Buffalo 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 1,948. 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 Gann Valley which, at 10 people, is the least populous county seat in the United States. The county was created in 1864, and was organized in 1871 as part of the

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of ...

. In 2010, the

center of population In Demography, demographics, the center of population (or population center) of a region is a geographical point that describes a centerpoint of the region's population. There are several ways of defining such a "center point", leading to dif ...

of South Dakota was located in eastern Buffalo County. The Crow Creek Indian Reservation, inhabited by the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe, makes up the majority of Buffalo County. According to the 2013 Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates of the U.S. Census Bureau, about 41% of county residents live in

poverty Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...

, making it the fifth-poorest county in South Dakota. This is a far higher poverty rate than the national poverty rate of 15.8%.

Median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of und ...

in 2013 was $21,572, making it the lowest-earning county in South Dakota and the United States. In March 2019, the county unemployment rate was 3.9%; its ten-year peaks occurred in December 2006 (18.1%) and December 2009 (17.2%).

Geography

The

Missouri River The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...

flows southerly along the county's western boundary. The county terrain consists of semi-arid rolling hills, generally sloping to the south and east. Some area is devoted to agriculture. The south and west parts of the county are drained by Crow Creek, which discharges into the river at the county's SW corner. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (3.4%) is water.

Major highways

* South Dakota Highway 34 * South Dakota Highway 45 * South Dakota Highway 47 *

South Dakota Highway 50 South Dakota Highway 50 (SD 50) is a state route serving south central and southeast South Dakota. The current alignment begins at the junction of South Dakota Highway 34 at "Lee's Corner" east of Fort Thompson, and ends at the Iowa border ...

Adjacent counties

Hand A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered appendage located at the end of the forearm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs. A few other vertebrates such as the Koala#Characteristics, koala (which has two thumb#O ...

– northeast * Jerauld – east * Brule – south * Lyman – west * Hyde – northwest

Protected Areas

* Pease State Game Production Area

Lakes

* Bedashosha Lake * Lake Francis Case (part) * Lake Sharpe (part)

History

As first organized, the county occupied an extensive area, bounded on the north by Canada, southwest and west by the Missouri River, having

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

for a part of its northwest boundary, and comprising a large portion of the "Plateau du Coteau du Missouri", and a part of the Miniwakan or Devil's Lake. Thus, its original boundary also contained a portion of the future

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

, which became a separate unit when the

was admitted into the Union in 1889 as two separate states.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 1,948 people, 497 households, and 393 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 570 housing units.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 1,912 people, 532 households, and 407 families in the county. The population density was . There were 609 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 84.0% Native American, 14.8% white, 0.2% black or African American, 0.1% Asian, 0.0% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.8% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 5.6% 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 ...

, and 0.0% were American. Of the 532 households, 55.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.1% were married couples living together, 33.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 23.5% were non-families, and 19.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 3.59 and the average family size was 4.06. The median age was 25.0 years. The median income for a household in the county was $27,926 and the median income for a family was $28,333. Males had a median income of $38,920 versus $18,542 for females. The per capita income for the county was $11,410. About 44.4% of families and 49.3% 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 58.2% of those under age 18 and 36.3% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Census-designated places

* Gann Valley (county seat) * Fort Thompson

Unincorporated communities

* Crow Creek * North Buffalo * Shelby * Southeast Buffalo

Township

* Elvira

Politics

Democratic Party nominees have won Buffalo County in every presidential election since 1956 except the

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

and 1984 elections, which

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

won. However, many people in Buffalo County are also

socially conservative Social conservatism is a political philosophy and a variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional social structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social institu ...

, with this county being the only one in the state to both vote for

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 ...

for president and vote against 2024 South Dakota Amendment G, which would have established a right to abortion in South Dakota's constitution.https://electionresults.sd.gov/resultsSW.aspx?type=BQ&map=CTY

References

{{authority control South Dakota counties on the Missouri River 1871 establishments in Dakota Territory Populated places established in 1871