How is Wolsey run?
Wolsey’s town government spent $279,000 on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2023, about $611 per resident. Water and other utilities ($134,000) are counted separately.
What stands out about how Wolsey is run
Read from the town’s budget and official records.
About $611 per resident a year, or $1.67 a day
Day-to-day services only. The biggest line: sewer & trash, at 29%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
$635 per resident in 2022, close to the middle of similar cities
Wolsey’s day-to-day spending in 2022 ($635 per resident, hospital and utilities left out) against 124 South Dakota cities of under 2,500 that don’t run their own schools: the median was $770, and the middle half spent $370–$1,182. Wolsey spent less than 58% of them.
Includes sewer and trash ($73,000), as the Census Bureau counts them. Later years come from a Census sample, so the comparison stays on 2022. How Town Hall compares budgets →
South Dakota cities of under 2,500 that don’t run their own schools, 2022 Census of Governments (every government counted that year; Wolsey itself left out).
Day-to-day spending is up 10% since 2022
Day-to-day services, in dollars, in the years Wolsey reported to the Census Bureau. Prices rose too: about 4% a year in 2022–2024.
Day-to-day spending by fiscal year
Per resident: 2022: $635 · 2023: $611. Per resident it went from $635 to $611 (down 4%), partly because the Census population behind it changed from 400 to 457.
Building projects, interest and enterprises (hospital, utilities) are left out, so a big construction year doesn’t read as growth.
The typical homeowner pays $1,083 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 1.07% 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 Wolsey’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 Wolsey’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Wolsey →
Who’s in charge in Wolsey
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
One full-time town employee for every 229 residents
On the payroll in March 2022, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. Residents: the Census population in the 2023 finance file (457).
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.
Wolsey-Wessington School District 02-6
Wolsey’s K–12 school district, shared with Vernon Township, Virgil, Wessington Township, Whiteside Township, Wolsey Township and more. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $14,994 per pupil, $7,336 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.
Wolsey’s votes are counted by county
South Dakota reports official results by county and precinct, not by town, so there are no official results for Wolsey alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Beadle County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican68.8%4,826 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat28.8%2,017 votesOthers: 2.4% (167 votes).
Most votes in Beadle County: Donald J Trump
South Dakota: Trump 63.4%, Harris 34.2%
100% of Wolsey lies in Beadle County. Every 2024 race in Beadle County is on the county’s page.
Beadle 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 Wolsey.
- 1Your townTown governmentLocal 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.
How Wolsey compares with the towns next door
Wolsey spent $635 per resident in 2022. Most of its neighbors are townships, a different kind of government, so the like-for-like comparison is with similar cities, above. Tap a town to see its page.
| Town | Day-to-day, per resident (2022) | Tax bill |
|---|---|---|
| Wolsey Township | $423 | — |
| Wolsey | $635 | $1,083 |
Day-to-day spending in 2022, the last year every government was counted, for governments that reported it; hospital and utilities left out. Tax bill: the typical homeowner’s bill (Census ACS, 2020–24).
Reach Wolsey’s government
Neighbors add phone numbers and hours to the Handbook.
Questions about Wolsey’s government
How much does Wolsey spend per resident?
About $611 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2023, as reported to the Census Bureau. In 2022, the last full count, its $635 was less than 58% of 124 South Dakota cities of under 2,500 that don’t run their own schools.
What is the property tax rate in Wolsey?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $1,083 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 1.07% of the typical home’s value, vs 1.06% across South Dakota. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see the town’s assessor.
Who runs Wolsey’s government?
We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Wolsey yet.
How did Wolsey vote in 2024?
South Dakota counts votes by county and precinct, not by town, so there are no official results for Wolsey alone. Beadle County, where 100% of Wolsey lies, voted Trump 68.8%, Harris 28.8% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Wolsey?
2 full-time and 10 part-time employees in March 2022, with a March payroll of $12,639 (about $151,668 a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.
Who represents Wolsey in the state legislature?
State Senate District 22 (Brandon Wipf) and State House District 22 (Kevin Van Diepen and Lana Greenfield). The House district also covers 96 other towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Wolsey’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; 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 →