Rapid City, South Dakota: Stable Rural Right market. In 2024, voted R+41%. Republican peak: R+46 in 1984.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+41MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Stable Rural RightAkashic typology
- Population
- 265,6942024 5-year
- Median household income
- $73,3852024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 82.9%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.9%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 4.9%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+35 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+46 in 1984MIT Election Lab
2024 presidential election
Rapid City
TrumpR+41
How it voted
Share of the 2024 vote
| Donald Trump ✓Republican | 69.0% | 94,367 |
|---|---|---|
| Kamala HarrisDemocratic | 28.4% | 38,820 |
| OtherAll other candidates | 2.5% | 3,480 |
D+60R+60
18 counties, each filled by 2024 D-vs-R margin. Hover any county for its result.
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1876–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1876 | No data |
| 1880 | No data |
| 1884 | No data |
| 1888 | No data |
| 1892 | −38.2% |
| 1896 | +10.6% |
| 1900 | −9.8% |
| 1904 | −40.6% |
| 1908 | −18.2% |
| 1912 | +35.2% |
| 1916 | −0.1% |
| 1920 | −34.6% |
| 1924 | −34.7% |
| 1928 | −32.1% |
| 1932 | +17.7% |
| 1936 | +7.8% |
| 1940 | −13.5% |
| 1944 | −18.4% |
| 1948 | −11.2% |
| 1952 | −43.7% |
| 1956 | −29.7% |
| 1960 | −23.4% |
| 1964 | +0.1% |
| 1968 | −24.1% |
| 1972 | −33.3% |
| 1976 | −16.4% |
| 1980 | −43.4% |
| 1984 | −45.5% |
| 1988 | −23.7% |
| 1992 | −14.7% |
| 1996 | −18.9% |
| 2000 | +10.4% |
| 2004 | −39.4% |
| 2008 | −28.9% |
| 2012 | −38.1% |
| 2016 | −44.5% |
| 2020 | −38.9% |
| 2024 | −40.6% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 38,820 | 94,367 | 136,667 | ||
| R | 38,972 | 91,150 | 134,287 | ||
| R | 27,604 | 79,114 | 115,687 | ||
| R | 32,580 | 74,646 | 110,336 | ||
| R | 39,514 | 72,716 | 115,068 | ||
| R | 33,109 | 77,566 | 112,932 | ||
| D | 31,519 | 25,424 | 58,789 | ||
| R | 20,051 | 31,317 | 59,505 | ||
| R | 18,100 | 27,063 | 61,069 | ||
| R | 32,910 | 53,651 | 87,391 | ||
| R | 23,417 | 63,125 | 87,203 | ||
| R | 20,608 | 56,700 | 83,191 | ||
| R | 29,656 | 41,462 | 72,188 | ||
| R | 23,410 | 46,999 | 70,746 | ||
| R | 21,442 | 36,565 | 62,648 | ||
| D | 34,153 | 34,095 | 68,248 | ||
| R | 27,039 | 43,545 | 70,588 | ||
| R | 22,400 | 41,286 | 63,686 | ||
| R | 18,787 | 48,029 | 66,850 | ||
| R | 23,736 | 29,800 | 54,083 | ||
| R | 19,745 | 28,668 | 48,414 | ||
| R | 28,324 | 37,143 | 65,496 | ||
| D | 33,352 | 28,375 | 63,438 | ||
| D | 35,322 | 24,462 | 61,230 | ||
| R | 17,644 | 34,518 | 52,550 | ||
| R | 8,836 | 23,594 | 42,587 | ||
| R | 10,010 | 22,608 | 36,447 | ||
| R | 13,780 | 13,804 | 29,091 | ||
| O | 11,164 | 2,043 | 25,888 | ||
| R | 8,141 | 12,188 | 22,288 | ||
| R | 4,577 | 11,932 | 18,122 | ||
| R | 7,078 | 8,637 | 15,891 | ||
| D | 8,098 | 6,544 | 14,721 | ||
| R | 1,277 | 5,954 | 12,252 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — |
Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
27.7%
Irish
12.4%
English
11.4%
American
4.4%
Italian
2.3%
Scottish
2.1%
French
1.8%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
2024 ACS
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 41.7 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Median household income
Inflation-adjusted dollars
$73,385
Rapid City ranks near the middle of US counties.
Rapid City$73,385
South Dakota$75,081
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
11.3%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1813.7%
Working age (18–64)10.2%
Seniors (65+)13.0%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
95.7%
speak English only
Spanish1.8%
Other languages1.0%
Other Indo-European0.9%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.6%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 56.0% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
The Rapid City media market anchors western South Dakota and pulls in corners of Wyoming and Nebraska, blending rural agricultural precincts with an urban core that has shifted measurably as the metro's population climbed past 80,000.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of thirty-five points in 1912 and a Republican high of forty-six points in 1984. Between 2020 and 2024 the market moved two points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was forty-one points.
A population of 265,694, a 83% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $73,385 describe the market.
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Rapid City, South Dakota. Akashic. https://akashic.app/dma/764/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Rapid City, South Dakota vote in 2024?
In 2024, Rapid City, South Dakota voted Republican by 40.6 points (R+41), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 136,667 votes cast, 38,820 went Democratic and 94,367 went Republican.
What is Rapid City, South Dakota's political typology?
Akashic places Rapid City, South Dakota in the "Stable Rural Right" typology. The typology is a data-driven cluster built from vote share, vote swing, race and ethnicity, income, language spoken at home, religion, and ancestry. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the market has voted Democratic 5 times, Republican 28 times, and other 1 times.
When did Rapid City, South Dakota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Rapid City, South Dakota voted Democratic was 2000.
How many people live in Rapid City, South Dakota?
Rapid City, South Dakota has a population of 265,694 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Rapid City, South Dakota?
Median household income in Rapid City, South Dakota is $73,385 — below the national median of $80,734. The South Dakota state median is $75,081.
What is the political history of Rapid City, South Dakota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Rapid City, South Dakota from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 5 went Democratic and 28 went Republican. The market's typology — "Stable Rural Right" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.