Pennington County, South Dakota

Pennington County, South Dakota
Pennington County Court House.
Location in the U.S. state of South Dakota
South Dakota's location in the U.S.
Founded	1877
Named for	John L. Pennington
Seat	Rapid City
Largest city	Rapid City
Area
• Total	2,784 sq mi (7,211 km2)
• Land	2,777 sq mi (7,192 km2)
• Water	7.7 sq mi (20 km2), 0.3%
Population (est.)
• (2017)	110,141
• Density	40/sq mi (20/km2)
Congressional district	At-large
Time zone	Mountain: UTC−7/−6
Website	www.co.pennington.sd.us

Pennington County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2010 census, the population was 100,948,^[1] making it the second-most populous county in South Dakota. Its county seat is Rapid City.^[2] The county was created in 1875 and organized in 1877.^[3] It is named for John L. Pennington, fifth Governor of Dakota Territory, who held office in 1875 when the county was formed.^[4]

Pennington County is included in the Rapid City, SD Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is also the location of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial.

Contents

• 
  1 Geography
  
  
  
  • 
    1.1 Major highways
    
  
  
  • 
    1.2 Adjacent counties
    
  
  
  • 
    1.3 National protected areas
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  2 Demographics
  
  
  
  • 
    2.1 2000 census
    
  
  
  • 
    2.2 2010 census
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  3 Search and rescue
  


• 
  4 Communities
  
  
  
  • 
    4.1 Cities
    
  
  
  • 
    4.2 Towns
    
  
  
  • 
    4.3 Census-designated places
    
  
  
  • 
    4.4 Other unincorporated communities
    
  
  
  • 
    4.5 Ghost towns
    
  
  
  • 
    4.6 Townships
    
  
  
  • 
    4.7 Unorganized territories
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  5 Politics
  


• 
  6 See also
  


• 
  7 References
  


• 
  8 External links
  

Geography

Extinct Mesohippus horse, found in Pennington County, on display at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,784 square miles (7,210 km²), of which 2,777 square miles (7,190 km²) is land and 7.7 square miles (20 km²) (0.3%) is water.^[5] It is the third-largest county in South Dakota by area. Mount Rushmore National Memorial lies in the county. Black Elk Peak, South Dakota's highest mountain, is located in the county. At 7,242 feet (2,208 m) it is the highest natural point between the Rocky Mountains and the French Alps. Part of Badlands National Park lies within the county. The park also extends into neighboring Oglala Lakota and Jackson counties.

Major highways

• 
  Interstate 90
  


• 
  U.S. Highway 14
  


• 
  U.S. Highway 16
  


• 
  U.S. Highway 16A
  


• 
  U.S. Highway 385
  


• 
  South Dakota Highway 40
  


• 
  South Dakota Highway 44
  


• 
  South Dakota Highway 240
  


• 
  South Dakota Highway 244
  

Adjacent counties

• 
  Meade County, South Dakota – north


• 
  Haakon County, South Dakota – northeast


• 
  Jackson County, South Dakota – southeast


• 
  Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota – south


• 
  Custer County, South Dakota – southwest


• 
  Weston County, Wyoming – west


• 
  Lawrence County, South Dakota – northwest

National protected areas

• 
  Badlands National Park (part)
  
  • Badlands Wilderness
  
  


• 
  Black Hills National Forest (part)
  
  • 
    Black Elk Wilderness (part)
  
  


• 
  Buffalo Gap National Grassland (part)


• 
  Minuteman Missile National Historic Site (part)


• Mount Rushmore National Memorial

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1880	2,244		—
1890	6,540		191.4%
1900	5,610		−14.2%
1910	12,453		122.0%
1920	12,720		2.1%
1930	20,079		57.9%
1940	23,799		18.5%
1950	34,053		43.1%
1960	58,195		70.9%
1970	59,349		2.0%
1980	70,361		18.6%
1990	81,343		15.6%
2000	88,565		8.9%
2010	100,948		14.0%
Est. 2017	110,141	[6]	9.1%
U.S. Decennial Census[7] 1790-1960[8] 1900-1990[9] 1990-2000[10] 2010-2016[1]

2000 census

As of the census^[11] of 2000, there were 88,565 people, 34,641 households, and 23,278 families residing in the county. The population density was 32 people per square mile (12/km²). There were 37,249 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile (5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 86.70% White, 0.85% Black or African American, 8.09% Native American, 0.88% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.68%% from other races, and 2.74% from two or more races. 2.64% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 34,641 households out of which 33.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.30% were married couples living together, 11.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.80% were non-families. 26.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the county, the population was spread out with 26.60% under the age of 18, 10.50% from 18 to 24, 29.20% from 25 to 44, 21.90% from 45 to 64, and 11.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,485, and the median income for a family was $44,796. Males had a median income of $30,608 versus $21,540 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,938. About 8.60% of families and 11.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.60% of those under age 18 and 6.50% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 100,948 people, 41,251 households, and 26,323 families residing in the county.^[12] The population density was 36.4 inhabitants per square mile (14.1/km²). There were 44,949 housing units at an average density of 16.2 per square mile (6.3/km²).^[13] The racial makeup of the county was 83.6% white, 9.7% American Indian, 1.0% black or African American, 1.0% Asian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 0.8% from other races, and 3.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 4.0% of the population.^[12] In terms of ancestry, 38.0% were German, 14.3% were Irish, 11.0% were Norwegian, 10.2% were English, and 3.6% were American.^[14]

Of the 41,251 households, 31.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.1% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 36.2% were non-families, and 29.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.93. The median age was 36.8 years.^[12]

The median income for a household in the county was $46,849 and the median income for a family was $57,278. Males had a median income of $38,626 versus $30,251 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,894. About 9.4% of families and 14.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.7% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.^[15]

Search and rescue

The Pennington County Search and Rescue (PCSAR) team is a volunteer search and rescue (SAR) team based in Rapid City, South Dakota. The team was established in October 1973, prompted by a 1972 flood in Rapid City. PCSAR trains for and performs vehicle extrication, vertical rescue, searches, communication support, Fire Department and dive team air supply support, trench rescue, mass casualty support, and emergency winter weather transportation.

Communities

Cities

• Box Elder


• Hill City


• New Underwood


• 
  Rapid City (county seat)

Towns

• Keystone


• Quinn


• Wall


• Wasta

Census-designated places

• Ashland Heights


• Caputa


• Colonial Pine Hills


• Green Valley


• Johnson Siding


• Rapid Valley

Other unincorporated communities

• Ajax


• Creighton


• Ellsworth AFB


• Owanka


• Rochford


• Rockerville


• Scenic


• Silver City


• Three Forks


• Wicksville

Ghost towns

• Addie Camp


• Conata


• Creighton


• Etta


• Moon


• Myers City


• Pactola


• Pedro


• Sheridan


• Teddy Bear


• Tigerville

Townships

The county is divided into 20 townships:

• Ash


• Castle Butte


• Cedar Butte


• Conata


• Crooked Creek


• Fairview


• Flat Butte


• Huron


• Imlay


• Lake Creek


• Lake Flat


• Lake Hill


• Owanka


• Peno


• Quinn


• Rainy Creek/Cheyenne


• Scenic


• Shyne


• Sunnyside


• Wasta

Unorganized territories

The county contains seven areas of unorganized territory:

• Central Pennington


• Dalzell Canyon


• East Central Pennington


• Mount Rushmore


• Northeast Pennington


• Rapid City East


• West Pennington

Politics

Presidential elections results

Presidential elections results^[16]

Year	Republican	Democratic	Third parties
2016	62.4% 29,804	29.5% 14,074	8.1% 3,865
2012	63.5% 28,232	34.0% 15,125	2.5% 1,107
2008	59.6% 27,603	38.5% 17,802	1.9% 875
2004	66.7% 29,976	31.6% 14,213	1.7% 779
2000	67.6% 24,696	30.4% 11,123	2.0% 738
1996	54.3% 19,293	36.0% 12,784	9.7% 3,439
1992	47.9% 18,052	29.5% 11,106	22.6% 8,511
1988	61.4% 19,510	38.0% 12,068	0.6% 179
1984	72.2% 21,947	27.1% 8,224	0.7% 218
1980	67.3% 18,991	25.3% 7,121	7.4% 2,092
1976	56.3% 13,352	42.4% 10,058	1.2% 289
1972	61.2% 13,654	38.5% 8,592	0.4% 80
1968	53.3% 9,671	40.2% 7,303	6.5% 1,174
1964	47.5% 8,926	52.5% 9,881
1960	60.3% 11,364	39.7% 7,478
1956	67.3% 10,955	32.7% 5,332
1952	71.2% 11,029	28.8% 4,470
1948	56.0% 6,392	43.2% 4,929	0.8% 92
1944	59.9% 5,246	40.1% 3,517
1940	57.5% 6,603	42.5% 4,878
1936	42.6% 4,442	53.3% 5,557	4.1% 429
1932	41.0% 3,638	58.3% 5,178	0.7% 59
1928	67.0% 4,645	32.7% 2,266	0.4% 25
1924	63.6% 3,201	17.0% 854	19.5% 980
1920	64.2% 2,568	30.1% 1,205	5.6% 225
1916	42.7% 1,108	51.6% 1,339	5.6% 146
1912	0.0% 0	48.2% 1,135	51.8% 1,222
1908	57.4% 1,702	39.1% 1,160	3.5% 104
1904	69.0% 1,126	24.0% 392	7.0% 114
1900	52.9% 898	46.2% 784	0.9% 15
1896	41.4% 739	58.2% 1,038	0.5% 8
1892	50.7% 959	7.8% 147	41.6% 787

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Pennington County, South Dakota

References

1. 
   ^ ^ab "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved November 28, 2013..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
   


2. 
   ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
   


3. 
   ^ "Dakota Territory, South Dakota, and North Dakota: Individual County Chronologies". Dakota Territory Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. 2006. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
   


4. 
   ^ "Pennington County, SD History" Archived 2013-10-22 at the Wayback Machine.. Pennington County official website. Retrieved 2011-01-08.
   


5. 
   ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
   


6. 
   ^ "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved April 16, 2018.
   


7. 
   ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
   


8. 
   ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
   


9. 
   ^ Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
   


10. 
    ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
    


11. 
    ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
    


12. 
    ^ ^abc "DP-1 Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2016-03-12.
    


13. 
    ^ "Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2016-03-12.
    


14. 
    ^ "DP02 SELECTED SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS IN THE UNITED STATES – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2016-03-12.
    


15. 
    ^ "DP03 SELECTED ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2016-03-12.
    


16. 
    ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
    

External links

• Pennington County, SD government website


• 
  Badlands Visitor Information Badlands Visitor Information and Recommendations

Places adjacent to Pennington County, South Dakota
Lawrence County Meade County Haakon County Weston County, Wyoming Pennington County, South Dakota Custer County Oglala Lakota County Jackson County

v t e Municipalities and communities of Pennington County, South Dakota, United States
County seat: Rapid City
Cities	Box Elder‡ Hill City New Underwood Rapid City
Towns	Keystone Quinn Wall Wasta
CDPs	Ashland Heights Colonial Pine Hills Green Valley Johnson Siding Rapid Valley
Former CDP	Ellsworth AFB‡
Unincorporated communities	Ajax Caputa Creston Deerfield Farmingdale Hisega Imlay Mystic Owanka Rochford Rockerville Scenic Silver City Three Forks
Ghost towns	Addie Camp Conata Creighton Etta Moon Myers City Pactola Pedro Sheridan Teddy Bear Tigerville
Footnotes	‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

v t e  State of South Dakota
Pierre (capital)
Topics	Bibliography Cities Delegations Famous South Dakotans Geography Government History Timeline Towns & Villages Townships Transportation State Parks Symbols Universities Tourist attractions	Seal of South Dakota
Society	Culture Crime Demographics Economy Education Politics
Regions	Badlands Black Hills Coteau des Prairies Coteau du Missouri Dissected Till Plains Drift Prairie East River Pine Ridge Siouxland West River
Larger cities pop. over 5,000	Aberdeen Belle Fourche Box Elder Brandon Brookings Harrisburg Huron Madison Mitchell Pierre Rapid City Sioux Falls Spearfish Sturgis Tea Vermillion Watertown Yankton
Smaller cities pop. 1,000 - 5,000	Baltic Beresford Britton Canton Chamberlain Clark Clear Lake Crooks Custer De Smet Deadwood Dell Rapids Eagle Butte Elk Point Flandreau Fort Pierre Freeman Garretson Gettysburg Gregory Groton Hartford Hill City Hot Springs Lead Lemmon Lennox Martin Milbank Miller Mission Mobridge North Sioux City Parker Parkston Platte Redfield Salem Sisseton Springfield Summerset Tyndall Volga Wagner Webster Winner
Largest CDPs pop. over 1,000	Blackhawk Colonial Pine Hills Dakota Dunes Fort Thompson North Eagle Butte North Spearfish Oglala Pine Ridge Porcupine Rapid Valley Rosebud
Largest towns pop. over 500	Aurora Humboldt St. Francis Wall
Counties	Aurora Beadle Bennett Bon Homme Brookings Brown Brule Buffalo Butte Campbell Charles Mix Clark Clay Codington Corson Custer Davison Day Deuel Dewey Douglas Edmunds Fall River Faulk Grant Gregory Haakon Hamlin Hand Hanson Harding Hughes Hutchinson Hyde Jackson Jerauld Jones Kingsbury Lake Lawrence Lincoln Lyman Marshall McCook McPherson Meade Mellette Miner Minnehaha Moody Oglala Lakota Pennington Perkins Potter Roberts Sanborn Spink Stanley Sully Todd Tripp Turner Union Walworth Yankton Ziebach

Coordinates: 44°01′N 102°49′W / 44.01°N 102.82°W / 44.01; -102.82

This page is only for reference, If you need detailed information, please check here