Potter 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 2,472. 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 Gettysburg. The county was created in 1873 and organized in 1883.

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 southward along the west boundary line of Potter County. The county terrain consists of rolling hills, mostly devoted to agriculture. The county generally slopes to the south, although the western portion slopes into the river valley. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (4.2%) is water. The eastern portion of South Dakota's counties (48 of 66) observe Central Time; the western counties (18 of 66) observe Mountain Time. Potter County is the westernmost of the SD counties to observe Central Time.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 83 * U.S. Highway 212 * South Dakota Highway 20 * South Dakota Highway 47 * South Dakota Highway 1804

Adjacent counties

* Walworth County - north * Edmunds County - northeast * Faulk County - east * Hyde County - southeast * Sully County - south * Dewey County - west (observes Mountain Time)

Protected areas

Source: * Dodge Draw State Game Production Area * Dodge Draw State Lakeside Use Area * East Whitlock State Lakeside Use Area * Forest City State Game Production Area * Green Lake State Game Production Area * Potts Dam State Game Production Area * Siebrasse State Game Production Area * West Whitlock State Recreation Area * Whitlocks Bay State Game Production Area

Lakes

Source: * Green Lake * Lake Hurley * Lake Oahe (part)

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 2,472 people, 1,127 households, and 753 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 1,569 housing units.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 2,329 people, 1,062 households, and 648 families in the county. The population density was . There were 1,500 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.6% white, 0.9% American Indian, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% black or African American, 0.2% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.7% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 65.3% 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 ...

, 11.1% were Irish, 8.2% were Norwegian, 8.0% were English, and 3.9% were American. Of the 1,062 households, 21.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.0% were married couples living together, 4.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 39.0% were non-families, and 35.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.76. The median age was 50.6 years. The median income for a household in the county was $42,422 and the median income for a family was $53,214. Males had a median income of $33,750 versus $29,792 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,986. About 5.4% of families and 10.0% 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 11.7% of those under age 18 and 10.8% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

City

* Gettysburg (county seat)

Towns

* Hoven *

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using pre-reform Russian orthography. ; ), usually referr ...

Unincorporated area

* Forest City

Unorganized territories

The county has no organized townships. It is divided into three areas of unorganized territory: West Potter, Central Potter, and East Potter.

Politics

Like most of South Dakota outside of Native American counties, Potter County has been predominantly Republican throughout most of the state's history. Only three Democrats –

William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator, and politician. He was a dominant force in the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, running three times as the party' ...

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

and

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after assassination of John F. Kennedy, the assassination of John F. Ken ...

– have carried the county as of 2024, and since

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 no Democrat has passed forty percent of the county's vote.

References

{{authority control 1883 establishments in Dakota Territory Populated places established in 1883