2 cars per household.

Brown County, SD borders Dickey County, ND, Sargent County, ND, Day County, SD, Edmunds County, SD, Faulk County, SD, McPherson County, SD, Marshall County, SD, and Spink County, SD.

United States South Dakota Aberdeen, SD

Population & Diversity

Brown County, SD is home to a population of 37.9k people, from which 97.4% are citizens. As of 2024, 4.27% of Brown County, SD residents were born outside of the country (1.62k people).

In 2024, there were 26.9 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (32.1k people) in Brown County, SD than any other race or ethnicity. There were 1.19k Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic) and 1.11k Asian (Non-Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

97.4%

2024 Citizenship

97.9%

2023 Citizenship

As of 2024, 97.4% of Brown County, SD residents were US citizens, which is higher than the national average of 93.2%. In 2023, the percentage of US citizens in Brown County, SD was 97.9%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been decreasing.

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

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Brown County, SD

White (Non-Hispanic)
32.1k ± 68
Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic)
1.19k ± 364
Asian (Non-Hispanic)
1.11k ± 156

4.67%

Hispanic Population

1.77k people

4.67% of the people in Brown County, SD are hispanic (1.77k people).

The following chart shows the 8 races represented in Brown 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
3,429 ± 1,435 people
Guatemala
2,883 ± 1,316 people
Ethiopia
2,826 ± 1,303 people

In 2024, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of South Dakota was Mexico, the natal country of 3,429 South Dakota residents, followed by Guatemala with 2,883 and Ethiopia with 2,826.

Foreign-Born Population

4.27%

2024 Foreign-Born Population

1.62k people

3.57%

2023 Foreign-Born Population

1.36k people

As of 2024, 4.27% of Brown County, SD residents (1.62k 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 Brown County, SD was 3.57%, meaning that the rate has been increasing.

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

Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period

Vietnam
629 ± 170
Gulf War (1990s)
438 ± 161
Gulf War (2001-)
357 ± 126

Brown County, SD has a large population of military personnel who served in Vietnam, 1.44 times greater than any other conflict.

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

Health

94.3% of the population of Brown County, SD has health coverage, with 52.2% on employee plans, 11.6% on Medicaid, 12.8% on Medicare, 15.3% on non-group plans, and 2.36% on military or VA plans.

Primary care physicians in Brown County, SD see 1,588 patients per year on average, which represents a 0% change from the previous year (1,588 patients). Compare this to dentists who see 1582 patients per year, and mental health providers who see 219 patients per year.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 49.8% were men and 50.2% were women.

Coverage

Patient to Clinician Ratios

1,588 to 1

Patient to Primary Care Physician Ratio in Brown County, SD

Primary care physicians in Brown County, SD see an average of 1,588 patients per year. This represents a 0% change from the previous year (1,588 patients).

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

Health Care Diversity

In 2024, insured persons according to age ranges were distributed in 25.2% under 18 years, 21% between 18 and 34 years, 36.8% between 35 and 64 years, and 16.9% over 64 years.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 49.8% were men and 50.2% were women.

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

Uninsured People

5.69%

Uninsured

52.2%

Employer Coverage

11.6%

Medicaid

12.8%

Medicare

15.3%

Non-Group

2.36%

Military or VA

Between 2023 and 2024, the percent of uninsured citizens in Brown County, SD declined by 23.9% from 7.47% to 5.69%.

The following chart shows how the percent of uninsured individuals in Brown 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 average number of mentally unhealthy days reported in past 30 days (age-adjusted) was 4.36 in Brown County, SD.

The graphic shows the trend of the indicator in Brown 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 35.9% in Brown County, SD.

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

Clinical Care

Indicator

In 2025, the percentage of population under age 65 without health insurance was 9.9% in Brown County, SD.

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

Economy

The economy of Brown County, SD employs 19.8k people. In 2024, the largest industries in Brown County, SD were Health Care & Social Assistance (3,029 people), Retail Trade (2,427 people), and Manufacturing (2,171 people), and the highest paying industries were Transportation & Warehousing ($72,972), Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities ($64,716), and Public Administration ($62,242).

Employment

Occupations

19.8k

2024 Value

± 1,097

−2.55%

1 Year decline

± 7.9%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Brown County, SD declined at a rate of −2.55%, from 20.4k employees to 19.8k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Brown County, SD, are Management Occupations (2,142 people), Sales & Related Occupations (1,873 people), and Office & Administrative Support Occupations (1,652 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Brown 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

19.8k

2024 Value

± 1,097

−2.55%

1 Year decline

± 7.9%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Brown County, SD declined at a rate of −2.55%, from 20.4k employees to 19.8k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Brown County, SD, are Health Care & Social Assistance (3,029 people), Retail Trade (2,427 people), and Manufacturing (2,171 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Brown County, SD, though some of these residents may live in Brown County, SD and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

$51,334

Median earning men ± $5,475

$40,595

Median earning women ± $3,568

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2024 are Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($78,897), Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities ($74,811), and Public Administration ($74,306).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2024 are Public Administration ($60,333), Construction ($52,216), and Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($49,350).

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

101
Construction
76
Other Services (except Public Administration)
60
Health Care and Social Assistance

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

$227k
Manufacturing
$171k
Health Care and Social Assistance
$89.8k
Retail Trade

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

Civics

In the 2024 presidential election, the popular vote in South Dakota went to Donald J. Trump with 63.4% of the vote. The runner-up was Kamala Harris (34.2%), followed by Robert Kennedy (1.68%).

John Thune and Mike Rounds are the senators currently representing the state of South Dakota. In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.

Brown County, SD is currently represented by Dusty Johnson in the U.S. house, and members of the House of Representives are elected to 2-year terms.

Presidential Elections

Presidential Popular Vote Over Time

Voting results are not available for Brown County, SD. Showing the available data for South Dakota.

2024 Election Results

Donald J. Trump (63.4%)
Republican Party
Kamala Harris (34.2%)
Democratic Party
Robert Kennedy (1.68%)
Independent Party

In the 2024 presidential election, the popular vote in South Dakota went to Donald J. Trump with 63.4% of the vote. The runner-up was Kamala Harris (34.2%), followed by Robert Kennedy (1.68%).

The following chart shows the popular vote results in South Dakota for each registered party from 1976 to 2024.

Senator Elections

US Senators from South Dakota

Senatorial voting results are only available at the state level. Showing data for South Dakota.

John Thune

Senator from South Dakota

Assumed office on January 3, 2005

Mike Rounds

Senator from South Dakota

Assumed office on January 3, 2015

John Thune and Mike Rounds are the senators currently representing South Dakota.

In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.

The following chart shows elected senators in South Dakota over time, excluding special elections, colored by their political party.

US Representative Elections

US Representatives from Brown County, SD

Dusty Johnson

District at-large Representative

Republican Party

Brown County, SD is currently represented by Dusty Johnson (Republican Party).

Members of the House of Representives are elected to 2-year terms, and the following chart shows the how the member for Brown County, SD have changed over time starting in 2008.

Education

In 2024, universities in Brown County, SD awarded 387 degrees. The student population of Brown County, SD in 2024 is skewed towards women, with 1,425 male students and 2,283 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in Brown County, SD are White (329 and 86.8%), Hispanic or Latino (16 and 4.22%), American Indian or Alaska Native (9 and 2.37%), and Asian (8 and 2.11%).

The largest universities in Brown County, SD by number of degrees awarded are Northern State University (387 and 100%).

The most popular majors in Brown County, SD are Elementary Education & Teaching (33 and 8.53%), General Biological Sciences (33 and 8.53%), and General Business Administration & Management (31 and 8.01%).

The median tuition cost for a public four year colleges is $7,616 for in-state students and $10,718 for out-of-state students.

Admissions & Enrollments

Applicants, Admissions & Enrolled

University

Measure

In 2024 in Brown County, SD, the percentage of applicants admitted was 93%, while the percentage of admitted who enrolled was 35.2%. The number of students enrolled in 2024 was 3,708 (38.4% men and 61.6% 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 2024 there were 3,708 students enrolled in Brown County, SD, 38.4% men and 61.6% women.

By race, the largest number of students enrolled was concentrated in White with 3,065 records, of which 62.4% were women and 37.6% men.

Completions

Concentrations

Most Common

Elementary Education & Teaching
33 degrees awarded
General Business Administration & Management
27 degrees awarded
General Biological Sciences
22 degrees awarded

In 2024, the most common concentation for Bachelors Degree recipients in Brown County, SD was Elementary Education & Teaching with 33 degrees awarded.

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

Universities

Gender

Race

Northern State University

Largest Universities by degrees awarded

387 degrees awarded

In 2024, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was Northern State University with 387 degrees awarded.

Student Diversity

University

In 2024, 124 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Brown County, SD, which is 0.471 times less than the 263 female students who received degrees in the same year.

In 2024, the most common race/ethnicity group awarded degrees at institutions was White students. These 329 degrees mean that there were 20.6 times more degrees awarded to White students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, Hispanic or Latino, with 16 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

Public, 4-year or above ($7,616) is the sector with the highest median state tuition in 2024.

Public, 4-year or above ($1,229) is the sector with the highest median state fee in 2024.

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 Brown County, SD was $221,100 in 2024, which is 0.665 times smaller than the national average of $332,700. Between 2023 and 2024 the median property value increased from $212,900 to $221,100, a 3.85% increase. The homeownership rate in Brown County, SD is 67.6%, which is higher than the national average of 65.2%.

People in Brown County, SD have an average commute time of 13.9 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Brown County, SD is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

In 2025, 11.4% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Brown County, SD. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator grew 2.59%.

Housing

Property

$221,100

Median Property Value 2024

±$13,102

$11,014

Median Property Taxes

±$746

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 Brown County, SD the largest share of households pay taxes in the $3k+ range.

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

Rent vs Own

67.6%

Homeownership

2024

63.7%

Homeowners with Mortgage

2024

In 2024, 67.6% of the housing units in Brown County, SD were occupied by their owner. This percentage grew from the previous year's rate of 65.7%.

This chart shows the percentage of owner in Brown 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.

$70,898

Median Household Income

± $3,639

16.3k

Number of Households

± 932

In 2024, the median household income of the 16.3k households in Brown County, SD grew to $70,898 from the previous year's value of $70,239.

The following chart displays the households in Brown 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 Brown County, SD is from South Dakota.

0.44

2024 Wage GINI in South Dakota

0.443

2023 Wage GINI in South Dakota

In 2024, the income inequality in South Dakota was 0.44 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 0.642% decline from 2023 to 2024, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat more even. The GINI for South Dakota was lower than than the national average of 0.474. 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 (79.3%)
Carpooled (9.74%)
Worked At Home (6.34%)

In 2024, 79.3% of workers in Brown County, SD drove alone to work, followed by those who carpooled to work (9.74%) and those who worked at home (6.34%).

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

13.9 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Brown County, SD have a shorter commute time (13.9 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.4 minutes). Additionally, 1.36% of the workforce in Brown County, SD have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

The chart below shows how the median household income in Brown 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 Brown County, SD distributed between a series of car ownership buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households in Brown County, SD have 2 cars.

Poverty

Severe Housing Problems

In 2025, 11.4% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Brown County, SD. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator grew 2.59%.

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

Poverty & Diversity

11.7% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Brown County, SD (4.31k out of 36.8k people) live below the poverty line, a number that is lower than the national average of 12.5%. The largest demographic living in poverty are Females 18 - 24, followed by Females 35 - 44 and then Females 55 - 64.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Brown County, SD is White, followed by Hispanic and Two Or More.

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, 9.9% of the children was living in poverty in Brown County, SD. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator declined 2.3%.

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

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

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 312 in Brown County, SD. From 2014 to 2022, the indicator grew 128% per 100,000 population.

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