Fall River County - Demographics & Population
Fall River County is the least-populated county in the region with only 6,981 residents as of July 1, 2011, according to estimates by the U.S. Census. This total represented a 1.9 percent decrease over the prior year. Fall River County is the only county in the seven-county Black Hills region that lost residents between 2000 and 2010, shrinking by 4.8 percent in the first ten years of the 21st century. According to the U.S. Census, Hot Springs, the county seat, is home to well over half the county population, but the city's population declined by 10 percent from 4,129 in 2000 to 3,711.
Age
Fall River has the oldest population in the state with a median age of 50.5 years. One in four residents of Fall River County are over the age of 65, which is double the national average, and only 19.9 percent are below the age of 18, which is 10 percent below the national average.
Race
Fall River County is ethnically diverse compared to its neighbors. It has a white population of 88.6 percent, but the county's proximity to the Pine Ridge Reservation contributes to a significant (7.1 percent) American Indian population as well. Hispanics account for 2.2 percent of the community.
Poverty
The per capita income of Fall River residents is $21,810, $1,500 below the state average, and the median household income is $34,464, $10,000 below the state average. According to the Census, 18.6 percent of the population lived below the poverty line in 2010. According to the South Dakota Kids Count project, the estimated percentage of children under the age of 18 in poverty in Fall River County rose from 23 percent to 28 percent between 2005 and 2009.
The median value of owner-occupied homes in Fall River County is $97,000, lower than all its neighboring counties except for the adjacent Shannon County. Fall River County also has the lowest people-per-household rate in the region, with an average of 1.96 people in every household.
Looking for Census information on demographics and housing in your neighborhood? The Federal Financial Institutions Council, an agency of the federal government, provides a site where you can enter your street address and access census data about your neighborhood.
