McCook County, South Dakota

McCook County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,682.^[1] Its county seat is Salem.^[2] The county was established in 1873, and was organized in 1878.^[3] It was named for the former governor of the Dakota Territory and Civil War general Edwin Stanton McCook.^[4][5]

McCook County
County
McCook County Courthouse
Location within the U.S. state of South Dakota
South Dakota's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 43°40′49.498″N 97°21′28.972″W
Country	United States
State	South Dakota
Founded	January 8, 1873 (created) June 15, 1878 (organized)
Named after	Edwin Stanton McCook
Seat	Salem
Largest city	Salem
Area
• Total	576.867 sq mi (1,494.08 km2)
• Land	574.205 sq mi (1,487.18 km2)
• Water	2.662 sq mi (6.89 km2)  0.5%
Population  (2020)
• Total	5,682
• Estimate  (2024)	5,771
• Density	10.115/sq mi (3.905/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	At-large
Website	mccookcountysd.com

McCook County is part of the Sioux Falls, SD Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

The terrain of McCook County consists of rolling hills, mostly devoted to agriculture.^[6] The terrain slopes to the south and southwest; its highest point is near its northeast corner, at 1,798 ft (548 m) ASL.^[7]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 576.867 square miles (1,494.08 km²), of which 574.205 square miles (1,487.18 km²) is land and 2.662 square miles (6.89 km²) (0.5%) is water.^[8] It is the 52nd largest county in South Dakota by total area.

Major highways

• Interstate 90
• U.S. Highway 81
• South Dakota Highway 38
• South Dakota Highway 42

Adjacent counties

• Lake County - northeast
• Minnehaha County - east
• Turner County - southeast
• Hutchinson County - southwest
• Hanson County - west
• Miner County - northwest

Protected areas

Source:^[6]

• Ediger State Game Production Area
• Forsch Lake State State Game Production Area
• Lake Vermillion State Recreation Area
• Lehrman Slough State Game production Area
• Tschetter Slough State Game Production Area

Lakes

Source:^[6]

• East Vermillion Lake AKA Lake Vermillion
• Island Lake
• Lake Ell

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	1,283		—
1890	6,448		402.6%
1900	8,689		34.8%
1910	9,589		10.4%
1920	9,990		4.2%
1930	10,316		3.3%
1940	9,793		−5.1%
1950	8,828		−9.9%
1960	8,268		−6.3%
1970	7,246		−12.4%
1980	6,444		−11.1%
1990	5,688		−11.7%
2000	5,832		2.5%
2010	5,618		−3.7%
2020	5,682		1.1%
2024 (est.)	5,771	[9]	1.6%
U.S. Decennial Census[10] 1790–1960[11] 1900–1990[12] 1990–2000[13] 2010–2020[14]

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 5,682 people, 2,159 households, and 1,505 families residing in the county.^[15] The population density was 9.9 inhabitants per square mile (3.8/km²). There were 2,448 housing units.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 5,618 people, 2,168 households, and 1,535 families in the county. The population density was 9.8 inhabitants per square mile (3.8/km²). There were 2,491 housing units at an average density of 4.3 units per square mile (1.7 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.0% white, 0.4% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 0.1% Asian, 0.1% black or African American, 0.6% from other races, and 0.7% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.8% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 61.5% were German, 12.8% were Irish, 11.1% were Norwegian, 7.4% were Swedish, 6.2% were Dutch, 5.2% were English, and 3.5% were American.

Of the 2,168 households, 30.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.0% were married couples living together, 6.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 29.2% were non-families, and 26.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.94. The median age was 42.7 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $42,022 and the median income for a family was $57,287. Males had a median income of $35,951 versus $29,750 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,502. About 5.2% of families and 7.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.7% of those under age 18 and 14.4% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

McCook County voters usually vote Republican. Although the county was one only 130 nationwide to support favorite son George McGovern in 1972, it has selected the Democratic nominee in only six other elections since South Dakota's statehood, and none since 1980.

United States presidential election results for McCook County, South Dakota^[16]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	2,227	73.47%	733	24.18%	71	2.34%
2020	2,068	71.31%	769	26.52%	63	2.17%
2016	1,794	69.35%	623	24.08%	170	6.57%
2012	1,655	63.34%	905	34.63%	53	2.03%
2008	1,646	55.89%	1,219	41.39%	80	2.72%
2004	2,017	61.66%	1,201	36.72%	53	1.62%
2000	1,610	61.19%	965	36.68%	56	2.13%
1996	1,292	47.45%	1,166	42.82%	265	9.73%
1992	1,177	39.44%	1,167	39.11%	640	21.45%
1988	1,501	50.00%	1,492	49.70%	9	0.30%
1984	1,902	56.57%	1,448	43.07%	12	0.36%
1980	2,014	56.83%	1,223	34.51%	307	8.66%
1976	1,744	48.74%	1,822	50.92%	12	0.34%
1972	1,963	49.53%	1,993	50.29%	7	0.18%
1968	1,959	51.55%	1,653	43.50%	188	4.95%
1964	1,756	44.60%	2,181	55.40%	0	0.00%
1960	2,375	56.93%	1,797	43.07%	0	0.00%
1956	2,382	57.54%	1,758	42.46%	0	0.00%
1952	2,991	72.63%	1,127	27.37%	0	0.00%
1948	2,064	59.46%	1,387	39.96%	20	0.58%
1944	2,516	68.39%	1,163	31.61%	0	0.00%
1940	3,310	66.12%	1,696	33.88%	0	0.00%
1936	2,117	43.64%	2,536	52.28%	198	4.08%
1932	1,436	32.47%	2,884	65.22%	102	2.31%
1928	2,234	55.78%	1,758	43.90%	13	0.32%
1924	1,368	44.27%	457	14.79%	1,265	40.94%
1920	1,864	60.52%	565	18.34%	651	21.14%
1916	1,194	52.19%	1,021	44.62%	73	3.19%
1912	0	0.00%	962	44.64%	1,193	55.36%
1908	1,209	57.00%	826	38.94%	86	4.05%
1904	1,284	63.00%	693	34.00%	61	2.99%
1900	978	49.07%	989	49.62%	26	1.30%
1896	678	39.03%	1,047	60.28%	12	0.69%
1892	573	37.35%	262	17.08%	699	45.57%

Communities

Cities

• Bridgewater
• Canistota
• Montrose
• Salem (county seat)^[17]
• Spencer

Census-designated places

• Golden View Colony
• Orland Colony

Unincorporated communities

Source:^[6]

• Stanley Corner
• Unityville

Townships

The county is divided into sixteen townships:

• Benton
• Bridgewater
• Brookfield
• Canistota
• Emery
• Grant
• Greenland
• Jefferson
• Pearl
• Montrose
• Union
• Ramsey
• Richland
• Salem
• Spring Valley
• Sun Prairie

Other places

• Laurent - (proposed / abandoned housing development)

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in McCook County, South Dakota