Spearfish, SD, South Dakota: Populist metro. In 2024, voted R+31%. Republican peak: R+57 in 1924.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+31MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 27,2332024 5-year
- Median household income
- $73,3842024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 90.4%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.4%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 3.9%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+54 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+57 in 1924MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Spearfish, 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 | 5,074 | 9,904 | 15,409 | ||
| R | 4,537 | 8,753 | 13,828 | ||
| R | 3,356 | 7,411 | 11,842 | ||
| R | 3,973 | 7,025 | 11,359 | ||
| R | 4,932 | 6,787 | 12,055 | ||
| R | 3,857 | 7,489 | 11,619 | ||
| D | 6,327 | 2,797 | 9,406 | ||
| R | 3,568 | 4,430 | 9,442 | ||
| R | 3,157 | 3,770 | 9,659 | ||
| R | 3,705 | 5,570 | 9,379 | ||
| R | 2,565 | 5,949 | 8,569 | ||
| R | 2,259 | 5,306 | 8,403 | ||
| R | 3,102 | 4,206 | 7,449 | ||
| R | 2,533 | 4,795 | 7,352 | ||
| R | 2,425 | 4,185 | 6,948 | ||
| R | 3,468 | 3,743 | 7,211 | ||
| R | 2,612 | 5,083 | 7,695 | ||
| R | 1,871 | 4,654 | 6,525 | ||
| R | 1,701 | 5,559 | 7,260 | ||
| R | 2,209 | 3,778 | 6,045 | ||
| R | 1,866 | 3,528 | 5,394 | ||
| R | 3,515 | 5,288 | 8,803 | ||
| R | 3,809 | 4,974 | 8,852 | ||
| R | 3,106 | 3,708 | 6,868 | ||
| R | 1,785 | 4,141 | 5,947 | ||
| R | 649 | 3,255 | 4,580 | ||
| R | 1,201 | 2,986 | 4,359 | ||
| R | 2,074 | 2,157 | 4,365 | ||
| D | 2,412 | 0 | 4,471 | ||
| R | 1,564 | 2,735 | 5,377 | ||
| R | 1,347 | 4,247 | 6,481 | ||
| R | 2,619 | 3,435 | 6,138 | ||
| D | 2,905 | 2,210 | 5,150 | ||
| R | 546 | 2,140 | 4,181 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
32.0%
Irish
13.0%
English
12.0%
American
5.6%
French
1.9%
Scottish
1.9%
Italian
1.8%
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: 44.8 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
$73,384
Spearfish, SD ranks near the middle of US counties.
Spearfish, SD$73,384
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
11.6%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1812.9%
Working age (18–64)10.9%
Seniors (65+)14.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
95.3%
speak English only
Spanish2.0%
Other Indo-European1.3%
Other languages0.8%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.6%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 60.4% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Spearfish anchors the northern Black Hills micro-economy, where Black Hills State University enrollment and I-90 corridor growth have pushed Lawrence County population gains above state averages for two consecutive census cycles.
The Democratic margin in Spearfish, SD peaked at fifty-four points in 1912. By 2004 the metro had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was thirty-one points, the most Republican-leaning result in the metro's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $73,384 sits well below state and national norms, and 12% 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.
Spearfish, SD, South Dakota — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/43940/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Spearfish, SD, South Dakota vote in 2024?
In 2024, Spearfish, SD, South Dakota voted Republican by 31.3 points (R+31), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 15,409 votes cast, 5,074 went Democratic and 9,904 went Republican.
What is Spearfish, SD, South Dakota's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Spearfish, 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 3 times, Republican 31 times, and other 0 times.
When did Spearfish, SD, South Dakota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Spearfish, SD, South Dakota voted Democratic was 2000.
How many people live in Spearfish, SD, South Dakota?
Spearfish, SD, South Dakota has a population of 27,233 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Spearfish, SD, South Dakota?
Median household income in Spearfish, SD, South Dakota is $73,384 — below the national median of $80,734. The South Dakota state median is $75,081.
What is the political history of Spearfish, SD, South Dakota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Spearfish, SD, South Dakota from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 3 went Democratic and 31 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.