William Andre House · National Register of Historic Places
Meckling Township’s story
153 years in pictures
The archive holds 3 maps from 1968 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
- 1873Meckling Township is settled
Meckling TownshipSD
A town of 213, settled in 1873.
5 bordering townsMap →
William Andre House · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0
Population
213
2025 Census estimate · +1.4% since 2020
Median home value
$277K
Census ACS
Household income
$75K
median
Median age
41.1
years
Jobs based here
12
A commuter town
Is Meckling Township a good place to live?
Meckling Township has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them William Andre House and Calle Nissen Johnsen Farm. Meckling Township has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
Small town
213 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Nearby towns
Norway TownshipBethel TownshipSpirit Mound TownshipGayville TownshipPleasant Valley TownshipMeckling Township
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Meckling Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Meckling Township, and how to reach them.
PowerClay-Union ElectricEIAHIFLD · EIA
WaterClay Rural Water SystemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet7 providers73% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Meckling Township’s trash rules yet
SchoolsIrene-Wakonda School District 13-3Gayville-Volin School District 63-12 districts serve Meckling Township; which school depends on your address and gradeNCES
Register to voteIn personSouth Dakota has no online registration; you can register in person until 15 days before Election Day or by mail (received 15 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereClay County AuditorClay County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Jul 2023
ZIP codes57069, 57031, 5707257069 72% · 57031 21% · 57072 7%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Meckling Township.
Who lives here
Young adults are less common in Meckling Township than in South Dakota
In Meckling Township, two in five adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more. Adults 18 to 34 are 3% of residents (22% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 48% of residents (36% statewide). Its age of the median resident is 41.1 years, near both the South Dakota town median (39.5 years) and the median of U.S. towns (40.5 years).
41.1median age · SD 38
| Meckling Township | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 40% | 33% | 29% |
| Median age | 41.1 years | 39.5 years | 40.5 years |
Meckling TownshipSouth DakotaUnited States
Ages · share of residents
21%
Education · adults 25 and older
No diploma10%
High school15%
Some college18%
Associate’s17%
Bachelor’s24%
Graduate17%
Women and men · all residents
61% women, 39% men
About 64 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±6.4 points). Across South Dakota, 49.2% of residents are women.
| Meckling Township | SD | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 18.3% | 13.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 17.9% | 11.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 0% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 2.6% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 19.4% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 8.1% | 10.7% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 20.9% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.8% | 11% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 0% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 9.8% | 6.8% | 10.4% |
| High school | 14.9% | 29% | 26% |
| Some college | 18.4% | 19.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 16.7% | 12.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 23.6% | 21.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 16.7% | 10% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 200, single groups can be off by several points
Work & commute
Meckling Township stands out in South Dakota and nationally: a smaller share of its working residents work locally
The top destinations are Vermillion (28%), Sioux Falls (18%) and Yankton (5%). Employers in Meckling Township shed 54 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 12. Among 36 South Dakota towns, just 2 have a higher mean commuting time than Meckling Township. Half commute less than 21 miles.
1%work in town
| Meckling Township | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 1.1% | 29% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 25 minutes | 17 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
In Meckling Township1%
Vermillion28%
Sioux Falls18%
Yankton5%
Sioux City4%
21 mi
median commute distance
12
jobs based in Meckling Township
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Climate
Four seasons and pleasant summers in Meckling Township
A winter brings about 38 inches of snow, with January nights at 10° and July afternoons at 86°.
38″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter13–32°
Spring36–60°
Summer61–83°
Fall38–62°
Oct 3
typical first frost
May 3
typical last frost
+0.8°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Natural hazards
Meckling Township has a high natural-hazard risk, chiefly from inland flooding
Compared with 66% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage in Meckling Township is higher. Expected losses in Meckling Township break down as 51% from inland flooding and 16% from drought.
66risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingDroughtTornadoes
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Health
How healthy Meckling Township is
13% of adults smoke cigarettes in Meckling Township, below both South Dakota’s towns (14%) and U.S. towns (14%). This South Dakota town does better than the South Dakota average on 9 of 26 CDC measures and worse on 2. For adults in the town, the share who have high blood pressure is 25%. Only 2 of the 36 South Dakota towns we compare have a lower share of adults who had a checkup this year than Meckling Township.
| Meckling Township | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 31% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 73% | 76% | 79% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 19% | 16% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8.2% | 10% | 12% |
26 measures vs. South Dakota
9 better15 too close to call2 worse
| What stands out | Meckling Township | SD |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 8.2% | 11.7% |
| Fewer adults who have had a stroke | 2.5% | 3.5% |
| Fewer adults treating high blood pressure | 69.1% | 75.9% |
Sanford Vermillion Medical Center
11 mi away · emergency room
3 of 3
care shortages: primary care, dental, mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Outdoors
Conservation land takes up 1.3% of Meckling Township
Meckling Township’s concentration of trails is 0.3 miles per square mile. 9.0 miles of trail.
1.3%conserved
| Meckling Township | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.3% | 3.3% | 4.3% |
1.3%
conserved · 309 of 22,972 acres
9.0 mi
of trails · 0.3 per sq mi
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Meckling Township
17pages on Meckling Township
The big questions
Out and about
The story
Day to day
After high school
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Meckling Township
About 6 of every 100 Meckling Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as South Dakota.
A commuter town
99% of working residents leave Meckling Township for work
Where Meckling Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
12jobs based in Meckling Township
1%of working residents work in town
21 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
About Meckling Township
Unincorporated community in South Dakota, United States
Meckling is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place (CDP) in Clay County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 48 at the 2020 census. Meckling was laid out in 1873, and named in honor of Jones S. Meckling, a railroad employee. Due to the large number of farms that grow the crop alfalfa it has become known as the "Hay Capital of the Universe". In this fertile Missouri River valley of southeastern South Dakota, alfalfa hay is the crop of choice. Each August Meckling and its neighboring town Gayville, the Hay Capital of the World host the Annual Hay Days. In 1965, the local school closed, and the residents were allowed to choose between the Gayville or Vermillion s…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 36 sq mi
- Elevation
- 1,152 ft
Questions about Meckling Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Meckling Township, SD a good place to live?
Meckling Township has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.