Stanley County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,980. Its county seat is Fort Pierre. The county was created in 1873, and was organized in 1890. It is named for David S. Stanley, a commander at Fort Sully from 1866 to 1874, which was located nearby. Stanley County is included in the Pierre, SD Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

Stanley County's northwestern boundary is defined by the Cheyenne River which flows eastward, to discharge into the Missouri River at the most northerly point of Stanley County. From there, the county's northeast boundary is defined by the southeastward-flowing Missouri. The county terrain consists of semi-arid rolling hills, carved by drainages. The area is partially devoted to agriculture. The terrain slopes to the east; its highest point is in the SW county corner, at 2,198 ft ASL. The county has a total area of 1517 sqmi, of which 1444 sqmi is land and 73 sqmi (4.8%) is water. The eastern portion of South Dakota's counties (48 of 66) observe Central Time; the western counties (18 of 66) observe Mountain Time. Stanley County is on the western end of counties which observe Central Time, and its residents are split east–west in their time observance. Although Fort Pierre, the seat of Stanley County, 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

Adjacent counties

Protected areas

Lakes

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 2,980 people, 1,244 households, and 823 families residing in the county. The population density was 2.1 PD/sqmi. There were 1,427 housing units.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 2,966 people, 1,228 households, and 857 families in the county. The population density was 2.1 PD/sqmi. There were 1,387 housing units at an average density of 1.0 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the county was 90.0% white, 6.6% American Indian, 0.3% black or African American, 0.1% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 2.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.7% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 46.4% were German, 12.5% were Irish, 10.8% were English, 10.7% were Norwegian, 8.4% were Czech, 5.0% were Swedish, and 2.5% were American. Of the 1,228 households, 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.7% were married couples living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 30.2% were non-families, and 26.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.87. The median age was 41.9 years. The median income for a household in the county was $51,875 and the median income for a family was $54,722. Males had a median income of $33,929 versus $25,574 for females. The per capita income for the county was $27,435. About 8.8% of families and 11.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.1% of those under age 18 and 17.3% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

City

Unincorporated communities

Townships

Stanley County has no townships. It 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.

Notable person

Politics

Stanley County have traditionally voted Republican. No Democratic presidential candidate has won Stanley County since Lyndon Johnson in 1964, whilst Michael Dukakis during the drought-affected 1988 election is the last Democrat to top forty percent.