With 189,485 people, the seven-county Black Hills region constitutes about 23 percent of South Dakota’s population. More than half of the region's residents, about 100,496, live in Pennington County, according to the 2010 Census. There are 12.9 people per square mile in the region, slightly denser than the 10.7 people per square mile average in South Dakota.
Between 2000 and 2010 the populaton of the Black Hills region grew by 11 percent. This growth rate exceeded the state of South Dakota, which grew by 7.9 percent and the nation, which grew by 9.7 percent. The region's growth also exceeded the average of metropolitan areas (10.8 percent) and far exceeded rural (1.8 percent) and micropolitan regions (5.9 percent). A brief from the U.S. Census provides an overall analysis of Population Distribution and Change, 2000 to 2010.
The relatively fast growth of the Black Hills region (compared to many other parts of the country) reflects the pattern of the West more than the Midwest. According the Census, the Midwest grew by 3.9 percent during the decade while the population in the West increased 13.8 percent.
Rapid City grew 14 percent between 2000 and 2010. By comparison, Sioux Falls' population increased 24 percent.
The Rapid City Metropolitan Area, which includes Pennington and Meade counties, grew 12.02 percent over the decade. Other major metropolitan areas in our region experienced similar growth: Casper, WY (13.4 percent), Cheyenne, WY (12.41 percent), Missoula, MT (14.09 percent), Bismarck, ND (14.84 percent), Billings, MT (13.78 percent), Fargo, ND (19.73 percent) and Sioux Falls, SD (22.00 percent). Wikipedia has posted a table of United States Metropolitan Statistical Areas using data from the U.S. Census.
The median age in the Black Hills region varies from county to county. The two most populous counties, Pennington, and Meade, have median ages of 38.8 and 35.9, in line with the national median age of 37.5.
The county with the oldest population is Fall River, with a median age of 50.5 and 23.1 percent of its citizens over the age of 65. Shannon County has the youngest population with a median 23.5 and 45.5 percent of its population under the age of 21.
The majority of people in the Black Hills region are white, about 81.5 percent. Butte, Lawrence, and Custer Counties all have white populations of over 94 percent. Thirteen percent of the population of the region is Native American, higher than the statewide percentage (8 percent). Shannon County, home of the Pine Ridge Reservation, has a Native American population of 96.0 percent.
In the Black Hills, county poverty rates in 2010 as reported by the U.S. Census for all ages were:
Butte - 15.3 percent.
Custer - 11.2 percent.
Fall River - 16.7 percent.
Lawrence - 14.0 percent.
Meade - 10.6 percent.
Pennington - 15.2 percent.
Shannon - 47.3 percent.
