# Tripp County, South Dakota: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy

Home to Winner

Tripp County is not a build-out site today. It feels the boom through the grid it shares, the utilities that serve it and the work nearby. Tripp County is home to Winner. Employers here counted 2,329 jobs in 2025, up 3.4% from 2019. Unemployment was 1.9% in August 2026, against 2.5% in 2019. Rosebud Electric Coop Inc is the largest utility serving Tripp County, one of 3 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 10.63¢/kWh in 2024, below the 12.48¢ median for South Dakota utilities. 5,708 people live here, up 1.8% since 2020.

+3.4%
total jobs since 2019, now 2,329

10.63¢
per kWh for Rosebud Electric Coop Inc residential customers, 2024

5,708
residents, 2025

## Cities and towns in Tripp County

Tripp County is home to Winner.

Winner2,969 residents
Lamro Township458 residents
Colome337 residents
Black Township135 residents
Ideal Township123 residents
Pleasant View Township118 residents
Colome Township101 residents
Wilson Township101 residents
Stewart Township81 residents
Brunson Township58 residents
Valley Township56 residents
New Witten55 residents
Willow Creek Township55 residents
McNeely Township54 residents
Lake Township50 residents

Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Hamill, Ideal.

Residents are 2025 Census estimates for the part of each city, town or township inside this county. Census publishes no annual estimate for unincorporated communities.

## What changed in Tripp County

| Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in South Dakota |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population (2020 → 2025) | 5,606 | 5,708 | ▲ 1.8% | 31st of 66 by size |
| Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 2,252 | 2,329 | ▲ 3.4% | 31st of 66 by growth |
| Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $34,782 | $51,587 | ▲ 48.3% | — |
| Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 84 | 96 | ▲ 14.3% | — |
| Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 2.5% | 1.9% | ▼ 0.6pts | — |

## Who powers Tripp County

### Utilities with service territory in Tripp County

| Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rosebud Electric Coop Inc | Cooperative | Bundled | 4,856 | 10.63¢ | 27% |
| Winner Municipal Utility | — | — | — | — | — |
| WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration | Federal | Bundled | — | — | 99% |

Customer counts, prices and sales shares cover each utility's whole system in the state, not only this county. Commercial sales include data centers.

No operating power plant is located in Tripp County in the EIA-860M inventory. Its power comes over the grid from plants elsewhere.

## The Tripp County labor market

| Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| All industries | 2,329 | $51,587 | 1.00 |
| Construction | 96 | $50,861 | 0.78 |

Concentration is the BLS location quotient: 1.0 means the industry holds the same share of local jobs as it does nationally. Industry rows count private employers; cells BLS suppresses are left out.

## Data centers and local rules in Tripp County

No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Tripp County. South Dakota has 4 local measures on record statewide, and 1 neighboring county has one: [Cherry County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska/cherry-county).

## Tripp County and its neighbors

Of the 6 counties that border Tripp County, Keya Paha County carries the most build-out activity: data centers, planned generation and operating plants combined.

[[[[[[

| County | Population | Jobs since 2019 | Operating MW | Planned MW | Data centers | Local measures |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tripp County | 5,708 | ▲ 3.4% | — | — | — | — |
| Cherry County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska/cherry-county) NE | 5,561 | ▼ 1.1% | 2 MW | — | — | 1 |
| Gregory County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-dakota/gregory-county) | 4,037 | ▲ 6.1% | — | — | — | — |
| Keya Paha County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska/keya-paha-county) NE | 792 | ▲ 2.9% | 3 MW | — | — | — |
| Lyman County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-dakota/lyman-county) | 3,694 | ▼ 2.2% | — | — | — | — |
| Mellette County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-dakota/mellette-county) | 2,137 | ▲ 3.7% | — | — | — | — |
| Todd County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-dakota/todd-county) | 8,863 | ▼ 4.3% | — | — | — | — |

## More of South Dakota

[All South Dakota countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-dakota)[Todd County8,863 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-dakota/todd-county)[Gregory County4,037 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-dakota/gregory-county)[Lyman County3,694 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-dakota/lyman-county)[Mellette County2,137 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-dakota/mellette-county)

## Tripp County, answered from the record

### Who provides electricity in Tripp County, South Dakota?

3 utilities have service territory in Tripp County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Rosebud Electric Coop Inc, Winner Municipal Utility, WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration. The largest, Rosebud Electric Coop Inc, charged residential customers 10.63¢/kWh on average in 2024.

### Are there data centers in Tripp County?

The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Tripp County.

### Is Tripp County adding jobs?

Employers counted 2,329 jobs in 2025 against 2,252 in 2019 (+3.4%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 84 to 96.

### Does Tripp County have a data center moratorium?

No county-level measure is on record for Tripp County. South Dakota has 4 local measures statewide, listed on the state page.

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Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-dakota/tripp-county
Updated: 2026-10-08. Refreshed weekly by SAVRN from EIA, BLS, BEA, Census and the SAVRN trackers. License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
