County · South Dakota

Kingsbury County, South Dakota

Kingsbury County, South Dakota. Kingsbury County had 5,284 residents in 2025 by the Census Bureau's estimate, up 2.0% since 2020, slower than South Dakota (+5.5%). It holds 23 places (9 cities, villages and boroughs, 13 towns and townships and 1 census-designated) and 2 census tracts. GEOID 46077.

Residents, July 2025 estimate

5,284

Census Bureau estimate (no margin published)
2020 Census count: 5,187 · ACS 2020-2024: 5,244

Median household income

$74,000

±$6,554 (90% margin)
South Dakota: $75,081

Median home value

$169,500

±$14,132 (90% margin)
South Dakota: $257,400

Median gross rent

$685

±$202 (90% margin)
South Dakota: $946

How many people live in Kingsbury County, and is it growing?

The 2020 Census counted 5,187 residents in Kingsbury County. The Census Bureau estimates 5,284 for July 1, 2025, up 2.0% since 2020, slower than South Dakota (+5.5%). The 2020-2024 American Community Survey puts the population at 5,244 over 832 square miles of land.

July 2020→2021 +1 (5,201)
2021→2022 +70 (5,271)
2022→2023 −12 (5,259)
2023→2024 +21 (5,280)
2024→2025 +4 (5,284)

Kingsbury County in South Dakota. Boundaries: Census Bureau 2024.

Counts, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates, with the change from 2015-2019
Measure	Kingsbury County	South Dakota	Change since 2015-2019
Total population	5,244	907,428	+300
Households	2,112±79	365,544	−167
Average household size	2.42±0.09	2.39	+0.29
Housing units	2,663±22	408,584	−107

Kingsbury County's population since 2000

From 5,815 in 2000 to 5,284 in 2025: down 9.1%. The 2000, 2010 and 2020 figures are census counts. The 2005 figure is the Census Bureau's intercensal estimate, revised to fit the 2000 and 2010 counts and drawn on 2010 boundaries; 2015 and 2025 are July 1 estimates made from the census before them.

2000 Census 5,815
2005 (estimate) 5,318
2010 Census 5,148
2015 (estimate) 4,951
2020 Census 5,187
2025 (estimate) 5,284

Source: The 2000, 2010 and 2020 Census counts and the Census Bureau's population estimates (intercensal 2000-2010, Vintage 2020, Vintage 2025) · Census population estimates

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026); PEP Vintage 2025 (CO-EST2025); 2020 Census · Check it at data.census.gov

What cities and towns are in Kingsbury County?

Kingsbury County holds 23 places: 9 cities, villages and boroughs (incorporated places), 13 towns and townships (county subdivisions with their own government) and 1 census-designated place. The largest is De Smet with 1,032 residents (2025 estimate). Places that cross a county line are listed with the share of their 2020 residents who live in this county.

Places in Kingsbury County, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Ring: estimate with a coefficient of variation over 40%.

De Smet	city	1,056	943±122	$67,321	$165,200	4.6%	100%
Arlington	city	915	920±122	$71,296	$144,300	19.2%	99%
Lake Preston	city	589	596±119	$52,396	$130,000	17.0%	100%
De Smet TownshipGEOID 4607716300	township	288	384±105	$111,042	$369,000	9.9%	100%
Spring Lake Township, Kingsbury CountyGEOID 4607760940	township	288	161±52	$112,083	$450,000	10.6%	100%
Iroquois	city	292	389±106	$59,926	$156,300	2.3%	79%
Baker Township, Kingsbury CountyGEOID 4607703340	township	217	172±53	$110,625	$237,500	13.6%	100%
Denver TownshipGEOID 4607716220	township	211	147±63	$114,375	$412,500	0.0%	100%
Badger Township, Kingsbury CountyGEOID 4607703100	township	197	227±99	$96,771	$373,500	0.0%	100%
Spirit Lake TownshipGEOID 4607760220	township	168	256±89	$78,839	not published	32.8%	100%
Hartland Township, Kingsbury CountyGEOID 4607727700	township	158	284±140	$83,750	$275,000	0.0%	100%
Le Sueur TownshipGEOID 4607736580	township	146	109±50	not published	not published	7.3%	100%
BadgerGEOID 4603060	town	129	162±61	$65,000	$70,000	3.7%	100%
Mathews TownshipGEOID 4607741260	township	125	175±72	$71,250	$218,800	12.6%	100%
OldhamGEOID 4646780	city	121	75±26	$33,750	not published	17.3%	100%
Spring Lake ColonyGEOID 4660958	CDP	121	35±7	not published	not published	48.6%	100%
Whitewood TownshipGEOID 4607771540	township	99	96±36	$113,750	$200,000	0.0%	100%
Manchester TownshipGEOID 4607740500	township	73	53±40	$121,875	not published	0.0%	100%
Iroquois TownshipGEOID 4607732060	township	68	66±38	$105,313	not published	18.2%	100%
Esmond TownshipGEOID 4607719940	township	45	19±17	$31,250	not published	57.9%	100%
ErwinGEOID 4619860	town	40	105±72	$86,250	not published	0.0%	100%
HetlandGEOID 4628460	town	20	10±7	$46,250	$57,500	0.0%	100%
BancroftGEOID 4603420	town	13	16±13	not published	not published	0.0%	100%

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026); 2020 place-by-county parts · Check it at data.census.gov

Who lives in Kingsbury County?

The median resident of Kingsbury County is 42.1 years old; 25.1% are under 18 and 23.1% are 65 or older. The largest group is non-Hispanic white residents at 91.3%, then non-Hispanic residents of two or more races at 4.1%. 1.0% of residents were born outside the United States.

Age, origin and education, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Race groups are non-Hispanic; Hispanic includes any race.
Measure	Kingsbury County	South Dakota	Change since 2015-2019
Median age	42.1±0.6	38.0	−3.0
Under 18 years	25.1%±0.5 pts	24.2%	–
65 years and over	23.1%±0.3 pts	18.0%	–
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	2.9%	4.8%	+0.7 pts
White alone, not Hispanic	91.3%±1.6 pts	79.8%	−5.5 pts
Black or African American alone, not Hispanic	0.0%±0.5 pts	2.1%	–
Asian alone, not Hispanic	0.4%±0.3 pts	1.4%	–
American Indian and Alaska Native alone, not Hispanic	0.9%±0.6 pts	7.1%	–
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, not Hispanic	0.0%±0.5 pts	0.0%	–
Two or more races, not Hispanic	4.1%±1.5 pts	4.4%	–
Some other race alone, not Hispanic	0.4%±0.4 pts	0.3%	–
Born outside the United States	1.0%±0.5 pts	4.0%	–
Speak a language other than English at home (age 5+)	2.8%±0.7 pts	7.1%	–
Civilian veterans (age 18+)	6.7%±1.3 pts	7.9%	–
With a disability	10.8%±1.6 pts	12.5%	–
No health insurance coverage	5.3%±1.2 pts	9.0%	no clear change
High school graduate or higher (age 25+)	92.7%±1.5 pts	93.2%	–
Bachelor's degree or higher (age 25+)	23.1%±2.6 pts	31.9%	no clear change
Graduate or professional degree (age 25+)	5.4%±1.2 pts	10.0%	–
Moved from another state in the past year	0.5%±0.4 pts	3.2%	–

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profiles DP02, DP05) · Check it at data.census.gov

What do households in Kingsbury County earn?

Half of Kingsbury County's 2,112 households earn less than $74,000 a year (±$6,554), against $75,081 in South Dakota. In 2015-2019 it was $75,933 in 2024 dollars; the margins of error cannot tell the two periods apart. 10.6% of residents live below the poverty line.

Income and poverty in 2024 dollars, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Measure	Kingsbury County	South Dakota	Change since 2015-2019
Median household income	$74,000±$6,554	$75,081	no clear change
Mean household income	$88,285±$4,741	$98,527	–
Per capita income	$37,027±$1,685	$40,550	−$6,999
People below the poverty line	10.6%±2.5 pts	11.9%	no clear change
Children under 18 below the poverty line	11.9%±4.5 pts	14.3%	no clear change
Households receiving SNAP	3.9%±1.5 pts	7.9%	–
Households with a broadband subscription	89.8%±2.3 pts	89.6%	–

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profile DP03) · Check it at data.census.gov

What does housing cost in Kingsbury County?

Owners occupy 82.1% of Kingsbury County's occupied homes and renters 17.9%. The median owner-occupied home is valued at $169,500 by its owner (±$14,132). The median renter pays $685 a month including utilities, and 36.2% of renters pay 35% or more of their income on rent.

Housing, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Measure	Kingsbury County	South Dakota	Change since 2015-2019
Median home value (owner-occupied)	$169,500±$14,132	$257,400	+$34,247
Median gross rent	$685±$202	$946	no clear change
Renters paying 35% or more of income on rent	36.2%±9.2 pts	30.4%	no clear change
Median monthly owner costs, with a mortgage	$1,448±$107	$1,680	–
Owner-occupied homes	82.1%±3.0 pts	68.6%	no clear change
Housing units	2,663±22	408,584	−107
Homeowner vacancy rate	0.7%±0.6 pts	0.8%	–
Rental vacancy rate	2.6%±3.9 pts	6.0%	–
Single-family detached homes	84.1%±3.0 pts	66.9%	–
Mobile homes	6.4%±2.5 pts	7.2%	–
Built 2020 or later	1.6%±0.8 pts	2.3%	–
Built 1939 or earlier	32.2%±3.0 pts	15.8%	–

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profile DP04) · Check it at data.census.gov

How many new homes is Kingsbury County building?

Builders took permits for 18 new housing units across Kingsbury County in 2025 (18 single-family), 3.4 per 1,000 residents.

2019 22 units
2020 23 units
2021 30 units
2022 29 units
2023 20 units
2024 22 units
2025 18 units

Source: Building Permits Survey, annual county files 2019-2025, U.S. Census Bureau · Census Building Permits Survey

How do people in Kingsbury County get to work?

79.7% of Kingsbury County's workers drive alone and 8.5% work from home. The average trip to work takes 20.8 minutes. The unemployment rate in 2020-2024 averaged 1.0%.

Work and commuting, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Measure	Kingsbury County	South Dakota	Change since 2015-2019
In the labor force (age 16+)	64.3%±2.0 pts	67.2%	–
Unemployment rate	1.0%±0.6 pts	2.9%	–
Drove alone to work	79.7%±2.8 pts	77.0%	–
Carpooled	6.9%±1.9 pts	8.3%	–
Public transportation	0.0%±1.0 pts	0.5%	–
Walked	3.6%±1.2 pts	3.1%	–
Worked from home	8.5%±2.3 pts	9.7%	no clear change
Mean travel time to work	20.8 min±1.8	17.8 min	+2.5 min

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profile DP03) · Check it at data.census.gov

What are Kingsbury County's census tracts?

Kingsbury County is divided into 2 census tracts. Among those with a reliable estimate, median household income runs from $72,375 (Tract 9582) to $74,779 (Tract 9581).

Census tracts of Kingsbury County, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates; sort by any column

Tract 958146077958100	Arlington (8%)	3,143	3,134±127	$74,779	$171,000	$670	11.9%
Tract 958246077958200	De Smet (16%)	2,044	2,110±127	$72,375	$167,400	$725	8.7%

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) · Check it at data.census.gov

How does Kingsbury County compare with South Dakota's other counties?

Kingsbury County's rank among South Dakota's counties with a reliable estimate (1 = highest)
Measure	Rank
Population	35th of 66
Growth 2020-2025	28th of 66
Residents per square mile	32nd of 66
Median household income	25th of 66
Median home value	32nd of 66
Median gross rent	47th of 65
Poverty rate	36th of 65
Bachelor's degree or higher	40th of 66
Median age	26th of 66

Every county in South Dakota

Source: PlainCities ranks from the American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) and PEP Vintage 2025 · How ranks are computed

How these figures are made: methodology and release checks · reading a margin of error · every state · corrections

Not on this page: crime, weather and schools for Kingsbury County are other agencies' records. Crime: the FBI's Crime Data Explorer · climate: NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals · schools: the National Center for Education Statistics' school search.