Miller is a city in and

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 ...

Hand County, South Dakota Hand County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,145. Its county seat is Miller. History Hand County was named for George A. Hand, territorial secretary. It was created in 1873 by the Da ...

, United States. The population was 1,349 at the 2020 census.

History

The city was named for its founder,

Henry Miller Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, so ...

. The post office has been in operation since 1881.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , all land. Miller has been assigned the ZIP code 57362.

Climate

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 1,489 people, 724 households, and 396 families living in the city. 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 839 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.8%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.2%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.5% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.6% of the population. There were 724 households, of which 20.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.1% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 1.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 45.3% were non-families. 43.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 25.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.97 and the average family size was 2.70. The median age in the city was 51.2 years. 18.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 4.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 17.8% were from 25 to 44; 25.5% were from 45 to 64; and 33.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 45.9% male and 54.1% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 1,530 people, 720 households, and 406 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 845 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 99.15%

, 0.07%

, 0.13% Native American, 0.07% Asian, 0.20% from other races, and 0.39% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.26% of the population. There were 720 households, out of which 21.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.6% were

living together, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.5% were non-families. 41.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 26.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.03 and the average family size was 2.77. In the city, the population was spread out, with 19.1% under the age of 18, 4.4% from 18 to 24, 21.1% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 33.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 49 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.9 males. As of 2000 the median income for a household in the city was $28,929, and the median income for a family was $39,293. Males had a median income of $25,962 versus $17,216 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $18,401. About 4.2% of families and 9.5% 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 8.2% of those under age 18 and 12.2% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* Harlan J. Bushfield, U.S. Senator and Governor of

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 ...

* Vera C. Bushfield, interim U.S. Senator, wife of Harlan Bushfield * Neil Fulton, Dean of

University of South Dakota School of Law The University of South Dakota School of Law also known as University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law or USD Law in Vermillion, South Dakota, United States, is a professional school of the University of South Dakota and the only law school ...

* Dale Hargens, member of the

South Dakota House of Representatives The South Dakota House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Dakota Legislature. It consists of 70 members, two from each legislative district. Two of the state's 35 legislative districts, Districts 26 and 28, are each subdivided ...

* John B. Heilman, member of the South Dakota House of Representatives * Frank Henderson, justice of the South Dakota Supreme Court * James Jones, member of the South Dakota House of Representatives * John L. Pyle, Attorney General of South Dakota

Popular culture

Miller was the focal point of a 2002 episode of ''

This American Life ''This American Life'' is a weekly hour-long American radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internationally, and is ...

'' discussing a racial incident that occurred in the town.

References

External links

*
Miller, South Dakota
{{Authority control Cities in South Dakota Cities in Hand County, South Dakota County seats in South Dakota