Brown County, South Dakota

Brown County, South Dakota
Brown County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 38,301, making it the fourth-most populous county in South Dakota. Its county seat is Aberdeen. The county is named for Alfred Brown, of Hutchinson County, South Dakota, a Dakota Territory legislator in 1879.
Brown County is part of the Aberdeen, SD Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Geography
Brown County lies on the north side of South Dakota. Its north boundary line abuts the south boundary line of the state of North Dakota. The James River flows south-southwest through the county; its entry point into neighboring Spink County marks Brown County's lowest elevation: ASL. The terrain of Brown County consists of rolling terrain, sloping to the south and east, largely devoted to agriculture.
The county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.0%) is water.
Major highways
U.S. Highway 12
U.S. Highway 281
South Dakota Highway 10
South Dakota Highway 37
Adjacent counties
Dickey County, North Dakota - north
Sargent County, North Dakota - northeast
Marshall County - east
Day County - southeast
Spink County - south
Faulk County - southwest
Edmunds County - southwest
McPherson County - northwest
Protected areas
Bodi State Game Production Area (part)
Casanova State Game Production Area
Columbia State Game Production Area
Cutler State Game Production Area
Diagonal Trees State Game Production Area
Elm Creek State Game Production Area (part)
Erickson State Game Production Area
Hansen Preserve State Game Production Area
Hart Quarter State Game Production Area
Hecla State Game Production Area
Jilek-Dahme State Game Production Area
Pigors Lake State Game Production Area
Putney Slough State Game Production Area
Putney State Game Production Area
Renziehausen Slough State Game Bird Refuge
Renziehausen State Game Production Area (part)
Richmond Dam State Game Production Area
Richmond Lake State Recreation Area
Richmond State Lakeside Use Area
Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge
Zabrasha State Game Production Area
Demographics
2020 census
As of the census of 2020, there were 38,301 people.
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 36,531 people, 15,489 households, and 9,374 families in the county. The population density was . There were 16,706 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 93.2% white, 3.0% American Indian, 1.0% Asian, 0.5% black or African American, 0.1% Pacific islander, 0.4% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.4% of the population. In terms of ancestry.
Of the 15,489 households, 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.5% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 39.5% were non-families, and 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.89. The median age was 38.6 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $45,615 and the median income for a family was $58,683. Males had a median income of $37,997 versus $28,419 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,878. About 5.6% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.6% of those under age 18 and 15.4% of those age 65 or over.
Politics
Brown County was long a Democratic stronghold, home to notable Democrats including South Dakota Governor Ralph Herseth, US Senate majority leader Tom Daschle and Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin. It generally voted Democratic except in Republican landslides (though often relatively narrowly margins) in presidential elections from 1932 until 1996. Since then, Brown County has trended Republican, particularly at the local level, although the county was carried by Barack Obama in 2008.
Communities
Cities
Aberdeen (county seat)
Columbia
Groton
Towns
Claremont
Frederick
Hecla
Stratford
Verdon
Warner
Westport
Census-designated places
Bath
Bath Corner
Ferney
Hutterville Colony
Mansfield (partial)
Prairiewood Village
Unincorporated communities
Barnard
Houghton
Huffton
James
Nahon
Ordway
Putney
Richmond
Richmond Heights
Rudolph
Tacoma Park
Winship
Townships
Aberdeen
Allison
Bates
Bath
Barnard
Cambria
Carlisle
Claremont
Columbia
East Hanson
East Rondell
Franklyn
Frederick
Garden Prairie
Garland
Gem
Greenfield
Groton
Hecla
Henry
Highland
Lansing
Liberty
Lincoln
Mercier
New Hope
North Detroit
Oneota
Ordway
Osceola
Palmyra
Portage
Prairiewood
Putney
Ravinia
Richland
Riverside
Savo
Shelby
South Detroit
Warner
West Hanson
West
Westport
See also
National Register of Historic Places listings in Brown County, South Dakota
External links
Brown County, SD government website
References
1881 establishments in Dakota Territory
Populated places established in 1881
Aberdeen, South Dakota micropolitan area