Brown County, South Dakota facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Brown County
U.S. county
Brown County Courthouse in fall
Flag
Location within the U.S. state of South Dakota
South Dakota's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	South Dakota
Founded	July 6, 1881
Seat	Aberdeen
Largest city	Aberdeen
Area
• Total	1,731 sq mi (4,480 km2)
• Land	1,713 sq mi (4,440 km2)
• Water	18 sq mi (50 km2)  1.0%
Population  (2020)
• Total	38,301
• Estimate  (2023)	37,733
• Density	22.127/sq mi (8.5431/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	At-large

Brown County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 38,301, making it the fourth most populous county in South Dakota. Its county seat is Aberdeen. The county is named for Alfred Brown, of Hutchinson County, South Dakota, a Dakota Territory legislator in 1879.

Brown County is part of the Aberdeen, SD Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

Brown County lies on the north side of South Dakota. Its north boundary line abuts the south boundary line of the state of North Dakota. The James River flows south-southwest through the county; its entry point into neighboring Spink County marks Brown County's lowest elevation: 1,266 ft (386 m) ASL. The terrain of Brown County consists of rolling terrain, sloping to the south and east, largely devoted to agriculture.

The county has a total area of 1,731 square miles (4,480 km²), of which 1,713 square miles (4,440 km²) is land and 18 square miles (47 km²) (1.0%) is water.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Protected areas

• Bodi State Game Production Area (part)
• Casanova State Game Production Area
• Columbia State Game Production Area
• Cutler State Game Production Area
• Diagonal Trees State Game Production Area
• Elm Creek State Game Production Area (part)
• Erickson State Game Production Area
• Hansen Preserve State Game Production Area
• Hart Quarter State Game Production Area
• Hecla State Game Production Area
• Jilek-Dahme State Game Production Area
• Pigors Lake State Game Production Area
• Putney Slough State Game Production Area
• Putney State Game Production Area
• Renziehausen Slough State Game Bird Refuge
• Renziehausen State Game Production Area (part)
• Richmond Dam State Game Production Area
• Richmond Lake State Recreation Area
• Richmond State Lakeside Use Area
• Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge
• Zabrasha State Game Production Area

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 38,301 people, 16,130 households, and 9,595 families residing in the county. The population density was 22.4 inhabitants per square mile (8.6/km²). There were 17,885 housing units.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 36,531 people, 15,489 households, and 9,374 families in the county. The population density was 21.3 inhabitants per square mile (8.2/km²). There were 16,706 housing units at an average density of 9.8 per square mile (3.8/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.2% white, 3.0% American Indian, 1.0% Asian, 0.5% black or African American, 0.1% Pacific islander, 0.4% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.4% of the population. In terms of ancestry.

Of the 15,489 households, 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.5% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 39.5% were non-families, and 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.89. The median age was 38.6 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $45,615 and the median income for a family was $58,683. Males had a median income of $37,997 versus $28,419 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,878. About 5.6% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.6% of those under age 18 and 15.4% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

• Aberdeen (county seat)
• Columbia
• Groton

Towns

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Townships

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Brown (Dakota del Sur) para niños