Shannon County, South Dakota

Infobox U.S. County
county = Shannon County
state = South Dakota


founded year =
founded date =
seat wl =
largest city wl = Pine Ridge
area_total_sq_mi = 2097
area_total_km2 = 5430
area_land_sq_mi = 2094
area_land_km2 = 5423
area_water_sq_mi = 3
area_water_km2 = 7
area percentage = 0.13%
census yr = 2000
pop = 12466
density_sq_mi = 5
density_km2 = 2
time zone = Mountain
UTC offset = -7
DST offset = -6
footnotes = Hot Springs in neighboring Fall River County serves as its administrative center
web =
named for = Peter Shannon

Shannon County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Dakota. The population was 12,466 at the 2000 census. Its largest community is Pine Ridge.

The county is entirely within the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and contains part of Badlands National Park. The county's per-capita income makes it the second poorest county in the United States. It also has the interesting distinction of having the highest percentage of Democratic votes for President in the 2004 election of any county in the US (85%). It is an alcohol prohibition or dry county; taxes on alcohol consumed within the county go to other counties.

Shannon County is one of two counties in South Dakota that does not have its own county seat (Todd County is the other). Hot Springs in neighboring Fall River County serves as its administrative center.GR|6 It is also one of five South Dakota counties that are entirely on an Indian reservation. (The others are Corson, Dewey, Todd, and Ziebach.)

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,097 square miles (5,430 km²), of which, 2,094 square miles (5,423 km²) of it is land and 3 square miles (7 km²) of it is water. The total area is 0.13% water.

The county includes the headwaters of the Little White River.

Townships

The county is divided into two areas of unorganized territory: East Shannon and West Shannon.

Major highways

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Adjacent counties

* Pennington County, South Dakota - north
* Jackson County, South Dakota - northeast
* Bennett County, South Dakota - east
* Sheridan County, Nebraska - south
* Dawes County, Nebraska - southwest
* Fall River County, South Dakota - west
* Custer County, South Dakota - northwest

National protected area

* Badlands National Park (part)

Demographics

USCensusPop
1920 = 2003
1930 = 4058
1940 = 5366
1950 = 5669
1960 = 6000
1970 = 8198
1980 = 11323
1990 = 9902
2000 = 12466
estyear = 2007
estimate = 13589

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there are 12,466 people in the county, organized into 2,785 households, and 2,353 families. The population density is 6 people per square mile (2/km²). There are 3,123 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile (1/km²).

Shannon County has the highest percentage of Native American population and the lowest percentage White population of any county in the United States. The racial makeup of the county is 94.20% Native American, 4.51% White, 0.08% Black or African American, 0.02% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.22% from other races, and 0.91% from two or more races. 1.42% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 2,785 households out of which 51.70% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.40% are married couples living together, 36.40% have a female householder with no husband present, and 15.50% are non-families. 13.20% of all households are made up of individuals and 3.00% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 4.36 and the average family size is 4.72.

The age distribution is 45.30% under the age of 18, 10.60% from 18 to 24, 25.60% from 25 to 44, 13.80% from 45 to 64, and 4.80% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 21 years. For every 100 females there are 99.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 95.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $20,916, and the median income for a family was $20,897. Males had a median income of $25,170 versus $22,594 for females. The per capita income for the county was $6,286. About 45.10% of families and 52.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 60.80% of those under age 18 and 36.00% of those age 65 or over.

References

Cities, towns, and villages

*Batesland
*Kyle
*Manderson-White Horse Creek
*Oglala
*Pine Ridge
*Porcupine
*Red Shirt
*Wounded Knee

References