Jackson 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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,806. 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 ...

is Kadoka. The county was created in 1883, and was organized in 1915. Washabaugh County was merged into Jackson County in 1983.

Geography

The terrain of Jackson County consists of mountains rising from rolling hills. The ground is arid and carved with drainages. The White River flows eastward, cutting a meandering channel through the central part. The terrain generally slopes to the NE; its highest point is a ridge near the SW corner, at ASL. Jackson County has a total area of , of which is land and (0.4%) is water. About 57 percent of its land, the portion south of White River, is on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The county includes the easternmost portion of Badlands National Park. South Dakota's eastern counties (48 of 66) observe Central Time; the western counties (18 of 66) observe Mountain Time. Jackson County is the easternmost of the state's counties to observe Mountain Time.

Major highways

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...

* U.S. Highway 14 * South Dakota Highway 44 * South Dakota Highway 63 * South Dakota Highway 73 * South Dakota Highway 377

Adjacent counties

* Haakon County - north * Jones County - northeast (observes Central Time) * Mellette County - east (observes Central Time) * Todd County - southeast (observes Central Time) * Bennett County - south * Oglala Lakota County - southwest * Pennington County - northwest

Lakes

Source: * Kadoka Lake * Wanblee Lake

National protected areas

* Badlands National Park (part) *

Buffalo Gap National Grassland Buffalo Gap National Grassland is a National Grassland located primarily in southwestern South Dakota, United States. It is also the second largest National Grassland, after Little Missouri National Grassland in North Dakota. Characteristics o ...

(part) * Minuteman Missile National Historic Site (part)

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 2,806 people, 887 households, and 637 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 1,064 housing units.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 3,031 people, 996 households, and 703 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 1,193 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 52.0% American Indian, 42.7% white, 0.2% black or African American, 0.2% from other races, and 4.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.3% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 20.7% 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 ...

, 12.3% were Irish, 10.1% were Norwegian, 5.7% were English, and 0.2% were American. Of the 996 households, 40.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.8% were married couples living together, 16.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 29.4% were non-families, and 26.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 3.00 and the average family size was 3.65. The median age was 31.5 years. The median income for a household in the county was $36,354 and the median income for a family was $41,838. Males had a median income of $32,377 versus $25,000 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,568. About 20.6% of families and 30.0% 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 35.9% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

City

* Kadoka (county seat) (Pop:543)

Towns

* Belvidere (Population:46) * Cottonwood (Population:12) * Interior (Population:65)

Census-designated place

* Wanblee (Population:674)

Unincorporated communities

Source: * Cactus Flat * Hisle * Long Valley * Potato Creek * Stamford * Weta

Townships

* Grandview II * Interior * Jewett * Wall * Weta

Unorganized territories

* East Jackson * Northwest Jackson * Southeast Jackson * Southwest Jackson

Politics

Jackson County voters have been reliably Republican for decades. In only one national election since 1936 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate.

References

{{Coord, 43.70, -101.64, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-SD_source:UScensus1990 1915 establishments in South Dakota Populated places established in 1915