Stanley County, South Dakota

For the county in North Carolina, see Stanly County, North Carolina. For the county in Queensland, Australia, see County of Stanley, Queensland.

Stanley County, South Dakota
Location in the U.S. state of South Dakota
South Dakota's location in the U.S.
Founded	1890
Named for	David S. Stanley
Seat	Fort Pierre
Largest city	Fort Pierre
Area
• Total	1,517 sq mi (3,929 km2)
• Land	1,444 sq mi (3,740 km2)
• Water	73 sq mi (189 km2), 4.8%
Population
• (2010)	2,966
• Density	2.1/sq mi (1/km²)
Congressional district	At-large
Time zones	Mountain: UTC-7/-6 western portion
	Central: UTC-6/-5 eastern portion
Website	www.stanleycounty.org

Stanley County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2010 census, the population was 2,966. Its county seat is Fort Pierre. The county was created in 1873 and organized in 1890.

Stanley County is included in the Pierre, SD Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,517 square miles (3,930 km²), of which 1,444 square miles (3,740 km²) is land and 73 square miles (190 km²) (4.8%) is water.

Although the county seat Fort Pierre is located in the Mountain Time Zone, most residents of the city use Central Time because of close social and economic ties with Pierre, which is located in the Central Time Zone.

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 14
• U.S. Highway 83
• South Dakota Highway 34
• South Dakota Highway 63
• South Dakota Highway 1806

Adjacent counties

• Dewey County, South Dakota - north
• Sully County, South Dakota - northeast
• Hughes County, South Dakota - east
• Lyman County, South Dakota - southeast
• Jones County, South Dakota - south
• Haakon County, South Dakota - west

National protected area

• Fort Pierre National Grassland (part)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1880	793		—
1890	1,028		29.6%
1900	1,341		30.4%
1910	14,975		1,016.7%
1920	2,908		−80.6%
1930	2,381		−18.1%
1940	1,959		−17.7%
1950	2,055		4.9%
1960	4,085		98.8%
1970	2,457		−39.9%
1980	2,533		3.1%
1990	2,453		−3.2%
2000	2,772		13.0%
2010	2,966		7.0%
Est. 2014	2,983		0.6%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2014

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,772 people, 1,111 households, and 775 families residing in the county. The population density was 2 people per square mile (1/km²). There were 1,277 housing units at an average density of 1 per square mile (0/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.04% White, 0.18% Black or African American, 4.91% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 0.14% from other races, and 1.44% from two or more races. 0.43% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 1,111 households out of which 33.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.60% were married couples living together, 10.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.20% were non-families. 25.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the county, the population was spread out with 27.10% under the age of 18, 7.10% from 18 to 24, 28.20% from 25 to 44, 26.60% from 45 to 64, and 11.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 101.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $41,170, and the median income for a family was $47,197. Males had a median income of $29,911 versus $20,898 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,300. About 6.60% of families and 8.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.80% of those under age 18 and 12.80% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

City

• Fort Pierre (county seat)

Unincorporated communities

• Hayes
• Mission Ridge

Townships

The county is divided into three areas of unorganized territory: Lower Brule, North Stanley, and South Stanley.

In popular culture

The Triple U Buffalo Ranch in northern Stanley County was used in filming the 1990 movie Dances with Wolves

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Stanley County, South Dakota