South Dakota County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 66 counties in South Dakota, scored 0–100 across five domains. A county's score is the share of U.S. counties it is more distressed than; the average South Dakota county scores 16.1. 3 counties score high, very high, or extreme.
Data: U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Urban Institute, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts | Scores as of Aug 2026
South Dakota Snapshot
66 Counties Scored
16.1 Mean Score
5.1 Median Score
84 Oglala Lakota County Most Distressed
0 Hamlin County Least Distressed
3 very high county distress3 moderate-high county distress3 moderate county distress3 low-moderate county distress4 low county distress8 very low county distress42 exceptionally low county distress
Score Label Distribution South Dakota County Map
Loading interactive map…
Low county distress Moderate-low county distress Moderate county distress High county distress Extreme county distress
All 66 South Dakota counties colored by county distress score range. Hover for details; click released counties for full reports.
Most & Least Distressed
Most Distressed
Least Distressed
Score Distribution
How South Dakota's 66 county scores are distributed across the 0–100 scale.
All South Dakota Counties
66 counties ranked by distress score. Click column headers to sort.
| State Rank | Nat'l Rank | County | Score | Score Label | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | — | Oglala Lakota County | 84 | very high county distress | Labor |
| 2 | — | Todd County | 84 | very high county distress | Labor |
| 3 | — | Dewey County | 81 | very high county distress | Delinquency |
| 4 | — | Corson County | 64 | moderate-high county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 5 | — | Buffalo County | 62 | moderate-high county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 6 | — | Jackson County | 60 | moderate-high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 7 | — | Mellette County | 54 | moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 8 | — | Bennett County | 51 | moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 9 | — | Ziebach County | 50 | moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 10 | — | Lyman County | 36 | low-moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 11 | — | Fall River County | 36 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 12 | — | Roberts County | 33 | low-moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 13 | — | Tripp County | 29 | low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 14 | — | Butte County | 26 | low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 15 | — | Clay County | 23 | low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 16 | — | Gregory County | 22 | low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 17 | — | Pennington County | 19 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 18 | — | Charles Mix County | 18 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 19 | — | Walworth County | 15 | very low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 20 | — | Moody County | 15 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 21 | — | Beadle County | 15 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 22 | — | Brown County | 12 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 23 | — | Potter County | 12 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 24 | — | Minnehaha County | 10 | very low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 25 | — | Davison County | 9 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 26 | — | Day County | 8 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 27 | — | Perkins County | 8 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 28 | — | Brule County | 7 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 29 | — | Jones County | 6 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 30 | — | Lawrence County | 6 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 31 | — | Faulk County | 5 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 32 | — | Clark County | 5 | exceptionally low county distress | Labor |
| 33 | — | Sanborn County | 5 | exceptionally low county distress | Delinquency |
| 34 | — | Hyde County | 5 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 35 | — | Stanley County | 5 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 36 | — | Jerauld County | 4 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 37 | — | Miner County | 4 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 38 | — | Lake County | 4 | exceptionally low county distress | Delinquency |
| 39 | — | Yankton County | 4 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 40 | — | Spink County | 3 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 41 | — | McCook County | 3 | exceptionally low county distress | Delinquency |
| 42 | — | Codington County | 3 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 43 | — | Meade County | 3 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 44 | 3,048 | Grant County | 3 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 45 | 3,057 | Aurora County | 2 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 46 | 3,059 | Marshall County | 2 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 47 | 3,061 | Bon Homme County | 2 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 48 | 3,066 | Harding County | 2 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 49 | 3,067 | Campbell County | 2 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 50 | 3,070 | McPherson County | 2 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 51 | 3,073 | Custer County | 2 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 52 | 3,074 | Turner County | 2 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 53 | 3,077 | Hughes County | 2 | exceptionally low county distress | Delinquency |
| 54 | 3,087 | Union County | 1 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 55 | 3,096 | Edmunds County | 1 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 56 | 3,101 | Douglas County | 1 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 57 | 3,113 | Sully County | 0 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 58 | 3,118 | Hutchinson County | 0 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 59 | 3,122 | Deuel County | 0 | exceptionally low county distress | Delinquency |
| 60 | 3,123 | Brookings County | 0 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 61 | 3,125 | Haakon County | 0 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 62 | 3,129 | Kingsbury County | 0 | exceptionally low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 63 | 3,133 | Hand County | 0 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 64 | 3,136 | Lincoln County | 0 | exceptionally low county distress | Default & Legal |
| 65 | 3,138 | Hanson County | 0 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 66 | 3,142 | Hamlin County | 0 | exceptionally low county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
How County Scores Work
Each county is scored 0–100 using five equal-weighted domains. Each domain averages its member indicators' county ranks, the domains are averaged, and that average is ranked against every U.S. county. So a county's score is the share of U.S. counties it is more distressed than. National ranks are shown only for the 100 most and 100 least distressed counties, because ranks in between move between updates. Counties with identical composite scores share a rank, marked T- for tied.
extreme county distress — 0 South Dakota counties
very high county distress — 3 South Dakota counties
high county distress — 0 South Dakota counties
moderate-high county distress — 3 South Dakota counties
moderate county distress — 3 South Dakota counties
moderate-low county distress — 0 South Dakota counties
low-moderate county distress — 3 South Dakota counties
low county distress — 4 South Dakota counties
very low county distress — 8 South Dakota counties
exceptionally low county distress — 42 South Dakota counties