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

Home to Big Sioux Township, North Sioux City and Elk Point

Union 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. Construction employs 499, up 48.5% since 2019. Union County is home to Big Sioux Township, North Sioux City, Elk Point and most of Beresford (1,742 of its 2,105 residents). Next door, Woodbury County, Iowa, has 2 data centers. Electrical contractors employ 37, up 2.8% since 2019 against up 38.0% statewide, at an average $62,872 a year. Employers here counted 9,566 jobs in 2025, down 3.8% from 2019.

-3.8%
total jobs since 2019, now 9,566

12.41¢
per kWh for Southeastern Electric Coop Inc - (SD) residential customers, 2024

17,402
residents, 2025

## Cities and towns in Union County

Union County is home to Big Sioux Township, North Sioux City, Elk Point and most of Beresford (1,742 of its 2,105 residents).

Big Sioux Township5,152 residents
North Sioux City3,036 residents
Elk Point2,080 residents
Beresford1,742 residents · 83% of the city
Jefferson Township1,207 residents
Alcester776 residents
Jefferson448 residents
Civil Bend Township345 residents
Alcester Township303 residents
Big Springs Township281 residents
Elk Point Township279 residents
Virginia Township274 residents
Brule Township266 residents
Prairie Township255 residents
Sioux Valley Township244 residents
Emmet Township241 residents
Spink Township231 residents
- Beresford also extends into [Lincoln County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-dakota/lincoln-county).

Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Dakota Dunes, Richland.

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 Union County

| Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in South Dakota |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population (2020 → 2025) | 16,855 | 17,402 | ▲ 3.2% | 13th of 66 by size |
| Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 9,940 | 9,566 | ▼ 3.8% | 56th of 66 by growth |
| Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $56,078 | $74,563 | ▲ 33.0% | — |
| Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 336 | 499 | ▲ 48.5% | 6th of 31 by growth |
| Electrical contractor jobs (2019 → 2025) | 36 | 37 | ▲ 2.8% | — |
| Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 2.8% | 2.6% | ▼ 0.2pts | — |

Southeastern Electric Coop Inc - (SD) is the largest utility serving Union County, one of 7 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 12.41¢/kWh in 2024. Unemployment was 2.6% in August 2026, against 2.8% in 2019. 17,402 people live here, up 3.2% since 2020.

## Who powers Union County

### Utilities with service territory in Union County

| Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southeastern Electric Coop Inc - (SD) | Cooperative | Bundled | 20,160 | 12.41¢ | 26% |
| MidAmerican Energy Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 4,236 | 8.68¢ | 20% |
| City of Beresford | — | — | — | — | — |
| Clay-Union Electric Corp | — | — | — | — | — |
| City of Elk Point | — | — | — | — | — |
| Union County Electric Coop Inc | — | — | — | — | — |
| 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 Union County in the EIA-860M inventory. Its power comes over the grid from plants elsewhere.

## The Union County labor market

| Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| All industries | 9,566 | $74,563 | 1.00 |
| Construction | 499 | $73,714 | 0.98 |
| Electrical contractors | 37 | $62,872 | 0.54 |
| Data processing and hosting | 7 | $352,212 | 0.24 |

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 Union County

No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Union County. South Dakota has 4 local measures on record statewide, and 4 neighboring counties have one: [Lincoln County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-dakota/lincoln-county), [Plymouth County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/iowa/plymouth-county), [Sioux County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/iowa/sioux-county), [Woodbury County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/iowa/woodbury-county).

## Union County and its neighbors

Of the 7 counties that border Union County, Woodbury 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Union County | 17,402 | ▼ 3.8% | — | — | — | — |
| Clay County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-dakota/clay-county) | 15,031 | ▲ 0.2% | 135 MW | — | — | — |
| Dakota County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska/dakota-county) NE | 21,687 | ▲ 11.9% | 4 MW | — | — | — |
| Dixon County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska/dixon-county) NE | 5,602 | ▼ 3.1% | 324 MW | — | — | — |
| Lincoln County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-dakota/lincoln-county) | 77,145 | ▲ 27.9% | 4 MW | — | 1 | 1 |
| Plymouth County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/iowa/plymouth-county) IA | 25,697 | ▲ 0.1% | 203 MW | — | — | 1 |
| Sioux County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/iowa/sioux-county) IA | 36,774 | ▲ 8.2% | — | — | — | 1 |
| Woodbury County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/iowa/woodbury-county) IA | 106,649 | ▼ 1.7% | 1,284 MW | — | 2 | 1 |

## More of South Dakota

[All South Dakota countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-dakota)[Lincoln County77,145 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-dakota/lincoln-county)[Clay County15,031 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-dakota/clay-county)

## Union County, answered from the record

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

7 utilities have service territory in Union County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Southeastern Electric Coop Inc - (SD), MidAmerican Energy Co, City of Beresford, Clay-Union Electric Corp. The largest, Southeastern Electric Coop Inc - (SD), charged residential customers 12.41¢/kWh on average in 2024.

### Are there data centers in Union County?

The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Union County. The nearest activity on record is next door in Woodbury County.

### Is Union County adding jobs?

Employers counted 9,566 jobs in 2025 against 9,940 in 2019 (-3.8%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 336 to 499.

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

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

---
Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-dakota/union-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/).