Jackson County

Washabaugh County was merged into Jackson County in 1983.

• County — Jackson County • State — South Dakota • Established Title — Created • Established Date — 1883 • Established Title1 — Organized • Established Date1 — 1915 • Seat Wl — Kadoka • Largest City Wl — Kadoka • City Type — community • Area Total Sq Mi — 1871 • Area Land Sq Mi — 1864 • Area Water Sq Mi — 7.4 • Area Water Percent — 0.4 • Population As Of — 2020 • Population Total — 2806 • Pop Est As Of — 2025 • Population Est — 2666 • Population Density Sq Mi — auto • Time Zone — Mountain • Footnotes — Washabaugh County was merged into Jackson County in 1983 • District — At-large • Illustration — An unusual specimen of calcite, densely intergrown with grains of sand. Collected from Rattlesnake Butte in Jackson County. Size: 6.9 x 5.4 x 3.9 cm. • Illustration — Jackson County sign on Interstate 90 Jackson County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,806. Its county seat is Kadoka. The county was created in 1883, and was organized in 1915. Washabaugh County was merged into Jackson County in 1983.

The terrain of Jackson County consists of mountains rising from rolling hills. The ground is arid and carved with drainages. The White River flows eastward, cutting a meandering channel through the central part. The terrain generally slopes to the NE; its highest point is a ridge near the SW corner, at 3,274 ft ASL. Jackson County has a total area of 1871 sqmi, of which 1864 sqmi is land and 7.4 sqmi (0.4%) is water. About 57 percent of its land, the portion south of White River, is on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The county includes the easternmost portion of Badlands National Park. • Illustration — Badlands National Park near Interior South Dakota's eastern counties (48 of 66) observe Central Time; the western counties (18 of 66) observe Mountain Time. Jackson County is the easternmost of the state's counties to observe Mountain Time.

• Interstate 90 • U.S. Highway 14 • South Dakota Highway 44 • South Dakota Highway 63 • South Dakota Highway 73 • South Dakota Highway 377

• Haakon County – north • Jones County – northeast (observes Central Time) • Mellette County – east (observes Central Time) • Todd County – southeast (observes Central Time) • Bennett County – south • Oglala Lakota County – southwest • Pennington County – northwest

Source: • Kadoka Lake • Wanblee Lake

• Badlands National Park (part) • Buffalo Gap National Grassland (part) • Minuteman Missile National Historic Site (part)

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 2,806. Of the residents, 31.8% were under the age of 18 and 14.9% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 33.5 years. For every 100 females there were 101.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 98.2 males. The population density was 1.5 PD/sqmi. There were 1,064 housing units, and there were 887 households, including 637 families residing in the county. Of those households, 39.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 25.1% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 24.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The racial makeup of the county was 37.4% White, 0.4% Black or African American, 55.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% Asian, 0.3% from some other race, and 6.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.2% of the population. Of the 1,064 housing units, 16.6% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 63.6% were owner-occupied and 36.4% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.3% and the rental vacancy rate was 6.6%.

As of the 2010 census, there were 3,031 people, 996 households, and 703 families living in the county. The population density was 1.6 PD/sqmi. There were 1,193 housing units at an average density of 0.6 /mi2. The racial makeup of the county was 52.0% American Indian, 42.7% white, 0.2% black or African American, 0.2% from other races, and 4.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.3% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 20.7% were German, 12.3% were Irish, 10.1% were Norwegian, 5.7% were English, and 0.2% were American. Of the 996 households, 40.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.8% were married couples living together, 16.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 29.4% were non-families, and 26.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 3.00 and the average family size was 3.65. The median age was 31.5 years. The median income for a household in the county was $36,354 and the median income for a family was $41,838. Males had a median income of $32,377 versus $25,000 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,568. About 20.6% of families and 30.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.9% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.

• Kadoka (county seat) (Pop:543)

• Belvidere (Population:46) • Cottonwood (Population:12) • Interior (Population:65)

• Wanblee (Population:674)

Source: • Cactus Flat • Hisle • Long Valley • Potato Creek • Stamford • Weta

• Grandview II • Interior • Jewett • Wall • Weta

• East Jackson • Northwest Jackson • Southeast Jackson • Southwest Jackson

Jackson County voters have been reliably Republican for decades. In only one national election since 1936 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate.