Meade County is a Republican stronghold. About 24% of voters here vote Democratic and 76% Republican.
About 67% of adults in Meade County typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Meade County, ~16% vote Democratic, ~51% Republican, and ~33% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Meade County compares
Among counties within 50 miles, Meade County leans more Republican than 2 of 4 neighbors.
Meade County runs about 22 points more Republican than South Dakota as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by city within Meade County. The northeast side is the most Republican-leaning (R+84) and the west side is the least Republican-leaning (R+43), a spread of about 41 points.
Why Meade 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 Meade County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with many family households vote Republican. About 70% of households in Meade County are family households, above 80% of counties.
Walkability and Republican lean
Places with a low walkability score tend to lean Republican; Meade County, SD sits below the national average on this measure. A walkable street grid does not change how people vote; it mostly reflects how urban a place is.
Why turnout in Meade County looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Meade 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 95% of adults in Meade County have completed high school, above 91% of counties. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Pennington County, SD R+28
- Lawrence County, SD R+37
- Butte County, SD R+62
- Custer County, SD R+53
- Weston County, WY R+68
- Fall River County, SD R+52
- Crook County, WY R+78
- Haakon County, SD R+71
- Jackson County, SD R+9
- Harding County, SD R+88
Counties with Similar Populations
- Smyth County, VA R+57
- Haralson County, GA R+73
- Schoharie County, NY R+29
- Meade County, KY R+49
- Door County, WI R+3
- Cass County, MN R+30
- Park County, WY R+51
- Sumter County, GA D+13
- Bladen County, NC R+17
- Madison County, GA R+55
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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.