Brookings County, South Dakota Population and Demographics

In this article, we'll explore the population statistics for Brookings County, South Dakota, including popular demographics data like median age, number of households, household income, gender, employment and unemployment rates, occupations, religion, and more.

We are using the latest American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year survey data from the US Census Bureau, which is accurate up to 2021.

Table of Contents

Population

There is a lot of data that lets us see how many people live in Brookings County, South Dakota. The most basic data is the total population, which is the total number of people living in Brookings County, South Dakota. The estimated population of Brookings County, South Dakota is 34,315 people, with a median age of 27.4.

We can look at the total population in Brookings County over the last 5 years to see how much it has changed.

Year Population Change 5-Year Change
2021
34,315
 -2.28% +1.83%
2020
35,115
+1.49%
-
2019
34,601
+1.06%
-
2018
34,239
+1.61%
-
2017
33,697
 - -

Population of Brookings County, South Dakota by Race and Ethnicity

We can also look at how the population has changed over the last 5 years by each of the race/ethnicity types as defined by the US Census Bureau.

Race 2021 2017 Change
White
88.9%
91%
 -2.31%
Black/African American
1.2%
1.4%
 -14.29%
Native
0.6%
1.1%
 -45.45%
Hispanic
3.7%
2.6%
 +42.31%
Asian
3.1%
2.9%
 +6.90%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
0%
0%
 0.00%
Two Or More Races
2.5%
1.1%
 +127.27%
Other
0%
0%
 0.00%

This data can be very important for a number of reasons, including social and economic research, planning and development, and marketing to a multi-cultural population.

Note that the Native group includes both Native American and Alaskan Native people.

Population of Brookings County, South Dakota by Age and Gender

The age and gender of a population is another interesting demographic statistic because it lets us track trends in the population over time. For example, we can see how the population has changed over the last 5 years by median age as a total, and also by male and female.

Year Total Male Female
2021 27.4 +0.37% 27.5 -0.72% 27.2 +1.49%
2020 27.3 +1.11% 27.7 +1.09% 26.8 +1.13%
2019 27 +1.12% 27.4 +1.11% 26.5 +2.32%
2018 26.7 0% 27.1 +0.37% 25.9 -1.89%
2017 26.7 - 27 - 26.4 -

The median age of Brookings County, South Dakota gives you an idea of the age distribution, with half of the population being older than the median age and half being younger.

This can then be used to infer and compare against birth rates, parent ages, and more metrics to understand the population. For example, an increasing median age indicates an aging population, which can be a sign of a declining population in terms of birth rates and workforce participation.

Age 2021 2017
(Years) Male Female Male Female
0 to 9 2,052 +3.49% 1,961 +15.79% 2,122 2,280
10 to 19 2,716 +3.98% 2,882 -0.9% 2,818 2,852
20 to 29 4,702 -2.7% 4,076 -7.18% 4,573 3,787
30 to 39 1,919 +15.81% 1,884 +3.62% 2,223 1,948
40 to 49 1,604 -15.3% 1,344 +6.54% 1,367 1,417
50 to 59 1,633 +0.74% 1,445 +6.08% 1,641 1,533
60 to 69 1,428 +6.79% 1,555 0.38% 1,526 1,555
70+ 1,099 +13.6% 1,397 +2% 1,253 1,420

Median Household Income

The latest median household income of Brookings County, South Dakota is $59,178.00.

In simple terms, the median income is the middle income of a group of people. Half of the people in the group make more than the median income, and half make less. The median income is a good indicator of the overall income of a group of people, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more.

Median Income by Age

We can also look at the median income by age to see how the median income varies by age, and how it compares to the overall median income for Brookings County.

  • Under 25
    $37,483.00
  • 25 to 44
    $71,250.00
  • 45 to 64
    $80,985.00
  • 65 and over
    $49,250.00

Average Household Income

Whenever we ask what is the average household income in Brookings County, we are actually talking about the mean household income.

This is calculated by adding up all the incomes of all the households in Brookings County, and then dividing that number by the total number of households. This is a good way to get a general idea of the average income of a group of people, but it can be skewed by a very high or very low incomes.

The average household income of Brookings County, South Dakota is currently $74,984.00.

In terms of accurately summarizing income at a geographic level, the median income is a better metric than the average income because it isn't affected by a small number of very high or very low incomes.

If you had an area where the average income was greater than the median, it can mean that there is significant income inequality, with income being concentrated in a small number of wealthy households.

3.07% of households in Brookings County are classed as high income households (making $200,000+ per year).

Household Income Tiers

The US Census Bureau divides households into income tiers based on the median income for the area. This is a good way to compare the income of Brookings County against other areas.

  • Less than $24,999
    15.73%
  • $25,000 to $49,999
    25.27%
  • $50,000 to $74,999
    18.68%
  • $75,000 to $99,999
    13.76%
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    17.96%
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    5.53%
  • $200,000 or more
    3.07%

Per Capita Income

The per capita income in Brookings County is $29,775.00.

Per capita income is the average income of a person in a given area. It is calculated by dividing the total income of Brookings County by the total population of Brookings County.

This is different from the average or mean income because it includes and accounts for all people in Brookings County, South Dakota, including people like children, the elderly, unemployed people, retired people, and more.

Education Levels

We can also look at the education levels in Brookings County to see how many people have a high school degree, a bachelor's degree, or a graduate degree.

Educational attainment is a good indicator of the overall education level of a population, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more to see how education levels affect income, unemployment rates, and more.

  • Master's degree or higher
    13.67%
  • Bachelor's degree
    43.21%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    7.84%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    34.18%
  • Less than high school diploma
    1.11%

Employment

Employment rates are all based around the total population in Brookings County that are over the age of 16.

The total population of Brookings County over the age of 16 is 27,849.

Of those people, a total of 71.10% are working or actively looking for work. This is called the labor force participation rate.

The participation rate is a useful market measure because it shows the relative amount of labor resources available to the economy.

The employment to total population rate in Brookings County is 67.90%.

Employment by Age

We can look at the employment rates by age to see how it compares to the overall employment rate.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
16 to 19 years 3,606 47.40% 16.00%
20 to 24 years 5,817 79.70% 5.90%
25 to 29 years 2,543 88.90% 2.00%
30 to 34 years 1,962 89.30% 4.30%
35 to 44 years 3,545 89.80% 1.50%
45 to 54 years 2,933 89.90% 0.60%
55 to 59 years 1,689 83.20% 0.60%
60 to 64 years 1,583 75.40% 3.30%
65 to 74 years 2,521 33.60% 3.50%
75 years and over 1,650 10.80% 0.00%

Employment by Race

Another very interesting employment statistic we can look at is the employment and unemployment rates by race in Brookings County. The table below shows the rates for each of the ethnicity groups types defined by the US Census Bureau.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
White 25,462 71.00% 3.90%
Black or African American 394 83.80% 7.60%
American Indian and Alaska Native 295 75.60% 0.90%
Asian 847 66.00% 4.90%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0 0.00% 0.00%
Other 176 72.20% 0.00%
Two or more races 675 74.10% 11.00%
Hispanic or Latino 773 79.60% 2.20%
Not Hispanic or Latino 25,167 70.80% 3.90%

Occupations

In this section we can look at the most common occupations in Brookings County as well as the gender breakdown and earnings of them.

The total population of civilian employees that are 16 years old or older in Brookings County is 18,921, with median earnings of $36,600.00.

Women in Brookings County, South Dakota earning approximately 83.20% of the men's earnings.

Population Earnings
Total 18,921 $36,600.00
Male 10,079 $39,559.00
Female 8,842 $32,908.00

Occupations by Category

In the table below, we can break down the population and earnings even further by occupation. The list of occupation categories below will show you how many people are employed in each category and the median earnings of each profession.

Occupation Employed Earnings
Management 1,917 $42,708.00
Business and Financial 733 $46,940.00
Computer and Mathematical 407 $66,927.00
Architecture and Engineering 686 $65,977.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 739 $45,934.00
Community and Social Service 224 $46,905.00
Legal 78 $54,318.00
Educational and Library 1,865 $44,169.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 461 $35,913.00
Healthcare Practitioners 728 $49,327.00
Healthcare Support 463 $23,224.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 85 $18,384.00
Law Enforcement 116 $14,737.00
Food Preparation and Serving 1,170 $9,453.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 511 $23,083.00
Personal Care and Service 632 $14,844.00
Sales 1,524 $24,239.00
Office and Administrative Support 1,890 $34,090.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 503 $27,215.00
Construction and Extraction 698 $39,743.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 387 $52,879.00
Production 1,749 $42,757.00
Transportation and Material Moving 425 $52,688.00

Occupations by Gender

The table below shows the same occupations from the list above, but we have split them by male and female to see how many male and females work in each occupation, the median earnings, and the male to female ratio of earnings.

That last metric is important because it can be used to look at the gender pay gap between men and women.

Occupation Male Female
Population Earnings Population Earnings
Management 1,389 $41,675.00 528 $45,227.00
Business and Financial 292 $51,037.00 441 $42,440.00
Computer and Mathematical 279 $55,804.00 128 $73,650.00
Architecture and Engineering 512 $66,322.00 174 $54,667.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 280 $38,409.00 459 $46,488.00
Community and Social Service 88 $53,500.00 136 $46,310.00
Legal 17 $0.00 61 $44,375.00
Educational and Library 645 $43,542.00 1,220 $44,195.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 263 $55,417.00 198 $16,613.00
Healthcare Practitioners 204 $54,318.00 524 $47,788.00
Healthcare Support 114 $28,636.00 349 $19,792.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 13 $0.00 72 $18,448.00
Law Enforcement 47 $50,938.00 69 $13,706.00
Food Preparation and Serving 563 $9,702.00 607 $8,622.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 358 $32,850.00 153 $8,699.00
Personal Care and Service 133 $9,391.00 499 $15,635.00
Sales 677 $39,688.00 847 $16,421.00
Office and Administrative Support 381 $35,685.00 1,509 $33,260.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 385 $26,645.00 118 $40,427.00
Construction and Extraction 698 $39,743.00 0 $0.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 347 $53,772.00 40 $0.00
Production 1,353 $45,107.00 396 $37,738.00
Transportation and Material Moving 379 $54,188.00 46 $21,458.00

Households and Family Size

A household defined bu the US Census Bureau is a group of people who occupy a housing unit. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, group of rooms, or single room occupied as separate living quarters.

There are currently 13,233 households in Brookings County, with an average household size of 2.32 people.

A family is defined as a group of two or more people related by birth, marriage, or adoption who live together in the same household.

There are 6,729 families in Brookings County with an average family size of 3.11 people.

Households by Marital Status

The four categories of household by marital status are:

  • Married-couple family
  • Male householder with no spouse present
  • Female household with no spouse present
  • Nonfamily household

The table below shows the total number of households and families, with the average sizes of each.

Married Male Female Nonfamily
Total Households 5,698 418 613 6,504
Average Household Size 3.15 3.16 3.39 1.43
Total Families 5,698 418 613 0
Average Household Size 3.13 2.8 3.07 0

Poverty

Of the 6,729 families in Brookings County, 4.70% are considered to be below the poverty threshold.

The table below shows the latest poverty thresholds in Brookings County:

Household Size Poverty Threshold
1 Person $14,580.00
2 People $19,720.00
3 People $24,860.00
4 People $30,000.00
5 People $35,140.00
6 People $40,280.00
7 People $45,420.00
8 People $50,560.00

Housing

There are 14,696 housing units in Brookings County, South Dakota.

The table below shows the split between occupied and vacant units:

Total Percentage
Occupied 13,233 90.04%
Vacant 1,463 9.96%

34.89% of the total 14,696 housing units in Brookings County are rental units. This is approximately 5,128 properties.

For owner-occupied housing units, a total of 7,887 are occupied by the owner - or 53.67% of the total.

Rental Rates

The median rent for a property in Brookings County is $806.00.

In the chart below, we can look at the number of rental properties in Brookings County that fall into a particular rent range. These can then be used to compare with other areas, or to see how they have changed over time.

  • No rent paid
    218
  • Less than $500
    662
  • $500 to $999
    2,696
  • $1,000 to $1,499
    1,387
  • $1,500 to $1,999
    312
  • $2,000 to $2,499
    71
  • $2,500 to $2,999
    0
  • $3,000 or more
    0

Property Value

The median value of a property in Brookings County is $201,000.00.

Just like with rental rates, we can look at the number of properties in Brookings County that fall into a particular value range.

  • Less than $50,000
    608
  • $50,000 to $99,999
    810
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    966
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    1,527
  • $200,000 to $299,999
    2,424
  • $300,000 to $499,999
    1,229
  • $500,000 to $999,999
    296
  • $1,000,000 or more
    27

Property Age

We can also look at the age of properties in Brookings County. The chart below shows the number of properties in Brookings County that fall into a particular age range.

  • 1939 or earlier
    2,039
  • 1940 to 1949
    478
  • 1950 to 1959
    1,004
  • 1960 to 1969
    1,196
  • 1970 to 1979
    2,283
  • 1980 to 1989
    1,444
  • 1990 to 1999
    1,799
  • 2000 to 2009
    2,468
  • 2010 to 2013
    1,950
  • 2014 or later
    35

Vehicles per Household

The number of vehicles available per household can be a good indicator of the level of affluence in an area. The chart below shows the number of households in Brookings County that have a particular number of vehicles available.

  • No vehicles available
    710
  • 1 vehicle available
    3,996
  • 2 vehicles available
    4,795
  • 3 or more vehicles available
    3,732

Commuting to Work

In this section, we can also look at how people in Brookings County get to work. The chart below shows the number of people in Brookings County that commute to work in a particular way.

14.6 minutes is the average travel time to work for people in Brookings County.

These commute times can be compared to other date like income and educational levels to see how they relate to each other and if there are any trends in the data that might suggest a correlation.

  • Less than 5 minutes
    1,357
  • 5 to 9 minutes
    4,298
  • 10 to 14 minutes
    4,648
  • 15 to 19 minutes
    2,769
  • 20 to 24 minutes
    1,565
  • 25 to 29 minutes
    576
  • 30 to 34 minutes
    615
  • 35 to 39 minutes
    69
  • 40 to 44 minutes
    224
  • 45 to 59 minutes
    423
  • 60 to 89 minutes
    308
  • 90 or more minutes
    111

Summary

We've covered a LOT of demographic and population data for Brookings County, South Dakota in this article! Hopefully you have found it very useful in your research of the area.

If you use any of the data found on this page, please consider linking back to USPopulation.org as the source and if you have any feedback or data requests, click here to contact us.

Places in Brookings County, South Dakota

We have data for 25 places in Brookings County, South Dakota. Click on a place below to see more information about the demographics of that place.