Mitchell, SD, South Dakota: Populist metro. In 2024, voted R+43%. Democratic peak: D+43 in 1912.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+43MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 25,8082024 5-year
- Median household income
- $69,3662024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 90.4%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.6%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 4.6%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+43 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+43 in 2024MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Mitchell, SD, SDOne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
R+60D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 3,401 | 8,748 | 12,435 | ||
| R | 3,462 | 8,311 | 12,027 | ||
| R | 3,020 | 7,473 | 11,081 | ||
| R | 4,191 | 7,072 | 11,502 | ||
| R | 5,015 | 6,826 | 12,093 | ||
| R | 4,589 | 7,757 | 12,528 | ||
| D | 5,641 | 5,060 | 10,902 | ||
| D | 5,831 | 4,425 | 11,346 | ||
| D | 5,118 | 3,858 | 11,232 | ||
| R | 5,251 | 5,625 | 10,953 | ||
| R | 4,484 | 6,761 | 11,273 | ||
| R | 4,333 | 6,936 | 12,169 | ||
| D | 6,540 | 5,262 | 11,867 | ||
| D | 6,806 | 5,736 | 12,582 | ||
| R | 5,367 | 5,794 | 11,578 | ||
| D | 7,494 | 4,503 | 11,997 | ||
| D | 6,510 | 6,446 | 12,956 | ||
| R | 6,298 | 6,433 | 12,731 | ||
| R | 4,905 | 7,855 | 12,760 | ||
| D | 6,063 | 4,846 | 11,017 | ||
| R | 5,084 | 5,211 | 10,295 | ||
| D | 6,844 | 6,799 | 13,643 | ||
| D | 8,432 | 4,774 | 13,717 | ||
| D | 9,414 | 3,852 | 13,411 | ||
| R | 5,179 | 6,973 | 12,196 | ||
| R | 1,204 | 4,796 | 9,922 | ||
| R | 2,040 | 4,731 | 8,995 | ||
| D | 2,994 | 2,984 | 6,197 | ||
| O | 2,475 | 0 | 5,753 | ||
| R | 2,224 | 2,791 | 5,346 | ||
| R | 1,294 | 3,384 | 5,066 | ||
| R | 1,938 | 2,088 | 4,152 | ||
| D | 1,891 | 1,566 | 3,494 | ||
| R | 411 | 1,511 | 3,387 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
37.9%
Irish
9.2%
English
8.1%
American
7.1%
French
2.4%
Scottish
1.6%
Polish
1.0%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 39.5 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$69,366
Mitchell, SD ranks near the middle of US counties.
Mitchell, SD$69,366
South Dakota$75,081
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
10.4%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1810.3%
Working age (18–64)10.7%
Seniors (65+)9.5%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
96.2%
speak English only
Spanish2.2%
Other Indo-European0.9%
Other languages0.4%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.3%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 40.4% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Mitchell, SD sits in the Northern Plains. For most of the post-war period it was a Democratic metro — its working-class profile gave it the same political habits as much of its region. That identity has shifted decisively in the last twenty years.
The Democratic margin in Mitchell, SD peaked at forty-three points in 1912. By 2004 the metro had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was forty-three points, the most Republican-leaning result in the metro's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $69,366 sits well below state and national norms, and 10% of residents live below the federal poverty line. The shift here is part of a broader realignment of working-class places across the country.
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Mitchell, SD, South Dakota — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/33580/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Mitchell, SD, South Dakota vote in 2024?
In 2024, Mitchell, SD, South Dakota voted Republican by 43.0 points (R+43), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 12,435 votes cast, 3,401 went Democratic and 8,748 went Republican.
What is Mitchell, SD, South Dakota's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Mitchell, SD, South Dakota as a "Populist" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 13 times, Republican 20 times, and other 1 times.
When did Mitchell, SD, South Dakota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Mitchell, SD, South Dakota voted Democratic was 2000.
How many people live in Mitchell, SD, South Dakota?
Mitchell, SD, South Dakota has a population of 25,808 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Mitchell, SD, South Dakota?
Median household income in Mitchell, SD, South Dakota is $69,366 — below the national median of $80,734. The South Dakota state median is $75,081.
What is the political history of Mitchell, SD, South Dakota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Mitchell, SD, South Dakota from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 13 went Democratic and 20 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.