Edmunds County, South Dakota


Edmunds County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 4,071. Its county seat is Ipswich. The county was established in 1873 and organized in 1883. It is named for Newton Edmunds, second Governor of Dakota Territory.
Edmunds County is part of the Aberdeen, SD Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

The terrain of Edmunds County consists of rolling hills, mostly dedicated to agriculture. The terrain's highest point is on the west portion of the north boundary line, at 1,978' ASL. The county has a total area of, of which is land and is water.

Major highways

2000 census

In the 2000 census, there were 4,367 people, 1,681 households and 1,210 families in the county. The population density was 4 per square mile. There were 2,022 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 99.20% White, 0.07% Black or African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.09% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.05% from other races, and 0.32% from two or more races. 0.48% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 69.4% were of German and 6.2% Norwegian ancestry.
There were 1,681 households of which 31.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.90% were married couples living together, 4.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.00% were non-families. 25.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.04.
The county population contained 26.70% of the population under the age of 18, 5.10% from 18 to 24, 23.30% from 25 to 44, 22.70% from 45 to 64, and 22.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.30 males.
The median household income was $32,205 and the median family income was $37,174. Males had a median income of $26,609 and females $18,080. The per capita income was $16,149. About 10.40% of families and 13.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.80% of those under age 18 and 14.00% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

At the 2010 census, there were 4,071 people, 1,607 households and 1,057 families residing in the county. The population density was. There were 1,966 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 97.8% white, 0.4% American Indian, 0.1% black or African American, 0.1% Asian, 0.5% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.4% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 70.8% were German, 11.4% were Norwegian, 10.1% were Russian, 5.9% were English and 2.4% were American.
Of the 1,607 households, 26.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.9% were married couples living together, 4.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.2% were non-families, and 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.84. The median age was 45.7 years.
The median household income was $47,026 and the median family income was $56,599. Males had a median income of $37,713 and females $26,287. The per capita income was $24,268. About 6.9% of families and 11.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.0% of those under age 18 and 13.6% of those age 65 or over.

Notable events

Edmunds County is where the Learjet of PGA golfer Payne Stewart crashed, killing him and five others on board. The plane crashed just south of the community of Mina at the approximate coordinates of 45°25' N 98°45' W.

Communities

Cities

Edmunds County voters have long been reliably Republican. Since 1936, in only three elections has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate.