Prairie City, South Dakota Demographics & Population 2026

A note before these figures: with a population of 20, Prairie City's ACS estimates come from a small number of survey responses and carry wide margins of error. Individual percentages below — particularly rates that round to 0% or 100% — are approximations, not precise measurements. See data.census.gov for the published margins of error.

Population Overview

Prairie City is a small community located in South Dakota, within Perkins County. The total population is 20. It ranks as the 409th most populous out of 439 Census-designated places in South Dakota.

Age Demographics

The median age in Prairie City is 12.3 years. This is 68% lower than the state median of 38.0 years. With 60.0% of the population under 18, Prairie City has a notably young demographic profile, suggesting a family-oriented community.

Economy, Income & Housing

The ACS records no residents below the poverty line in Prairie City. In a community this small the estimate rests on very few survey responses, so it should be read as an absence of measurement rather than a measured absence of poverty. 100.0% of occupied housing units are owner-occupied. This homeownership rate is 46% higher than the state average of 68.6%.

Race & Ethnicity

Every resident counted in Prairie City was recorded as Asian. A figure of exactly 100.0% reflects a survey sample too small to capture the community's full composition rather than a precise measurement.

Education

0.0% of residents aged 25 and older hold a bachelor's degree or higher. This is among the lowest rates in the state, which may correlate with employment and income patterns. Nationally, 35.7% of adults hold at least a bachelor's degree. No surveyed resident aged 25 or older reported leaving school before earning a high school diploma, though a rate of exactly 100% reflects the limits of a small sample.

Data Sources & Methodology

All demographic data for Prairie City, South Dakota is sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 2020–2024 5-Year Estimates. The ACS collects data from approximately 3.5 million households annually and pools five years of responses so that even small communities can be measured, though the margin of error widens as the population falls. Comparisons are made against South Dakota state averages and national averages calculated from the same dataset. Rankings reflect the city's position among all 439 Census-designated places in South Dakota. Read more about how these figures are produced on our methodology page, or visit data.census.gov for official data.