County Data

South Dakota County Distress Index

Financial distress scores for all 66 counties in South Dakota, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 28.7.

Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26

South Dakota Snapshot

66 Counties Scored
28.7 Mean Score
24.5 Median Score
62.2 Oglala Lakota County Most Distressed
10.8 Hamlin County Least Distressed
5 Elevated 13 Normal 48 Healthy
Zone Distribution

South Dakota County Map

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Healthy Normal Elevated Serious Crisis

All 66 South Dakota counties colored by distress zone. Hover for details; click released counties for full reports.

Most & Least Distressed

Most Distressed

#1 Oglala Lakota County
62.2 Elevated
Structural Poverty
#2 Todd County
59.6 Elevated
Structural Poverty
#3 Dewey County
58.2 Elevated
Consumer Credit Distress

Least Distressed

#66 Hamlin County
10.8 Healthy
Housing Cost Burden
#65 Hanson County
11.9 Healthy
Economic Vitality
#64 Hutchinson County
14.4 Healthy
Economic Vitality

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 Zone Primary Driver
1 820 Oglala Lakota County 62.2 Elevated Structural Poverty
2 979 Todd County 59.6 Elevated Structural Poverty
3 1,058 Dewey County 58.2 Elevated Consumer Credit Distress
4 1,320 Fall River County 54.4 Elevated Housing Cost Burden
5 1,501 Jackson County 51.3 Elevated Structural Poverty
6 1,784 Corson County 46.9 Normal Structural Poverty
7 1,843 Buffalo County 46.0 Normal Structural Poverty
8 1,940 Bennett County 44.2 Normal Economic Vitality
9 2,027 Ziebach County 42.8 Normal Structural Poverty
10 2,031 Pennington County 42.7 Normal Housing Cost Burden
11 2,067 Mellette County 42.0 Normal Structural Poverty
12 2,114 Beadle County 41.2 Normal Housing Cost Burden
13 2,184 Butte County 40.2 Normal Housing Cost Burden
14 2,204 Roberts County 39.8 Normal Economic Vitality
15 2,272 Lyman County 38.7 Normal Economic Vitality
16 2,276 Tripp County 38.6 Normal Housing Cost Burden
17 2,403 Gregory County 36.4 Normal Economic Vitality
18 2,449 Minnehaha County 35.5 Normal Housing Cost Burden
19 2,575 Clay County 33.1 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
20 2,595 Stanley County 32.8 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
21 2,607 Brown County 32.6 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
22 2,683 Moody County 31.4 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
23 2,688 Walworth County 31.3 Healthy Economic Vitality
24 2,732 Codington County 30.5 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
25 2,738 Lawrence County 30.4 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
26 2,786 Lake County 29.5 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
27 2,787 Charles Mix County 29.4 Healthy Structural Poverty
28 2,846 Sanborn County 28.0 Healthy Economic Vitality
29 2,866 Potter County 27.6 Healthy Economic Vitality
30 2,877 Davison County 27.3 Healthy Legal Distress
31 2,926 Jones County 26.1 Healthy Economic Vitality
32 2,951 Meade County 25.4 Healthy Economic Vitality
33 2,975 Kingsbury County 24.6 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
34 2,978 Miner County 24.5 Healthy Economic Vitality
35 2,995 Yankton County 23.9 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
36 2,997 Day County 23.7 Healthy Structural Poverty
37 3,004 Perkins County 23.4 Healthy Structural Poverty
38 3,010 Jerauld County 23.2 Healthy Economic Vitality
39 3,011 Brule County 23.0 Healthy Economic Vitality
40 3,013 Hughes County 22.9 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
41 3,025 McCook County 22.5 Healthy Economic Vitality
42 3,036 Union County 21.9 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
43 3,046 Clark County 21.3 Healthy Economic Vitality
44 3,062 McPherson County 20.5 Healthy Economic Vitality
45 3,063 Marshall County 20.5 Healthy Legal Distress
46 3,066 Grant County 20.5 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
47 3,067 Lincoln County 20.3 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
48 3,069 Hyde County 20.2 Healthy Structural Poverty
49 3,070 Brookings County 20.1 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
50 3,075 Custer County 19.9 Healthy Economic Vitality
51 3,080 Aurora County 19.7 Healthy Economic Vitality
52 3,084 Bon Homme County 19.4 Healthy Economic Vitality
53 3,091 Turner County 19.0 Healthy Economic Vitality
54 3,096 Harding County 18.3 Healthy Economic Vitality
55 3,109 Spink County 17.6 Healthy Economic Vitality
56 3,113 Campbell County 17.4 Healthy Economic Vitality
57 3,115 Haakon County 17.1 Healthy Economic Vitality
58 3,122 Douglas County 16.2 Healthy Economic Vitality
59 3,124 Sully County 16.2 Healthy Economic Vitality
60 3,125 Faulk County 15.9 Healthy Economic Vitality
61 3,127 Deuel County 15.7 Healthy Structural Poverty
62 3,130 Edmunds County 15.4 Healthy Economic Vitality
63 3,133 Hand County 15.2 Healthy Economic Vitality
64 3,138 Hutchinson County 14.4 Healthy Economic Vitality
65 3,141 Hanson County 11.9 Healthy Economic Vitality
66 3,144 Hamlin County 10.8 Healthy Housing Cost Burden

How County Scores Work

Each county is scored 0–100 using PCA-weighted percentile-rank scoring across five statistically derived dimensions: Consumer Credit Distress, Housing Cost Burden, Structural Poverty, Economic Vitality, and Legal Distress. A score of 50 means the county falls at the national median. Higher scores indicate greater household financial distress.

Crisis (≥80) — Among the most distressed counties in the country
Serious (65–80) — More distressed than roughly 80% of counties
Elevated (50–65) — More distressed than roughly half of counties
Normal (35–50) — Near the national median
Healthy (<35) — Less distressed than most counties

Full CDI methodology and data sources

South Dakota Resources

South Dakota State Profile

State ADI score: 34.3 (Healthy). Debt, delinquency, and economic indicators for South Dakota.

Find Help in South Dakota

HUD-approved housing counselors, legal aid offices, credit counselors, and debtor education providers in South Dakota.

South Dakota Foreclosure Laws

Foreclosure process, timeline, homeowner protections, and legal resources in South Dakota.

State Distress Rankings

All 51 U.S. jurisdictions ranked by financial distress. Compare South Dakota to the rest of the country.

National County Profiles

All 3,144 U.S. counties ranked by financial distress score.
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If you're struggling with debt or facing foreclosure, free help is available. Find help near you · Browse the Glossary · The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development provides HUD-approved housing counselors at no cost. You can also call 1-800-569-4287.