Gregory County, South Dakota

Gregory County
County
Carnegie Library in Dallas, South Dakota
Location within the U.S. state of South Dakota
South Dakota's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 43°12′N 99°11′W / 43.2°N 99.18°W / 43.2; -99.18
Country	United States
State	South Dakota
Founded	1862 (created) 1898 (organized)
Named for	J. Shaw Gregory
Seat	Burke
Largest city	Gregory
Area
• Total	1,054 sq mi (2,730 km2)
• Land	1,015 sq mi (2,630 km2)
• Water	39 sq mi (100 km2)  3.7%
Population  (2020)
• Total	3,994
• Estimate  (2023)	4,018
• Density	3.8/sq mi (1.5/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	At-large
Website	gregory.sdcounties.org

Gregory County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,994.^[1] Its county seat is Burke.^[2] The county was created in 1862 and organized in 1898.^[3] It was named for the politician J. Shaw Gregory.^[4]

Gregory County lies on the south line of South Dakota. Its south boundary line abuts the north boundary line of Nebraska. The Missouri River flows southeastward along its east boundary line. The county terrain consists of rolling hills, sloping to the southeast. The eastern part of the county is etched with gullies and drainages, flowing to the river basin.^[5] The county's highest point is in the SW corner, at 2,247 ft (685 m) ASL.^[6]

Gregory County has a total area of 1,054 square miles (2,730 km²), of which 1,015 square miles (2,630 km²) is land and 39 square miles (100 km²) (3.7%) is water.^[7]

Source:^[5]

Source:^[5]

As of the 2020 census, there were 3,994 people, 1,721 households, and 1,070 families residing in the county.^[13] The population density was 3.9 inhabitants per square mile (1.5/km²). There were 2,186 housing units.

As of the 2010 census, there were 4,271 people, 1,936 households, and 1,172 families in the county. The population density was 4.2 inhabitants per square mile (1.6/km²). There were 2,503 housing units at an average density of 2.5 units per square mile (0.97 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 89.6% white, 7.5% American Indian, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% black or African American, 0.2% from other races, and 2.2% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.9% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 54.5% were German, 11.4% were Irish, 10.9% were Czech, 7.1% were English, 6.0% were Norwegian, and 2.4% were American.

Of the 1,936 households, 23.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.9% were married couples living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 39.5% were non-families, and 36.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.84. The median age was 48.2 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $33,940 and the median income for a family was $44,333. Males had a median income of $30,401 versus $25,804 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,311. About 10.7% of families and 16.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.1% of those under age 18 and 19.2% of those age 65 or over.

• Bonesteel
• Burke (County Seat)
• Gregory

• Dallas
• Fairfax
• Herrick

• St. Charles

• Carlock^[14]
• Dixon^[15]
• Lucas^[16]

Farming and ranching are two main economic factors of the county.

Like all of South Dakota outside Native American counties, Gregory County is powerfully Republican. No Democrat has carried Gregory County since Jimmy Carter in 1976. Like almost all of rural America, recent swings away from the Democratic Party have been very rapid: Donald Trump's 78.4 percent of the county's vote is the largest any candidate has obtained in the county since South Dakota statehood.

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Gregory County, South Dakota
• Fort Randall

43°12′N 99°11′W / 43.20°N 99.18°W / 43.20; -99.18