Edmunds County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

. At the 2020 census, the population was 3,986. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

. The county was established in 1873 and organized in 1883. It is named for Newton Edmunds, the 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 ASL. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.2%) is water.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 12 * South Dakota Highway 45 * South Dakota Highway 47 * South Dakota Highway 247 * South Dakota Highway 253

Adjacent counties

* McPherson County - north * Brown County - east * Faulk County - south * Potter County - southwest * Walworth County - west

Protected areas

* Bowdle-Hosmer State Game Production Area * Heilman State Game Production Area * Hosmer State Game Production Area * Light State Game Production Area * Losee State Game Production Area * Mina Lake State Recreation Area * Mina State Game Production Area * North Scatterwood State Game Production Area * Rosette State Game Production Area * Schaber State Game Production Area * Shaner State Game Production Area * Steigelmier State Game Production Area

Lakes

* Alkali Lake * Bowdle-Hosmer Lake * Grass Lake * Lake Parmley * North Scatterwood Lake (partial)

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 3,986 people, 1,546 households, and 1,052 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 1,940 housing units.

2010 census

As of 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 make-up 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 German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, 11.4% were Norwegian, 10.1% were

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

, 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 The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, 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 the PGA golfer

Payne Stewart William Payne Stewart (January 30, 1957 – October 25, 1999) was an American professional golfer who won 11 PGA Tour events, including three major championships, the last of which came just a few months before his death in an airplane acciden ...

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

* Bowdle * Hosmer *

(county seat) * Roscoe

Census-designated places

* Deerfield Colony * Mina * Pembrook Colony * Plainview Colony

Unincorporated communities

* Beebe * Craven * Gretna * Loyalton * Powell

Townships

Adrian Adrian is a form of the Latin given name Adrianus or Hadrianus. Its ultimate origin is most likely via the former river Adria from the Venetic and Illyrian word ''adur'', meaning "sea" or "water". The Adria was until the 8th century BC the ma ...

* Belle * Bowdle * Bryant * Clear Lake *

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

* Cloyd * Cordlandt * Cottonwood Lake *

Fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" ( genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were o ...

* Glen * Glover *

Harmony In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...

* Hillside * Hosmer *

Hudson Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudson Rodrigues dos Santos, Brazilian f ...

* Huntley *

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

* Madison *

Modena Modena (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025. A town, and seat of an archbis ...

* Montpelier * North Bryant *

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

* Pembrook * Powell * Richland * Rosette * Sangamon * Union *

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

Politics

Edmunds County voters have long been reliably Republican. Since 1936, in only three elections has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate. Although it was one of only 129 counties nationwide to back

George McGovern George Stanley McGovern (July 19, 1922 – October 21, 2012) was an American politician, diplomat, and historian who was a U.S. representative and three-term U.S. senator from South Dakota, and the Democratic Party (United States), Democ ...

in his landslide 1972 defeat, it has voted for fewer Democratic presidential nominees (six) than any other county McGovern carried, with

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

in 1976 the last Democrat to carry the county and

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...

not passing twenty percent in 2024.

Education

School districts include:
Text list
/ref> * Bowdle School District 22-1 * Faulkton School District 24-4 * Edmunds Central School District 22-5 * Hoven School District 53-2 * Ipswich School District 22-6 * Northwestern Area School District 56-7 * Warner School District 06-5

References

{{authority control Aberdeen, South Dakota micropolitan area 1883 establishments in Dakota Territory Populated places established in 1883