# Spink County, South Dakota

Spink County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,361. Its county seat is Redfield. The county was created in 1873, and was organized in 1879 within Dakota Territory.

## Geography

The terrain of Spink County consists of rolling hills, dedicated to agriculture. The James River flows southerly through the central portion of the county. The terrain slopes to the south; its highest point is in its northeast corner, at 1,424 ft (434 m) ASL. The county has a total area of 1,510 square miles (3,900 km$^2$), of which 1,504 square miles (3,900 km$^2$) is land and 5.8 square miles (15 km$^2$) (0.4%) is water.

### Major highways

* U.S. Highway 212
* U.S. Highway 281
* South Dakota Highway 20
* South Dakota Highway 26
* South Dakota Highway 28
* South Dakota Highway 37

### Protected area

* Fisher Grove State Park

### Adjacent counties

* Brown County – north
* Day County – northeast
* Clark County – east
* Beadle County – south
* Hand County – southwest
* Faulk County – west

### Lakes

* Alkali Lake
* Cottonwood Lake
* Twin Lakes

## Demographics
### 2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 6,361 people, 2,520 households, and 1,560 families residing in the county. The population density was 4.2 inhabitants per square mile (1.6/km$^2$). There were 2,983 housing units.

### 2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 6,415 people, 2,608 households, and 1,677 families in the county. The population density was 4.3 inhabitants per square mile (1.7/km$^2$). There were 3,139 housing units at an average density of 2.1 units per square mile (0.81 units/km$^2$). The racial makeup of the county was 97.1% white, 1.2% American Indian, 0.3% black or African American, 0.1% Asian, 0.4% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.1% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 52.6% were German, 11.6% were Norwegian, 10.0% were Irish, 9.2% were English, and 5.5% were American.
Of the 2,608 households, 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.4% were married couples living together, 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 35.7% were non-families, and 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.89. The median age was 44.4 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $45,000 and the median income for a family was $60,639. Males had a median income of $40,273 versus $26,139 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,295. About 8.2% of families and 17.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.0% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those age 65 or over.
Several Hutterite communities are in Spink County, including near Ashton and Stratford.

## Communities
### Cities

* Ashton
* Conde
* Doland
* Frankfort
* Mellette
* Redfield (county seat)

### Towns

* Brentford
* Northville
* Tulare
* Turton

### Census-designated places

* Camrose Colony
* Clark Colony
* Glendale Colony
* Hillside Colony
* Mansfield (partial)
* Spink Colony

### Other unincorporated communities

* Athol
* Crandon

### Townships

* Antelope
* Athol
* Belle Plaine
* Belmont
* Benton
* Beotia
* Buffalo
* Capitola
* Clifton
* Conde
* Cornwall
* Crandon
* Exline
* Frankfort
* Garfield
* Great Bend
* Groveland
* Harmony
* Harrison
* Jefferson
* Lake
* La Prairie
* Lincoln
* Lodi
* Mellette
* Northville
* Olean
* Prairie Center
* Redfield
* Richfield
* Spring
* Sumner
* Tetonka
* Three Rivers
* Tulare
* Turton
* Union

## Politics

Spink County was historically a swing county, but in the past few decades has become fairly Republican. In no national election since 1992 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate (as of 2024).
United States presidential election results for Spink County, South Dakota :
| Year | Republican | Republican | Democratic | Democratic | Third party(ies) | Third party(ies) |
| Year | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % |
| 2024 | 2,145 | 68.33% | 921 | 29.34% | 73 | 2.33% |
| 2020 | 2,104 | 66.52% | 998 | 31.55% | 61 | 1.93% |
| 2016 | 1,854 | 62.83% | 919 | 31.14% | 178 | 6.03% |
| 2012 | 1,670 | 54.92% | 1,300 | 42.75% | 71 | 2.33% |
| 2008 | 1,660 | 50.78% | 1,550 | 47.42% | 59 | 1.80% |
| 2004 | 2,259 | 59.86% | 1,478 | 39.16% | 37 | 0.98% |
| 2000 | 1,957 | 59.59% | 1,274 | 38.79% | 53 | 1.61% |
| 1996 | 1,651 | 45.00% | 1,636 | 44.59% | 382 | 10.41% |
| 1992 | 1,527 | 37.14% | 1,732 | 42.12% | 853 | 20.74% |
| 1988 | 1,969 | 48.47% | 2,071 | 50.98% | 22 | 0.54% |
| 1984 | 2,627 | 60.75% | 1,680 | 38.85% | 17 | 0.39% |
| 1980 | 2,915 | 60.30% | 1,572 | 32.52% | 347 | 7.18% |
| 1976 | 2,003 | 42.81% | 2,650 | 56.64% | 26 | 0.56% |
| 1972 | 2,547 | 52.19% | 2,321 | 47.56% | 12 | 0.25% |
| 1968 | 2,068 | 42.08% | 2,669 | 54.30% | 178 | 3.62% |
| 1964 | 1,953 | 38.50% | 3,120 | 61.50% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 2,738 | 51.65% | 2,563 | 48.35% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1956 | 2,683 | 48.29% | 2,873 | 51.71% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1952 | 3,693 | 65.06% | 1,983 | 34.94% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1948 | 2,310 | 45.59% | 2,702 | 53.33% | 55 | 1.09% |
| 1944 | 2,365 | 50.86% | 2,285 | 49.14% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1940 | 2,975 | 48.70% | 3,134 | 51.30% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1936 | 2,078 | 35.39% | 3,569 | 60.79% | 224 | 3.82% |
| 1932 | 2,433 | 36.67% | 4,046 | 60.98% | 156 | 2.35% |
| 1928 | 3,868 | 60.89% | 2,451 | 38.59% | 33 | 0.52% |
| 1924 | 2,613 | 57.81% | 595 | 13.16% | 1,312 | 29.03% |
| 1920 | 2,923 | 65.09% | 785 | 17.48% | 783 | 17.43% |
| 1916 | 1,660 | 48.61% | 1,622 | 47.50% | 133 | 3.89% |
| 1912 | 0 | 0.00% | 1,347 | 44.53% | 1,678 | 55.47% |
| 1908 | 1,847 | 59.01% | 1,121 | 35.81% | 162 | 5.18% |
| 1904 | 2,127 | 74.53% | 492 | 17.24% | 235 | 8.23% |
| 1900 | 1,496 | 56.41% | 1,087 | 40.99% | 69 | 2.60% |
| 1896 | 1,132 | 51.31% | 1,061 | 48.10% | 13 | 0.59% |
| 1892 | 1,133 | 53.04% | 171 | 8.01% | 832 | 38.95% |