Photo: Spencer · CC BY-SA 2.5How is McLaughlin run?
McLaughlin’s city government spent $1.9 million on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2023, about $3,320 per resident. These are Census Bureau estimates: McLaughlin didn’t report its figures, so this page shows them without comparisons.
What stands out about how McLaughlin is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
The typical homeowner pays $951 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 1.52% of the home’s value, vs 1.06% across South Dakota.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at McLaughlin’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate. In a town this small the estimate has a wide margin.
Tax bills are one input to McLaughlin’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in McLaughlin →
About $3,320 per resident a year, or $9.10 a day
Day-to-day services only (a Census Bureau estimate). The biggest line: administration & buildings, at 14%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
McLaughlin didn’t report all of its 2023 figures to the Census Bureau, so most of these numbers are the Bureau’s estimates.
No comparison or trend for McLaughlin yet
Every year of McLaughlin’s figures is a Census Bureau estimate: the city reported none of its dollars for 2022–2023. Estimates are shown above, labeled, but never ranked against places that reported or drawn as a trend.
How Town Hall compares budgets →Who’s in charge in McLaughlin
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
One full-time city employee for every 113 residents
On the payroll in March 2022, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (a Census estimate). Residents: the Census population in the 2023 finance file (563).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2022
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
McLaughlin School District 15-2
McLaughlin’s K–12 school district. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $22,585 per pupil, $11,857 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
South Dakota districts overall: 50% local, 31% state, 19% federal.
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
McLaughlin’s votes are counted by county
South Dakota reports official results by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for McLaughlin alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Corson County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican55.2%631 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat43.3%495 votesOthers: 1.5% (17 votes).
Most votes in Corson County: Donald J Trump
South Dakota: Trump 63.4%, Harris 34.2%
100% of McLaughlin lies in Corson County. Every 2024 race in Corson County is on the county’s page.
Corson County’s 2024 results →Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for McLaughlin.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilLocal officials aren’t on record yet.
- 2South Dakota HouseState representatives
- 3South Dakota SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of South Dakota
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
Reach McLaughlin’s government
Neighbors add phone numbers and hours to the Handbook.
Questions about McLaughlin’s government
How much does McLaughlin spend per resident?
About $3,320 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2023, a Census Bureau estimate (McLaughlin didn’t report its figures). With building projects and interest, the whole budget was about $1.9 million.
What is the property tax rate in McLaughlin?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $951 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 1.52% of the typical home’s value, vs 1.06% across South Dakota. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see the city’s assessor.
Who runs McLaughlin’s government?
We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for McLaughlin yet.
How did McLaughlin vote in 2024?
South Dakota counts votes by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for McLaughlin alone. Corson County, where 100% of McLaughlin lies, voted Trump 55.2%, Harris 43.3% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for McLaughlin?
5 full-time and 9 part-time employees in March 2022, with a March payroll of $27,389 (about $328,668 a year if every month were the same); Census Bureau estimates.
Who represents McLaughlin in the state legislature?
State Senate District 28 (Sam Marty) and State House District 28A (Jana Hunt). The House district also covers 37 other towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about McLaughlin’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (for McLaughlin, the Bureau’s estimates); day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →