Brookings County leans Republican by roughly 24 points: about 38% of voters vote Democratic and 62% Republican.
About 70% of adults in Brookings County typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Brookings County, ~27% vote Democratic, ~43% Republican, and ~30% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Brookings County compares
Among counties within 50 miles, Brookings County is the least Republican-leaning.
Brookings County runs about 4 points more Democratic than South Dakota as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by city within Brookings County. The north side is the most Republican-leaning (R+53) and the south side is the least Republican-leaning (R+22), a spread of about 32 points.
Why Brookings County leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per county to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Brookings County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Brookings County votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 51%, far above the South Dakota average of 9%). State and regional patterns outweigh the Democratic lean that density usually predicts here.
Park access and Republican lean
Places with low park coverage tend to lean Republican; Brookings County, SD sits in the bottom quarter nationally on this measure. Park access does not change how people vote; it tends to track denser, higher-income areas.
Why turnout in Brookings County looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Brookings County is in the top quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. The dental-visit rate here is about 70%, about 10 points above the U.S. average of 60%. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 97% of adults in Brookings County have completed high school, in the top fraction of counties. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Moody County, SD R+40
- Lake County, SD R+38
- Lincoln County, MN R+49
- Hamlin County, SD R+64
- Deuel County, SD R+54
- Kingsbury County, SD R+50
- Pipestone County, MN R+48
- Miner County, SD R+52
- Codington County, SD R+42
- Lyon County, MN R+28
Counties with Similar Populations
- Marshall County, TN R+54
- Steuben County, IN R+45
- Putnam County, OH R+66
- Platte County, NE R+48
- Nicollet County, MN R+9
- Ford County, KS R+26
- Taos County, NM D+42
- Barry County, MO R+62
- Preston County, WV R+58
- Cowley County, KS R+38
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from South Dakota Secretary of State, Elections, distributed by the Voting and Election Science Team. Demographic inputs come from the U.S. Census Bureau (ACS 5-year estimates and the 2020 Decennial Census). Health and environmental inputs come from the CDC (PLACES and the Environmental Justice Index). Land cover comes from the USGS and EPA. Election-day and lead-up weather come from PRISM 4km daily grids and the NOAA Global Historical Climatology Network. Mail-voting and election-administration patterns come from the MIT Election Lab's Survey of the Performance of American Elections. Block-group crime detail comes from CrimeGrade. Internet data and modeling support provided by ISPreports.org.
Modeling and analysis by the BestNeighborhood data science team. Full methodology and findings: political spectrum map.
Methodology reviewed by the BestNeighborhood data team. Last updated May 2026.