Minnehaha County, South Dakota facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Minnehaha County
U.S. county
Minnehaha County Courthouse in Sioux Falls
Location within the U.S. state of South Dakota
South Dakota's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	South Dakota
Founded	1862 (created) 1868 (organized)
Named for	"rapid water"
Seat	Sioux Falls
Largest city	Sioux Falls
Area
• Total	814 sq mi (2,110 km2)
• Land	807 sq mi (2,090 km2)
• Water	6.7 sq mi (17 km2)  0.8%
Population  (2020)
• Total	197,214
• Estimate  (2021)	199,685
• Density	239/sq mi (92/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	At-large

Minnehaha County is a county on the eastern border of the state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 197,214, making it the state's most populous county. It contains over 20% of the state's population. Its county seat is Sioux Falls, South Dakota's largest city. The county was created in 1862 and organized in 1868. Its name was derived from the Sioux word Mnihaha, meaning "rapid water," or "waterfall" (often incorrectly translated as "laughing water").

Minnehaha County is part of the Sioux Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, the state's largest.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 814 square miles (2,110 km²), of which 807 square miles (2,090 km²) is land and 6.7 square miles (17 km²) (0.8%) is water. The Big Sioux River flows through it.

Lakes

Major highways

Airport

Sioux Falls Regional Airport (FSD) serves Minnehaha county and the surrounding communities.

Adjacent counties

• Moody County, South Dakota - north
• Rock County, Minnesota - east
• Lyon County, Iowa - southeast
• Lincoln County, South Dakota - south
• Turner County, South Dakota - southwest
• McCook County, South Dakota - west
• Lake County, South Dakota - northwest

Demographics

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 169,468 people, 67,028 households, and 42,052 families in the county. The population density was 210.0 inhabitants per square mile (81.1/km²). There were 71,557 housing units at an average density of 88.7 per square mile (34.2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 88.1% white, 3.8% black or African American, 2.5% American Indian, 1.5% Asian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 1.8% from other races, and 2.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 4.1% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 43.8% were German, 17.7% were Norwegian, 11.6% were Irish, 6.8% were Dutch, 6.3% were English, and 3.2% were American.

Of the 67,028 households, 32.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.7% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 37.3% were non-families, and 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.03. The median age was 34.5 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $51,799 and the median income for a family was $64,645. Males had a median income of $40,187 versus $31,517 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,392. About 6.9% of families and 9.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.2% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

Towns

• Humboldt
• Sherman

Census-designated places

• Anderson
• Meadow View Addition
• Pine Lakes Addition
• Renner Corner

Unincorporated communities

Townships

The county is divided into twenty-four townships:

Historical townsites

Sign marking the site of the former town of East Sioux Falls

• East Sioux Falls
• Eminija
• Huntimer
• South Sioux Falls
• West Sioux Falls
• Wingert

Images for kids

• 

  The falls of the Big Sioux River at Falls Park

• 

  County Administration Building

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Minnehaha para niños