Harding County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of 2000, the population was 1,353. Its county seat is Buffalo. The county was established on February 26, 1909, and named in honor of J.A. Harding, who had been Speaker of the House of the Dakota Territory.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,678 square miles (6,935 km²), of which, 2,670 square miles (6,917 km²) of it is land and 7 square miles (18 km²) of it (0.26%) is water.

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 85
• South Dakota Highway 20
• South Dakota Highway 79

Adjacent counties

• Bowman County, North Dakota - north
• Adams County, North Dakota - northeast
• Perkins County, South Dakota - east
• Butte County, South Dakota - south
• Carter County, Montana - west
• Fallon County, Montana - northwest

National protected area

• Custer National Forest (part)

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,353 people, 525 households, and 352 families residing in the county. The population density was 0.5 people per square mile (0.2/km²). There were 804 housing units at an average density of 0.3 per square mile (0.1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.63% White, 0.30% Black or African American, 0.74% Native American, 0.59% Asian, 0.37% from other races, and 0.37% from two or more races. 1.63% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 25.9% were of German, 24.3% Norwegian, 12.8% American, 7.1% Irish and 6.6% English ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 525 households out of which 35.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.5% were married couples living together, 5.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.8% were non-families. 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.19.

In the county, the population was spread out with 32.5% under the age of 18, 4.4% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 104.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.0 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $25,000, and the median income for a family was $31,667. Males had a median income of $25,556 versus $16,375 for females. The per capita income for the county was $12,794. About 19.40% of families and 21.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.80% of those under age 18 and 22.50% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

• Buffalo
• Camp Crook
• Ludlow
• Reva
• Ralph

References