Aberdeen () is a city in and the county seat of Brown County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 28,495 at the 2020 census, and was estimated to be 27,919 in 2024, making it the third-most populous city in the state. Aberdeen is home of Northern State University.

History Settlement Before Aberdeen or Brown County was inhabited by European settlers, it was inhabited by the Sioux Indians from approximately 1700 to 1879. Europeans entered the region for business, founding fur trading posts during the 1820s; these trading posts operated until the mid-1830s. The first "settlers" of this region were the Arikara Indians, but they would later be joined by others.

The first group of Euro-American settlers to reach the area that is now Brown County was a party of four people, three horses, two mules, fifteen cattle, and two wagons. This group of settlers was later joined by another group the following spring, and, eventually, more settlers migrated toward this general area, currently known as Columbia, South Dakota. This town was established on June 15, 1879, was settled in 1880, and was incorporated in 1882.

Creation of the town

Aberdeen, like many towns of the Midwest, was built around the newly developing railroad systems. Aberdeen was first officially plotted as a town site on January 3, 1881, by Charles Prior, the superintendent of the Minneapolis office of the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad, or the Milwaukee Road for short, which was presided over by Alexander Mitchell, Charles Prior's boss, who was responsible for the choice of town names. He was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, after which the town of Aberdeen was named. Aberdeen was officially founded on July 6, 1881, the date of the first arrival of a Milwaukee Railroad train. Aberdeen then operated under a city charter granted by the Territorial Legislature in March 1883.

As Aberdeen grew, many businesses and buildings were constructed along the town's Main Street. However, this soon became a problem due to Aberdeen's periodic flooding, which led to it being referred to as "The Town in the Frog Pond". At first, this unique condition presented no problem to the newly constructed buildings because it had not rained very much but, when heavy rains fell, the Pond reappeared and flooded the basements of every building on Main Street, causing many business owners and home owners much turmoil. When this flooding happened, the city had one steam-powered pump that had to be used to dry out the entire area that had been flooded, which would take days, if not weeks – and more often than not, it would have rained again in this time period and caused even more flooding, even in the basements that had already been emptied of the water. When the water was gone from the basements, the city still had to deal with the mud that also resulted from the heavy rains.

The city decided in 1882 to build an artesian ditch to control the "Frog Pond" effects; the plan was later upgraded and developed into an artesian well in 1884 to combat the heavy rains and keep the basements from flooding. The artesian well was designed by the city engineers to prevent flooding and develop a water system. However, during the digging of the well, the water stream that was found underground was too powerful to be contained. The water came blasting out with violent force and had the entire Main Street submerged in up to four feet of water. The engineers realized the previous flaws of the artesian well plan and soon added a gate valve to the well to control the flow of water, giving Aberdeen its first working water supply.

Aberdeen had four different railroad companies with depots built in the newly developing town. With these four railroads intersecting here, Aberdeen soon became known as the "Hub City of the Dakotas". When looking down on Aberdeen from above, the railroad tracks converging in Aberdeen resembled the spokes of a wheel converging at a hub, hence the name "Hub City of the Dakotas". These four railroad companies are the reason why Aberdeen was able to grow and flourish as it did. The only railroad still running through Aberdeen is the BNSF Railway.

L. Frank Baum, who was later author of the book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and its many sequels, lived here with his wife and children from 1888 to 1891. He ran a fancy goods store, Baum's Bazaar, for over a year, which failed. He later published one of the city's then nine newspapers, where he used his editorials to campaign for women's suffrage (a suffrage amendment to the new South Dakota constitution was on the ballot at the time).*The Real Wizard of Oz* by Rebecca Loncraine, 2009 The city's small amusement park has some features reflective of the Oz series. After his sojourn in Aberdeen, he moved to Chicago in 1892.

Five sitting Presidents of the United States have visited Aberdeen: William McKinley in 1899, Theodore Roosevelt in 1903, William Howard Taft in 1911, Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936, and George W. Bush in 2002.Presidential visits to South Dakota (updated)

Geography Aberdeen is located in northeastern South Dakota, in the James River valley, approximately west of the river. The James River enters northeastern South Dakota in Brown County, where it is dammed to form two reservoirs northeast of Aberdeen. The city is bisected by Moccasin Creek, a slow-moving waterway which flows south and then northeast to the James River.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (0.47%) is water.

Climate Aberdeen experiences a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa) influenced by its position far from moderating bodies of water. This brings four distinct seasons, a phenomenon that is characterized by hot, relatively humid summers and cold, dry winters, and it lies in USDA Hardiness Zone 4a. The monthly daily average temperature ranges from in January to in July, while there are 16 days of + highs and 38 days with sub- lows annually. Snowfall occurs mostly in light to moderate amounts during the winter, totaling . Precipitation, at annually, is concentrated in the warmer months. Extreme temperatures have ranged from on January 12, 1912, and February 8, 1895, to on July 6 and 15, 1936, although a reading occurred as recently as January 15, 2009.

Demographics

Aberdeen is the principal city of the Aberdeen Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Brown and Edmunds counties and has a population of 42,287 in the 2020 census and of 41,522 in the 2024 estimate.

According to realtor website Zillow, the average price of a home as of July 31, 2025, in Aberdeen is $238,567.

As of the 2023 American Community Survey, there are 12,341 estimated households in Aberdeen with an average of 2.20 persons per household. The city has a median household income of $63,715. Approximately 12.9% of the city's population lives at or below the poverty line. Aberdeen has an estimated 70.5% employment rate, with 33.6% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 93.1% holding a high school diploma.

The top five reported ancestries (people were allowed to report up to two ancestries, thus the figures will generally add to more than 100%) were English (92.8%), Spanish (3.0%), Indo-European (1.0%), Asian and Pacific Islander (2.6%), and Other (0.6%).

The median age in the city was 35.8 years.

Racial and ethnic composition

+Aberdeen, South Dakota – racial and ethnic composition Race / ethnicity (NH = non-Hispanic) Pop.1980 Pop.1990 Pop.2000 Pop.2010 Pop.2020White alone (NH)24,970(96.59%) 23,867(95.75%) 23,209(94.12%) 23,759(91.06%) 23,482(82.41%)Black or African American alone (NH)35(0.14%) 39(0.16%) 89(0.36%) 171(0.66%) 522(1.83%)Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)797(3.08%) 806(3.23%) 775(3.14%) 922(3.53%) 955(3.35%)Asian alone (NH)86(0.33%) 124(0.50%) 133(0.54%) 327(1.25%) 892(3.13%)Pacific Islander alone (NH)— — 26(0.11%) 42(0.16%) 42(0.15%)Other race alone (NH)0(0.00%) 3(0.01%) 4(0.02%) 16(0.06%) 83(0.29%)Mixed race or multiracial (NH)— — 226(0.92%) 442(1.69%) 1,054(3.70%)Hispanic or Latino (any race)68(0.26%) 88(0.35%) 196(0.79%) 412(1.58%) 1,465(5.14%)Total25,851(100.00%) 24,927(100.00%) 24,658(100.00%) 26,091(100.00%) 28,495(100.00%) 2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 28,495 people, 12,226 households, and 6,767 families residing in the city.

The median age was 36.4 years. 23.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 17.5% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 95.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.8 males age 18 and over.

98.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 2.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 12,226 households in Aberdeen, of which 27.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 39.9% were married-couple households, 22.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 29.4% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 37.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 13,397 housing units, of which 8.7% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.1% and the rental vacancy rate was 10.9%.

+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number PercentWhite 23,825 83.6%Black or African American 553 1.9%American Indian and Alaska Native 1,045 3.7%Asian 896 3.1%Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 43 0.2%Some other race 626 2.2%Two or more races 1,507 5.3%Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 1,465 5.1%

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 26,091 people, 11,418 households and 6,354 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 12,158 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 91.84% White, 0.68% African American, 3.62% Native American, 1.26% Asian, 0.16% Pacific Islander, 0.46% from some other races and 1.98% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 1.58% of the population.

There were 11,418 households, of which 27.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.1% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 44.4% were non-families. 36.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.86.

The median age was 36.4 years. 22.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 12.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.1% were from 25 to 44; 24.4% were from 45 to 64; and 16.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender make-up of the city was 47.6% male and 52.4% female.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 24,658 people, 10,553 households and 6,184 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 11,259 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 94.61% White, 0.37% African American, 3.17% Native American, 0.54% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 0.19% from some other races and 0.99% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 0.79% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 53.7% were of German, 15% Norwegian and 8.5% Irish.

There were 10,553 households, of which 27.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.0% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.4% were non-families. 34.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.86.