akashic
1876–2024
Vermillion, SD·South Dakota

Vermillion, SD votes the way the country votes.

University town anchoring the southeastern corner of South Dakota

1876 — 2024·38 elections
SD
Latest
D+7
in 2024
Archetype
Bellwether
since the recent cycles
Population
15,219
2024 ACS

Vermillion, SD, South Dakota: Bellwether metro. In 2024, voted D+7%. Republican peak: R+61 in 1904.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin
D+7MIT Election Lab
Political archetype
BellwetherAkashic typology
Population
15,2192024 5-year
Median household income
$56,8502024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic)
85.0%2024 5-year
Black
1.8%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino
3.3%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin
D+41 in 1912MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin
R+61 in 1904MIT Election Lab
2024 results by constituent county
1 counties · 1 D · 0 R
R+60
D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
38 presidential elections
Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024).
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
D
+6.5%
2,9442,5745,657
D
+11.0%
3,0832,4565,698
D
+9.8%
2,6082,1095,069
D
+15.4%
2,9552,1475,234
D
+24.2%
3,8082,2966,242
D
+10.2%
3,3152,6926,136
R
−5.4%
2,3632,6385,105
D
+17.4%
2,9802,0085,572
D
+15.9%
2,8261,8696,036
D
+10.6%
2,8592,3075,200
R
−6.0%
2,7113,0575,808
R
−11.6%
2,2713,0046,316
R
−1.0%
2,5932,6475,301
D
+5.7%
2,8212,5185,352
R
−5.5%
2,0062,2494,386
D
+18.1%
2,5991,8024,401
R
−19.2%
1,8782,7724,650
R
−15.4%
1,9282,6324,560
R
−40.1%
1,4123,3024,714
R
−3.4%
2,0802,2284,361
R
−4.6%
1,7961,9703,766
R
−4.2%
2,2662,4634,729
D
+27.4%
3,0701,6925,035
D
+33.0%
3,0401,5144,624
R
−27.1%
1,4742,5734,057
O
−27.6%
4921,4153,345
R
−32.1%
9071,8853,046
R
−9.2%
1,0001,2072,246
O
+41.0%
92902,266
R
−22.7%
8031,2912,154
R
−61.2%
3611,7232,226
R
−14.2%
1,0371,3872,459
R
−7.6%
1,0611,2382,320
R
−44.1%
1649181,711
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Demographics

Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
34.1%
Irish
11.2%
English
6.3%
American
3.0%
French
2.1%
Italian
1.7%
Scottish
1.5%
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: 24.9 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
0.7%
85+
1.1%
1.3%
75–84
1.7%
3.8%
65–74
3.6%
4.2%
55–64
4.0%
4.6%
45–54
3.3%
4.4%
35–44
4.2%
7.1%
25–34
5.9%
15.1%
18–24
17.6%
6.8%
5–17
5.9%
1.9%
<5
2.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$56,850
Vermillion, SD ranks near the middle of US counties.
Vermillion, SD$56,850
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
19.7%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 186.9%
Working age (18–64)23.4%
Seniors (65+)16.0%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
95.8%
speak English only
Other Indo-European1.9%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.0%
Spanish0.8%
Other languages0.4%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Mainline Protestant
14.3%
Catholic & Orthodox
9.7%
Other Christian
6.5%
Baptist
1.6%
Methodist
1.5%
Pentecostal & Holiness
0.4%
Non-Christian
0.1%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 65.9% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Home to the University of South Dakota, Vermillion skews younger and more educated than most of the state, producing vote margins that diverge noticeably from surrounding Clay County's rural precincts.

The Democratic margin in Vermillion, SD has rarely exceeded forty-one points in modern history; the Republican margin has rarely exceeded sixty-one points. 2024 delivered the metro to the Democratic candidate by seven points.

Its demographics resemble the country more than they resemble most metros. A 85% non-Hispanic-white share, a 20% poverty rate, and a median household income of $56,850 — all within the broad national range.

Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Vermillion, SD, South Dakota — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/46820/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did Vermillion, SD, South Dakota vote in 2024?
In 2024, Vermillion, SD, South Dakota voted Democratic by 6.5 points (D+7), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 5,657 votes cast, 2,944 went Democratic and 2,574 went Republican.
What is Vermillion, SD, South Dakota's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Vermillion, SD, South Dakota as a "Bellwether" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 13 times, Republican 19 times, and other 2 times.
When did Vermillion, SD, South Dakota last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Vermillion, SD, South Dakota voted Republican was 2000.
How many people live in Vermillion, SD, South Dakota?
Vermillion, SD, South Dakota has a population of 15,219 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Vermillion, SD, South Dakota?
Median household income in Vermillion, SD, South Dakota is $56,850 — below the national median of $80,734. The South Dakota state median is $75,081.
What is the political history of Vermillion, SD, South Dakota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Vermillion, SD, South Dakota from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 13 went Democratic and 19 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Bellwether" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.