Pennington County, SD

County

Add Comparison

2024 Population

113,512

US Senator

John Thune

Republican Party

US Senator

Mike Rounds

Republican Party

2024 Median Age

40.1

1.01% 1-year increase

2024 Poverty Rate

11.2%

7.35% 1-year decrease

2024 Median Household Income

$74,517

5.3% 1-year growth

2024 Median Property Value

$302,200

11.8% 1-year growth

2024 Employed Population

55,561

1.35% 1-year growth

About

None of the households in Pennington 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.

98.8% of the residents in Pennington County, SD are U.S. citizens.

The largest universities in Pennington County, SD are South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (560 degrees awarded in 2023), Western Dakota Technical College (431 degrees), and National American University-Rapid City (307 degrees).

In 2024, the median property value in Pennington County, SD was $302,200, and the homeownership rate was 69.3%.

Most people in Pennington County, SD drove alone to work, and the average commute time was 19.4 minutes. The average car ownership in Pennington County, SD was 2 cars per household.

Pennington County, SD borders Custer County, SD, Haakon County, SD, Jackson County, SD, Lawrence County, SD, Meade County, SD, Oglala Lakota County, SD, and Weston County, WY.

Photo by Jack Flanagan

United States South Dakota Rapid City, SD

Population & Diversity

Pennington County, SD is home to a population of 114k people, from which 98.8% are citizens. As of 2024, 2.46% of Pennington County, SD residents were born outside of the country (2.79k people).

In 2024, there were 12.1 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (88.3k people) in Pennington County, SD than any other race or ethnicity. There were 7.27k Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic) and 6.83k American Indian & Alaska Native (Non-Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

98.8%

2024 Citizenship

99.2%

2023 Citizenship

As of 2024, 98.8% of Pennington County, SD residents were US citizens, which is higher than the national average of 93.2%. In 2023, the percentage of US citizens in Pennington County, SD was 99.2%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been decreasing.

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

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Pennington County, SD

White (Non-Hispanic)
88.3k ± 585
Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic)
7.27k ± 783
American Indian & Alaska Native (Non-Hispanic)
6.83k ± 626

5.68%

Hispanic Population

6.44k people

5.68% of the people in Pennington County, SD are hispanic (6.44k people).

The following chart shows the 8 races represented in Pennington 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

2.46%

2024 Foreign-Born Population

2.79k people

2.23%

2023 Foreign-Born Population

2.5k people

As of 2024, 2.46% of Pennington County, SD residents (2.79k 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 Pennington County, SD was 2.23%, meaning that the rate has been increasing.

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

Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period

Gulf War (2001-)
3,218 ± 426
Vietnam
3,117 ± 409
Gulf War (1990s)
1,961 ± 353

Pennington County, SD has a large population of military personnel who served in Gulf War (2001-), 1.03 times greater than any other conflict.

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

Economy

The economy of Pennington County, SD employs 55.6k people. In 2024, the largest industries in Pennington County, SD were Health Care & Social Assistance (10,565 people), Retail Trade (6,664 people), and Construction (5,542 people), and the highest paying industries were Utilities ($92,955), Public Administration ($68,112), and Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services ($63,008).

Employment

Occupations

55.6k

2024 Value

± 1,967

1.35%

1 Year growth

± 4.93%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Pennington County, SD grew at a rate of 1.35%, from 54.8k employees to 55.6k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Pennington County, SD, are Office & Administrative Support Occupations (6,208 people), Management Occupations (5,728 people), and Sales & Related Occupations (5,386 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Pennington 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

55.6k

2024 Value

± 1,967

1.35%

1 Year growth

± 4.93%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Pennington County, SD grew at a rate of 1.35%, from 54.8k employees to 55.6k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Pennington County, SD, are Health Care & Social Assistance (10,565 people), Retail Trade (6,664 people), and Construction (5,542 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Pennington County, SD, though some of these residents may live in Pennington County, SD and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

$49,474

Median earning men ± $2,548

$41,500

Median earning women ± $1,760

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2024 are Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($76,250), Public Administration ($68,108), and Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance ($64,742).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2024 are Public Administration ($68,125), Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining ($50,952), and Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services ($50,296).

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

327
Construction
253
Other Services (except Public Administration)
240
Real Estate and Rental and Leasing

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

$688k
Health Care and Social Assistance
$320k
Retail Trade
$277k
Construction

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

Education

In 2023, universities in Pennington County, SD awarded 1,424 degrees. The student population of Pennington County, SD in 2023 is skewed towards men, with 2,912 male students and 1,797 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in Pennington County, SD are White (1,026 and 74.6%), Black or African American (95 and 6.91%), Hispanic or Latino (77 and 5.6%), and American Indian or Alaska Native (53 and 3.85%).

The largest universities in Pennington County, SD by number of degrees awarded are South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (560 and 39.3%), Western Dakota Technical College (431 and 30.3%), and National American University-Rapid City (307 and 21.6%).

The most popular majors in Pennington County, SD are General Business Administration & Management (127 and 8.92%), Mechanical Engineering (84 and 5.9%), and General Civil Engineering (57 and 4%).

The median tuition cost for a public four year colleges is $7,800 for in-state students and $12,200 for out-of-state students.

Admissions & Enrollments

Applicants, Admissions & Enrolled

University

Measure

In 2023 in Pennington County, SD, the percentage of applicants admitted was 85.3%, while the percentage of admitted who enrolled was 37.8%. The number of students enrolled in 2023 was 4,709 (61.8% men and 38.2% 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 4,709 students enrolled in Pennington County, SD, 61.8% men and 38.2% women.

By race, the largest number of students enrolled was concentrated in White with 3,316 records, of which 36.6% were women and 63.4% men.

Completions

Concentrations

Most Common

Mechanical Engineering
76 degrees awarded
General Business Administration & Management
50 degrees awarded
Chemical Engineering
42 degrees awarded

In 2023, the most common concentation for Bachelors Degree recipients in Pennington County, SD was Mechanical Engineering with 76 degrees awarded.

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

Universities

Gender

Race

Largest Universities by degrees awarded

South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
560 degrees awarded
Western Dakota Technical College
431 degrees awarded
National American University-Rapid City
307 degrees awarded

In 2023, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was South Dakota School of Mines and Technology with 560 degrees awarded.

Student Diversity

University

In 2023, 741 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Pennington County, SD, which is 1.08 times more than the 683 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 1,026 degrees mean that there were 10.8 times more degrees awarded to White students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, Black or African American, with 95 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 for-profit, 4-year or above ($10,695) is the sector with the highest median state tuition in 2023.

Public, 2-year ($4,536) is the sector with the highest median state fee in 2023.

Public, 4-year or above ($2,060) 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 Pennington County, SD was $302,200 in 2024, which is 0.908 times smaller than the national average of $332,700. Between 2023 and 2024 the median property value increased from $270,400 to $302,200, a 11.8% increase. The homeownership rate in Pennington County, SD is 69.3%, which is higher than the national average of 65.2%.

People in Pennington County, SD have an average commute time of 19.4 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Pennington County, SD is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

In 2025, 11.9% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Pennington County, SD. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator declined 1.38%.

Housing

Property

$302,200

Median Property Value 2024

±$9,091

$32,125

Median Property Taxes

±$1,292

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

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

Rent vs Own

69.3%

Homeownership

2024

65.5%

Homeowners with Mortgage

2024

In 2024, 69.3% of the housing units in Pennington County, SD were occupied by their owner. This percentage grew from the previous year's rate of 69.1%.

This chart shows the percentage of owner in Pennington 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.

$74,517

Median Household Income

± $2,445

46.4k

Number of Households

± 1,666

In 2024, the median household income of the 46.4k households in Pennington County, SD grew to $74,517 from the previous year's value of $70,768.

The following chart displays the households in Pennington 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 Pennington 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 (77.4%)
Worked At Home (9.61%)
Carpooled (9.08%)

In 2024, 77.4% of workers in Pennington County, SD drove alone to work, followed by those who worked at home (9.61%) and those who carpooled to work (9.08%).

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

19.4 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Pennington County, SD have a shorter commute time (19.4 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.4 minutes). Additionally, 2.3% of the workforce in Pennington County, SD have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

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

Poverty

Severe Housing Problems

In 2025, 11.9% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Pennington County, SD. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator declined 1.38%.

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

Poverty & Diversity

11.2% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Pennington County, SD (12.3k out of 110k 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 55 - 64, followed by Males 6 - 11 and then Females 25 - 34.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Pennington County, SD is White, followed by Native American 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, 16.3% of the children was living in poverty in Pennington County, SD. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator declined 4%.

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 562 in Pennington County, SD. From 2014 to 2022, the indicator grew 105 per 100,000 population.

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

Health

89.8% of the population of Pennington County, SD has health coverage, with 44.2% on employee plans, 10.5% on Medicaid, 13% on Medicare, 16.9% on non-group plans, and 5.22% on military or VA plans.

Primary care physicians in Pennington County, SD see 880 patients per year on average, which represents a 0% change from the previous year (880 patients). Compare this to dentists who see 1060 patients per year, and mental health providers who see 280 patients per year.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 50.3% were men and 49.7% were women.

Coverage

Patient to Clinician Ratios

880 to 1

Patient to Primary Care Physician Ratio in Pennington County, SD

Primary care physicians in Pennington County, SD see an average of 880 patients per year. This represents a 0% change from the previous year (880 patients).

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

Health Care Diversity

In 2024, insured persons according to age ranges were distributed in 23.9% under 18 years, 19% between 18 and 34 years, 37.1% between 35 and 64 years, and 20.1% over 64 years.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 50.3% were men and 49.7% were women.

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

Uninsured People

10.2%

Uninsured

44.2%

Employer Coverage

10.5%

Medicaid

13%

Medicare

16.9%

Non-Group

5.22%

Military or VA

Between 2023 and 2024, the percent of uninsured citizens in Pennington County, SD declined by 2.85% from 10.5% to 10.2%.

The following chart shows how the percent of uninsured individuals in Pennington 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 73.6 in Pennington County, SD.

The graphic shows the trend of the indicator in Pennington 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 34.6% in Pennington County, SD.

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