Haakon County, South Dakota

Haakon County, South Dakota
Haakon County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,872. Its county seat is Philip.
History
The county was created in 1914 and organized in 1915, and was formed from the original counties of Nowlin and most of Sterling, which had previously been absorbed by Stanley County. It is named for Haakon VII, who became king of Norway in 1905. It is the only county in South Dakota named for a non-American person and is one of only nine counties in South Dakota named for persons who did not live in South Dakota. Most of South Dakota's counties are named for early South Dakota officials or legislators, or for physical features (Fall River and Lake), or are derived from Native American words (Minnehaha and Yankton), or from counties in other states (Jones and Walworth), with one (Aurora) named for a Roman goddess, one for an animal (Buffalo), and one (Union) for a concept.
Geography
The terrain of Haakon County consists of semi-arid rolling hills, carved with gullies and drainages, partially devoted to agriculture. The Cheyenne River, a tributary of the Missouri River, flows northeastward along the county's north boundary line, and the Bad River flows east-northeastward through the lower part of the county, both heading for their discharge points into the Missouri. The terrain slopes to the northeast, and its highest point is near the midpoint of its western boundary line, at ASL.
Haakon County has a total area of , of which is land and (0.9%) is water.
The eastern portion of South Dakota's counties (48 of 66) observe Central Time; the western counties (18 of 66) observe Mountain Time. Haakon County is the easternmost of the SD counties to observe Mountain Time.
Major highways
U.S. Highway 14
South Dakota Highway 34
South Dakota Highway 63
South Dakota Highway 73
Adjacent counties
Ziebach County - north
Stanley County - east
Jones County - southeast (observes Central Time)
Jackson County - south
Pennington County - west
Protected areas
Billsburg State Game Production Area
Cheyenne State Game Production Area (part)
Lakes
Waggoner Lake
Demographics
2020 census
As of the census of 2020, there were 1,872 people, 712 households in the county.
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 1,937 people, 850 households, and 540 families in the county. The population density was . There were 1,013 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 94.7% white, 1.9% American Indian, 0.4% Asian, 0.2% black or African American, 0.1% Pacific islander, 0.2% from other races, and 2.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.9% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 45.4% were German, 19.4% were Irish, 17.6% were Norwegian, 8.6% were English, 6.2% were Czech, 5.1% were Dutch, and 1.2% were American.
Of the 850 households, 23.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.6% were married couples living together, 4.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 36.5% were non-families, and 33.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.86. The median age was 48.8 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $46,281 and the median income for a family was $60,000. Males had a median income of $37,679 versus $22,277 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,877. About 13.2% of families and 12.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.9% of those under age 18 and 13.7% of those age 65 or over.
Housing cost
In 2007, the average price (in US dollars) for housing was:
Single family home: $143,052
Town homes and other attached homes: $116,019
Twin homes: $176,744
Mobile homes: $51,477
Communities
Towns
Philip (county seat)
Midland
Unincorporated communities
Billsburg
Kirley
Milesville
Nowlin
Ottumwa
West Fork
Unorganized territories
East Haakon
West Haakon
Politics
The Haakon County voters are reliably Republican. In no national election since 1936 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate.
See also
National Register of Historic Places listings in Haakon County, South Dakota
References
1915 establishments in South Dakota
Populated places established in 1915
Norwegian-American culture in South Dakota