Todd County, South Dakota

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November 15, 2022

Todd County is a county in South Dakota. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 9,319. Todd County does not have its own county seat. Instead, Winner in neighboring Tripp County serves as its administrative center. Its largest city is Mission. The county was created in 1909, although it remains unorganized. The county was named for John Blair Smith Todd, a delegate from Dakota Territory to the United States House of Representatives and a Civil War general.

Winner in neighboring Tripp County serves as Todd County's administrative center. The county lies entirely within the Rosebud Indian Reservation and is coterminous with the main reservation (exclusive of off-reservation trust lands, which lie in four nearby counties). Its southern border is with the state of Nebraska.

It is one of five South Dakota counties entirely within an Indian reservation.

The county's per-capita income makes it the third poorest county in the United States.

Unlike many rural counties in South Dakota, since 1960, its net population has increased.

History

Until 1981 Todd, Shannon (now Oglala Lakota), and Washabaugh were the last unorganized counties in the United States. Although then organized, Todd did not receive a home rule charter until 1983. It contracts with Tripp County for its Auditor, Treasurer, and Registrar of Deeds.

Geography

Todd County lies on the south line of South Dakota. Its south boundary line abuts the north boundary line of the state of Nebraska. Its terrain consists of semi-arid rolling hills, cut by gullies and drainages which flow to the northeast. The land is partially dedicated to agriculture, including center pivot irrigation. The terrain slopes to the northeast, and its highest point is near the SW corner, at 3,176' (968m) ASL.

The eastern portion of South Dakota's counties (48 of 66) observe Central Time; the western counties (18 of 66) observe Mountain Time. Todd County is the westernmost of the SD counties to observe Central Time. Todd County has a total area of 1,391 square miles, of which 1,389 square miles is land and 2.3 square miles (0.2%) is water.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 9,612 people, 2,780 households, and 2,091 families in the county. The population density was 6.9 inhabitants per square mile. There were 3,142 housing units at an average density of 2.3 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 88.1% American Indian, 9.6% white, 0.2% black or African American, 0.2% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.4% of the population.

In terms of ancestry, 5.1% were German, and 1.1% were American.

Of the 2,780 households, 55.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 28.5% were married couples living together, 34.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 24.8% were non-families, and 21.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 3.45 and the average family size was 3.95. The median age was 24.0 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $25,196 and the median income for a family was $29,010. Males had a median income of $26,971 versus $30,211 for females. The per capita income for the county was $11,010. About 44.2% of families and 48.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 59.0% of those under age 18 and 45.7% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Todd County heavily leans Democratic in politics. Similar to most other Native American-majority counties, Hillary Clinton won the majority of votes in Todd County in 2016. In 2020, Joe Biden received a larger majority of the county vote. The last election in which the Republican nominee won the county was in 1960 which the Richard Nixon-Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. ticket carried the county.