McCook County, South Dakota Population and Demographics

In this article, we'll explore the population statistics for McCook 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 McCook County, South Dakota. The most basic data is the total population, which is the total number of people living in McCook County, South Dakota. The estimated population of McCook County, South Dakota is 5,676 people, with a median age of 39.3.

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

Year Population Change 5-Year Change
2021
5,676
+2.4%
+2.92%
2020
5,543
 -0.09% -
2019
5,548
+0.67%
-
2018
5,511
 -0.07% -
2017
5,515
 - -

Population of McCook 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
93%
94.6%
 -1.69%
Black/African American
0.2%
0.8%
 -75.00%
Native
0.3%
0.5%
 -40.00%
Hispanic
4.1%
3.2%
 +28.13%
Asian
0%
0%
 0.00%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
0%
0%
 0.00%
Two Or More Races
2.3%
0.9%
 +155.56%
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 McCook 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 39.3 -0.25% 38.4 -0.52% 40.8 +0.49%
2020 39.4 +0.25% 38.6 -0.77% 40.6 +0.74%
2019 39.3 -1.75% 38.9 -0.26% 40.3 -1.71%
2018 40 -1.72% 39 -1.52% 41 -1.68%
2017 40.7 - 39.6 - 41.7 -

The median age of McCook 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 9 469 +1.12% 383 +5.58% 472 402
10 to 19 357 +19.57% 394 -0.57% 422 390
20 to 29 287 +1.4% 236 +6.4% 290 251
30 to 39 291 +14.92% 309 -0.36% 336 307
40 to 49 332 +12.79% 287 +13.19% 374 326
50 to 59 398 -15.22% 349 -4.77% 340 332
60 to 69 366 +8.77% 368 -18.62% 398 303
70+ 284 +5.78% 405 +7.11% 299 434

Median Household Income

The latest median household income of McCook County, South Dakota is $72,063.00.

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 McCook County.

  • Under 25
    $63,190.00
  • 25 to 44
    $90,506.00
  • 45 to 64
    $73,500.00
  • 65 and over
    $54,306.00

Average Household Income

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

This is calculated by adding up all the incomes of all the households in McCook 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 McCook County, South Dakota is currently $84,409.00.

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.

6.57% of households in McCook 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 McCook County against other areas.

  • Less than $24,999
    10.80%
  • $25,000 to $49,999
    17.65%
  • $50,000 to $74,999
    23.58%
  • $75,000 to $99,999
    20.27%
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    15.81%
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    5.33%
  • $200,000 or more
    6.57%

Per Capita Income

The per capita income in McCook County is $31,389.00.

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

This is different from the average or mean income because it includes and accounts for all people in McCook 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 McCook 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
    10.41%
  • Bachelor's degree
    27.22%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    9.96%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    50.75%
  • Less than high school diploma
    1.66%

Employment

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

The total population of McCook County over the age of 16 is 4,236.

Of those people, a total of 70.20% 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 McCook County is 68.00%.

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 246 59.30% 11.60%
20 to 24 years 284 95.40% 3.00%
25 to 29 years 257 93.80% 0.80%
30 to 34 years 309 93.20% 3.50%
35 to 44 years 707 87.70% 1.30%
45 to 54 years 638 85.10% 1.50%
55 to 59 years 361 80.10% 2.10%
60 to 64 years 397 78.10% 6.10%
65 to 74 years 559 37.20% 3.40%
75 years and over 478 11.90% 0.00%

Employment by Race

Another very interesting employment statistic we can look at is the employment and unemployment rates by race in McCook 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 4,068 69.70% 3.00%
Black or African American 9 0.00% 0.00%
American Indian and Alaska Native 17 70.60% 0.00%
Asian 0 0.00% 0.00%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0 0.00% 0.00%
Other 68 97.10% 0.00%
Two or more races 74 79.70% 0.00%
Hispanic or Latino 165 82.40% 0.00%
Not Hispanic or Latino 3,978 69.60% 3.10%

Occupations

In this section we can look at the most common occupations in McCook 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 McCook County is 2,882, with median earnings of $41,845.00.

Women in McCook County, South Dakota earning approximately 76.50% of the men's earnings.

Population Earnings
Total 2,882 $41,845.00
Male 1,586 $46,616.00
Female 1,296 $35,638.00

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 492 $52,083.00
Business and Financial 132 $49,786.00
Computer and Mathematical 48 $60,000.00
Architecture and Engineering 19 $104,063.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 8 $0.00
Community and Social Service 43 $30,625.00
Legal 9 $88,125.00
Educational and Library 128 $46,000.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 19 $67,083.00
Healthcare Practitioners 189 $37,325.00
Healthcare Support 111 $26,205.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 26 $78,523.00
Law Enforcement 32 $53,125.00
Food Preparation and Serving 129 $9,861.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 68 $30,682.00
Personal Care and Service 107 $16,042.00
Sales 282 $44,211.00
Office and Administrative Support 322 $37,045.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 164 $34,167.00
Construction and Extraction 177 $38,875.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 109 $47,050.00
Production 80 $46,250.00
Transportation and Material Moving 141 $60,438.00

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 350 $52,222.00 142 $48,333.00
Business and Financial 36 $68,594.00 96 $48,929.00
Computer and Mathematical 34 $62,500.00 14 $46,250.00
Architecture and Engineering 19 $104,063.00 0 $0.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 0 $0.00 8 $0.00
Community and Social Service 30 $22,333.00 13 $31,875.00
Legal 2 $0.00 7 $0.00
Educational and Library 27 $47,639.00 101 $45,417.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 6 $0.00 13 $66,250.00
Healthcare Practitioners 30 $56,071.00 159 $37,175.00
Healthcare Support 33 $22,063.00 78 $26,518.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 26 $78,523.00 0 $0.00
Law Enforcement 20 $44,583.00 12 $0.00
Food Preparation and Serving 48 $23,167.00 81 $8,472.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 29 $32,159.00 39 $18,036.00
Personal Care and Service 9 $60,250.00 98 $12,000.00
Sales 197 $51,083.00 85 $31,726.00
Office and Administrative Support 43 $41,250.00 279 $36,648.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 148 $33,654.00 16 $0.00
Construction and Extraction 159 $42,656.00 18 $18,333.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 105 $46,850.00 4 $0.00
Production 68 $53,571.00 12 $17,500.00
Transportation and Material Moving 130 $56,875.00 11 $237,708.00

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 2,176 households in McCook County, with an average household size of 2.5 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 1,510 families in McCook County with an average family size of 3.04 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 1,310 96 104 666
Average Household Size 3.13 2.49 2.91 1.2
Total Families 1,310 96 104 0
Average Household Size 3.11 2.31 2.83 0

Poverty

Of the 1,510 families in McCook County, 5.20% are considered to be below the poverty threshold.

The table below shows the latest poverty thresholds in McCook 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 2,456 housing units in McCook County, South Dakota.

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

Total Percentage
Occupied 2,176 88.60%
Vacant 280 11.40%

12.13% of the total 2,456 housing units in McCook County are rental units. This is approximately 298 properties.

For owner-occupied housing units, a total of 1,760 are occupied by the owner - or 71.66% of the total.

Rental Rates

The median rent for a property in McCook County is $644.00.

In the chart below, we can look at the number of rental properties in McCook 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
    118
  • Less than $500
    71
  • $500 to $999
    167
  • $1,000 to $1,499
    50
  • $1,500 to $1,999
    7
  • $2,000 to $2,499
    0
  • $2,500 to $2,999
    3
  • $3,000 or more
    0

Property Value

The median value of a property in McCook County is $163,900.00.

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

  • Less than $50,000
    241
  • $50,000 to $99,999
    289
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    231
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    279
  • $200,000 to $299,999
    327
  • $300,000 to $499,999
    244
  • $500,000 to $999,999
    139
  • $1,000,000 or more
    10

Property Age

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

  • 1939 or earlier
    800
  • 1940 to 1949
    110
  • 1950 to 1959
    221
  • 1960 to 1969
    191
  • 1970 to 1979
    257
  • 1980 to 1989
    198
  • 1990 to 1999
    306
  • 2000 to 2009
    255
  • 2010 to 2013
    118
  • 2014 or later
    0

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 McCook County that have a particular number of vehicles available.

  • No vehicles available
    32
  • 1 vehicle available
    341
  • 2 vehicles available
    633
  • 3 or more vehicles available
    1,170

Commuting to Work

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

26.2 minutes is the average travel time to work for people in McCook 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
    406
  • 5 to 9 minutes
    295
  • 10 to 14 minutes
    280
  • 15 to 19 minutes
    211
  • 20 to 24 minutes
    148
  • 25 to 29 minutes
    80
  • 30 to 34 minutes
    238
  • 35 to 39 minutes
    137
  • 40 to 44 minutes
    242
  • 45 to 59 minutes
    389
  • 60 to 89 minutes
    150
  • 90 or more minutes
    38

Summary

We've covered a LOT of demographic and population data for McCook 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 McCook County, South Dakota

We have data for 15 places in McCook County, South Dakota. Click on a place below to see more information about the demographics of that place.