Official Federal Data
Meade County, South Dakota
FIPS 46093 · Rapid City, SD · Population 30,546
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$74,790 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
2% ▲
Unemployment
4% national
17,197
Labor Force
27.8% ▲
Bachelor's+
35.7% national
Demographics & Population
Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates
Household Income
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household
$74,790 ▲
Per Capita
$38,550 ▲
Mean Household
$94,155 ▲
Poverty Rate
7.1% ▲
Median Income Comparison
Meade County$74,790
South Dakota$75,081
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 21.2%
18-34 · 25.1%
35-54 · 24.1%
55-64 · 12.9%
65+ · 16.7%
Race & Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.
Educational Attainment
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
95%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▲ +5.4 pts
27.8%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▼ 7.9 pts
6.4%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▼ 7.7 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
30,546
Population
17,197
Labor Force
Employed
15,095
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
2% ▲ +0.3 pts YoY
Mean Commute 7 min below national avg
19.8 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
8.1%
Key Takeaways
- Talent gap: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment trails the national average by 7.9 pts, relevant for advanced-services attraction strategy.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Construction employs 1,084 workers (22.8% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $67,543.
- Wage stratification: Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services averages $84,903 while Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation averages $23,161, a 3.7x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW.
Seeing a change here?
Get Deeper Trends
EP customers get year-over-year deltas, WARN notices, and SEC filings for every sector tracked above, surfaced as proactive alerts, not after-the-fact news.
Industry Concentration
Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.
Cluster Depth
Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Dominant Cluster
Construction Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
1,084
Cluster Employment
2.84x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing
3.88x 75
Animal Production and Aquaculture
3.14x 50
Gasoline Stations and Fuel Dealers
3.00x 185
Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction
2.84x 198
Construction of Buildings
2.50x 274
Specialty Trade Contractors
1.99x 612
Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers
1.99x 240
Accommodation
1.74x 197
Repair and Maintenance
1.59x 137
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.26x
General Merchandise Retailers
50 employed
0.28x
Educational Services
54 employed
0.31x
Administrative and Support Services
155 employed
0.43x
Nursing and Residential Care Facilities
86 employed
0.44x
Ambulatory Health Care Services
236 employed
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing concentrates at 3.88x the national norm, strong concentration that anchors the local economy and supports supply-chain attraction strategy.
- Cluster depth: 9 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
- Attraction whitespace: 8 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Housing & Affordability
Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026
Housing Overview
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064
$310,900 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$1,264 ▲
Rent/Mo
72.9% ▼
Owner-Occ
7% ▼
Vacancy
4.2x
Home Value to Income Ratio
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$878/mo
1 Bedroom
$970/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,273/mo
3 Bedroom
$1,770/mo
4 Bedroom
$2,136/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$1,870/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- In line with national: Home value to income ratio of 4.2x sits near the ~4.1x national average; affordability is neither a clear advantage nor a recruitment friction.
- High home ownership: 72.9% owner-occupied; rental supply may be tight for incoming workers.
- Affordable rent tiers: 4 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$1,870/mo).
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.
Workforce Pipeline
Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition
Labor Market Overview
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23025, B08303, B08301
18,966 ▲
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 7 min below national avg
19.8 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
8.1%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
82.9%
of prime-age population
▼ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
27.8% ▲
HS Diploma+
95% ▲
Regional / Statewide Institutions
Total credentials awarded
7,826/yr
2,703/yr
2,132/yr
818/yr
797/yr
793/yr
583/yr
Aging Workforce
Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
20.7%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Elevated retirement risk, above the 20% threshold. Succession planning recommended.
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
33.8%
Service
19.5%
Sales & Office
22.4%
Construction / Maint.
14.5%
Production / Transport
9.7%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 15,095 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Short commutes: 19.8-minute mean commute is a quality-of-life and labor-access advantage worth surfacing for site selectors.
- Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 5,653 annual credentials.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.
AI Insights
AI-assisted analysis, drawn from 9 federal data sources
Sample AI Insight
Meade County shows meaningful potential for beverage and tobacco product manufacturing attraction, with a 3.88x concentration and 75 jobs in this sub-sector.
The interconnected base across beverage and tobacco product manufacturing, animal production and aquaculture, and gasoline stations and fuel dealers creates supply-chain attraction leverage rather than single-employer risk, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.
Industry Shift Analysis
Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100
Prospect Match Scores
Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
Illustrative example
Take it further
AI Insights: Built into ExecutivePulse. Continuous analysis tied to your own pipeline: industry-shift signals, prospect matches, retention prompts.
Managed Services: Prefer to hand it off? Our team delivers the analysis and consulting for you.
Schedule a DemoAvailable as premium offerings.
Data Sources
Updated from official federal government data.
Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2025 annual
BLS LAUS (via FRED)2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23
Frequently Asked Questions
Key economic and demographic figures for Meade County, South Dakota, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Meade County, South Dakota?
30,546 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Meade County, South Dakota?
$74,790 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Meade County, South Dakota?
2% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
Meade County, SD: Public data. Imagine the full platform.
Get a Demo →