Sanborn County
County
Steam-powered automobile by E.S. Callihan in Woonsocket (1884)
Location within the U.S. state of South Dakota
South Dakota's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 44°02′N 98°05′W / 44.03°N 98.09°W / 44.03; -98.09
Country	United States
State	South Dakota
Founded	1883
Named for	George W. Sanborn
Seat	Woonsocket
Largest city	Woonsocket
Area
• Total	570 sq mi (1,500 km2)
• Land	569 sq mi (1,470 km2)
• Water	1.2 sq mi (3 km2)  0.2%
Population  (2020)
• Total	2,330
• Estimate  (2022)	2,415
• Density	4.1/sq mi (1.6/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	At-large

Sanborn County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,330.^[1] Its county seat and largest city is Woonsocket.^[2] The county was created by the Dakota Territorial legislature on May 1, 1883, with land partitioned from Miner County. It was fully organized by July 18, 1883.^[3]

Geography

The terrain of Sanborn County consists of rolling hills, largely devoted to agriculture. The James River flows southward through the east-central part of the county, and the SW part of the country is drained by Dry Run Creek.^[4] The terrain slopes to the south and to the southeast; its highest point is in its SW corner, at 1,358 ft (414 m) ASL.^[5] The county has a total area of 570 square miles (1,500 km²), of which 569 square miles (1,470 km²) is land and 1.2 square miles (3.1 km²) (0.2%) is water.^[6]

Major highways

• South Dakota Highway 34
• South Dakota Highway 37
• South Dakota Highway 224

Adjacent counties

Protected areas

• McCoy Lake State Public Shooting Area

Lakes and reservoirs

• Long Lake
• Twin Lakes (partial)

Demographics

2020 census

As of the census of 2020, there were 2,330 people.

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 2,355 people, 975 households, and 630 families in the county. The population density was 4.1 inhabitants per square mile (1.6/km²). There were 1,172 housing units at an average density of 2.1 units per square mile (0.81 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.0% white, 0.3% American Indian, 0.2% Asian, 0.6% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.2% of the population. In terms of ancestry.

Of the 975 households, 24.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.0% were married couples living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 35.4% were non-families, and 31.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.79. The median age was 47.1 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $44,732 and the median income for a family was $56,304. Males had a median income of $32,361 versus $23,724 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,055. About 7.7% of families and 12.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.4% of those under age 18 and 15.1% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

City

• Woonsocket (county seat)

Towns

• Artesian
• Letcher

Census-designated place

• Forestburg
• Upland Colony

Unincorporated community

• Cuthbert

Townships

Politics

Sanborn County has been a swing county in the past, but in recent decades has tended to vote Republican. In 64% of the national elections since 1960, the county selected the Republican Party candidate (as of 2020).