Clark County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,837. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Clark. The county was created in 1873 and organized in 1881. It was named for Newton Clark, a Dakota Territory legislator in 1873.

Geography

Clark County terrain consists of rolling hills, dotted with lakes and ponds especially in the east central portion. The area is mostly devoted to agriculture. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.0%) is water.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 212 * South Dakota Highway 20 *

South Dakota Highway 25 South Dakota Highway 25 (SD 25) is a state highway in the eastern part of the U.S. state of South Dakota. It connects Scotland, Howard, De Smet, and Webster. It consists of two disconnected segments. Its shorter southern segment ...

South Dakota Highway 28 South Dakota Highway 28 (SD 28) is a state highway in the east-central South Dakota, United States, that connects Hitchcock, Estelline, and Toronto. SD 28 was established between 1932 and 1935. It replaced SD 26. It w ...

Adjacent counties

* Day County - north * Codington County - east * Hamlin County - southeast * Kingsbury County - south * Beadle County - southwest * Spink County - west

Protected areas

* Christopherson State Public Shooting Area * Dry Lake Number Two State Public Shooting Area * Fordham State Public Shooting Area * McPeek State Public Shooting Area * Stairs Slough State Public Shooting Area * Willow Lake State Public Shooting Area

Lakes and reservoirs

* Baileys Lake * Dry Lake Number One * Dry Lake Number Two * Mud Lake * Reid Lake * Swan Lake * Willow Lake

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 3,837 people, 1,361 households, and 853 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 1,603 housing units.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 3,691 people, 1,445 households, and 929 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 1,710 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.1% white, 0.2% black or African American, 0.1% Asian, 0.1% American Indian, 0.8% from other races, and 0.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.7% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 52.0% were German, 29.4% were Norwegian, 9.7% were Irish, 7.8% were English, 5.4% were Swedish, and 3.5% were American. Of the 1,445 households, 23.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.8% were married couples living together, 4.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 35.7% were non-families, and 32.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.79. The median age was 45.7 years. The median income for a household in the county was $43,894 and the median income for a family was $55,575. Males had a median income of $33,606 versus $24,952 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,909. About 7.5% of families and 13.1% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 24.5% of those under age 18 and 12.6% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

* Clark (county seat) * Willow Lake

Towns

* Bradley * Garden City *

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

Raymond Raymond is a male given name of Germanic origin. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷ� ...

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Census-designated place

* Collins Colony * Crocker * Fordham Colony * Hillcrest Colony * Mayfield Colony * Silver Lake Colony

Unincorporated communities

Carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenter ...

* Elrod

Townships

* Ash * Blaine * Collins * Cottonwood * Darlington * Day * Eden * Fordham * Foxton * Garfield * Hague * Lake * Lincoln * Logan * Maydell * Merton * Mount Pleasant * Pleasant * Raymond * Richland * Rosedale * Spring Valley * Thorp * Warren * Washington * Woodland

Politics

Clark County is a strongly Republican county. The last time it voted Democratic was Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964.

References

{{authority control 1881 establishments in Dakota Territory Populated places established in 1881