Brown County, South Dakota Demographics

Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.

Brown County, SD Population Density Map and Area Scores

Area Score

Health, income and education, each graded from F to A+. Explore interactive maps for deeper analysis.

  • B
    Health Around average
  • B
    Income Around average
  • C
    Education Below average
    Better educated than 82% of counties in South Dakota

Source: Map AI Methodology

Brown County
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Population density, people per sq mi

Population: density and quick facts

Metric Brown County South Dakota Avg U.S. Average
Population 37,877 907,403 337,468,954
Population density (per sq mi) 21.9 11.8 86.4
Population growth (%/yr) -0.18% 0.80% 0.59%
Median age 35.2 35.5 37.3
Households 16,285 365,533 130,235,071

Population in Brown County grew by 8.2% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 37,877 in 2024.

Population Growth 2009–2024

Year Brown County

Race & Ethnicity

Group Share

Age & Sex

The largest generation in Brown County is Gen Z, aged 13–28, at 22.3% of residents. That is 0.4 points above South Dakota as a whole.

Residents by birth cohort, from the 2025 age distribution. The right-hand figure is how far each cohort's share sits above or below South Dakota, in percentage points. Children younger than Gen Z and the generations before the Boomers are counted in the population but not shown here, so these shares do not add up to 100%.

Male and female share

Women are 51.1% of the people living in Brown County and men 48.9%.

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37,877

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Economy

Brown County has a the economy index of B, which means it is quite prosperous.

Metric Brown County South Dakota Avg U.S. Average
Median household income $69,714 $75,087 $80,455
Income growth (%/yr) 3.20% 4.61% 4.80%
Unemployment rate 3.3% 2.9% 5.2%

The median household income in Brown County is about 7% lower than in South Dakota.

Detailed wealth and income breakdown →

Housing

Metric Brown County South Dakota Avg U.S. Average
Median home price $62,333 $92,142 $248,835
Median rent $777 $946 $1,407
Homeownership rate 67.6% 68.6% 65.2%

The median home price in Brown County is about 6.7 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $777 per month for that long.

Full housing market analysis →

Commute Time & Mobility

Commuters in Brown County spend about 23 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 97 hours, about 4.1 full days, spent commuting.

Metric Brown County South Dakota Avg U.S. Average
One-way commute (min) 11.7 15.3 22.4
Round-trip commute (min) 23.4 30.7 44.8
Yearly time spent (hours) 97 128 187
Estimated yearly cost $3,017 $3,961 $5,790
Work from home 6.3% 9.7% 15.0%
Highway traffic (vehicles/day) 1,533 2,777 8,813
Local road traffic (vehicles/day) 396 353 1,355

Fastest commutes among counties in South Dakota: Jones County (6.7 min), Bennett County (7.5 min), Jackson County (7.8 min).
Slowest: Custer County (25.5 min), McCook County (25.4 min), Turner County (23.1 min).

The average commute time in Brown County is 12 minutes, shorter than the 15 minutes in South Dakota.

Estimated yearly cost applies a single national wage rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area. Traffic volume figures come from proprietary Ticon and TrafficZoom data.

Commute and transport details →

Education & Households

Brown County has a education index of C, which means it is somewhat educated.

Metric Brown County South Dakota Avg U.S. Average
Bachelor's degree or higher 30.0% 28.0% 31.6%
Average household size 2.27 2.40 2.53

Highest education index among counties in South Dakota: Clay County (0.4), Lincoln County (0.3), Stanley County (0.3).
Lowest: Buffalo County (0.1), Mellette County (0.2), Oglala Lakota County (0.2).

Health

Brown County has a health index of B, which means it is quite healthy.

Metric Brown County South Dakota Avg U.S. Average
Life expectancy (years) 79.7 79.9 78.3
Self-rated poor health 10.6% 13.8% 16.3%
Smokers 17.4% 19.9% 19.0%

Highest health index among counties in South Dakota: Brookings County (0.8), Lincoln County (0.8), Clay County (0.8).
Lowest: Todd County (0.7), Buffalo County (0.7), Mellette County (0.7).

Full health data →

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Brown County, South Dakota.

How big is Brown County, South Dakota by population?

About 37,877 people live in Brown County, South Dakota, in 16,285 households of 2.3 people on average. The median age is 35.2, so residents are younger than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 2 years.

Is Brown County, South Dakota mostly urban or rural?

Averaged over its land area, Brown County, South Dakota has 22 people per square mile, a density typical of rural areas. That is about 25% of the U.S. average of 86.

Can a typical household afford a home in Brown County, South Dakota?

The median home costs 0.9 times the median household income ($62,333 against $69,714), compared with 3.1 times nationally. That is within the traditional rule of thumb of about 3 times income. Median rent of $777 a month takes about 13% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.

Is it hard to find a job in Brown County, South Dakota?

Unemployment in Brown County, South Dakota is only 3.3%, well below the U.S. rate of 5.2%, a sign of a tight labor market where employers compete for workers.

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