Brule County, South Dakota facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Brule County
U.S. county
Statue of Dignity above the Missouri River, Chamberlain
Location within the U.S. state of South Dakota
South Dakota's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	South Dakota
Founded	1875 (created) 1879 (organized)
Named for	Brulé subtribe of Lakota people
Seat	Chamberlain
Largest city	Chamberlain
Area
• Total	846 sq mi (2,190 km2)
• Land	817 sq mi (2,120 km2)
• Water	29 sq mi (80 km2)  3.5%
Population  (2020)
• Total	5,247
• Estimate  (2021)	5,242
• Density	6.202/sq mi (2.3947/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	At-large

Brule County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,247. Its county seat is Chamberlain.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 846 square miles (2,190 km²), of which 817 square miles (2,120 km²) is land and 29 square miles (75 km²) (3.5%) is water.

Major highways

• Interstate 90
• South Dakota Highway 45
• South Dakota Highway 50

Adjacent counties

• Buffalo County - north
• Jerauld County - northeast
• Aurora County - east
• Charles Mix County - south
• Lyman County - west

Demographics

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 5,255 people, 2,136 households, and 1,375 families in the county. The population density was 6.4 inhabitants per square mile (2.5/km²). There were 2,433 housing units at an average density of 3.0 per square mile (1.2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 88.4% white, 8.5% American Indian, 0.2% black or African American, 0.2% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 2.4% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.4% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 51.7% were German, 11.7% were Irish, 11.5% were Czech, 10.9% were Norwegian, 6.2% were English, and 1.3% were American.

Of the 2,136 households, 30.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.0% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 35.6% were non-families, and 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 3.03. The median age was 41.3 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $48,277 and the median income for a family was $58,363. Males had a median income of $33,958 versus $25,051 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,779. About 9.8% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.0% of those under age 18 and 10.6% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

• Chamberlain (county seat)
• Kimball

Town

• Pukwana

Census-designated places

• Bijou Hills
• Ola

Townships

The county is divided into twenty-two townships:

Unorganized territory

Brule County has a single unorganized territory: Grandview.