Unemployment in Dickey County, North Dakota, is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties
In Dickey County, 1.3% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 96% of U.S. counties.
What drives Dickey County's score
In Dickey County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 35.4. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 6.0. About one in nine people with a credit file (11.1%, August 2025) has unpaid debt sent to a collector, a lower share than in 94% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Dickey County: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each part is scored from 0 to 100, and a higher score means worse off than other counties.
Dickey County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 35.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.5% · 202444th percentile
- Children below the poverty line15.6% · 202442nd percentile
- People with a disability12.8% · 2020 to 202420th percentile
- People without health insurance7.7% · 2020 to 202448th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$79,692 · 202420th percentile
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- 29.4 of 100
Housing costs
Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent18.8% · 2020 to 202453rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income15.3% · fiscal year 20275th or lower percentile
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- 12.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.2% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202524th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score28.2% · second quarter of 20268th percentile
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- 7.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year1.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20265th or lower percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working13.2% · 2020 to 20249th percentile
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- 6.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector11.1% · August 20255th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people40.8 · 20256th percentile
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Sources: Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and Census income; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. County Distress Index by American Default Research, from data through Sep 2026.
Where the money in Dickey County comes from
Benefit checks are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid paid on people's behalf, veterans' benefits, and food and income support, so a high share usually means an older population, low pay, or both. In Dickey County, 19.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Dickey County
North Dakota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Dickey County rose most sharply after its 1974 low, from 9.3% in 1974 to 14.8% in 1979.
In Dickey County, benefit checks' share of income has risen by more than half since 1969, reaching 17.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Dickey County, North Dakota, benefit checks' share of income rose by more than half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 17.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Dickey County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 7.1% in 2014 to 5.0% in 2015.
The share of households in Dickey County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2010 and has since fallen by about half
Low on the chart: 3.6% in 2017. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Dickey County, North Dakota.
How Dickey County has changed
Dickey County's population had its largest drop, from 6,995 in 1984 to 6,372 in 1989.
Dickey County's population fell by about a third to 4,930, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 7,215 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Dickey County, North Dakota.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Dickey County rose by about half to 2,496, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 2,496. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Dickey County, North Dakota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.5% | 2025 1.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.8% | 2024 12.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,751 | 2024 $79,692 |
The table uses 1.9% for 2025; the score uses 1.3% for the latest year (Oct 2025 to Sep 2026), both from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Dickey County's history
1881
March 5, 1881 (created) August 18, 1882 (organized). Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 10,877. The 2020 Census counted 4,999, 46% of the peak. Census Bureau
2011
A thunderstorm in July 2011 did $1.25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2022
A thunderstorm in June 2022 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1966
32 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Dickey County, 24 of them for flooding. FEMA
Dickey County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Dickey County, in North Dakota and South Dakota, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Dickey County ranks 6th of the seven; McIntosh County is highest, at 34.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brown County, SD | 13 | 11.6% | 15.7% |
| McIntosh County, ND | 9 | 12.3% | 34.1% |
| Dickey County, ND | 3 | 12.5% | 17.1% |
| Ransom County, ND | 2 | 8.7% | 22.4% |
| Sargent County, ND | 2 | 8.1% | 17.3% |
| McPherson County, SD | 2 | 17.9% | 19.9% |
| LaMoure County, ND | 0 | 10.9% | 19.6% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Sep 2026; each county scored against all 3,144. Poverty rate: Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024. Benefit checks: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. Neighbors share a border, from Census county maps.
Is Dickey County the poorest county in North Dakota?
No, Dickey County's poverty rate was 12.5% in 2024, 12th highest of 53 in North Dakota (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Sioux County, at 29.9%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Dickey County ranks 35th of 53 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Dickey County
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes free foreclosure-avoidance counseling, including help with mortgage-company conversations and available options Source CFPB.
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Legal Services of North Dakota
Legal aid
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Our help directory lists 1,010 agencies approved for foreclosure counseling, by state.
The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.
Download the CSV for Dickey County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026, built from Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it. Our methodology
- Urban Institute · Debt in America Breno Braga, Signe-Mary McKernan, Samantha Atherton, and Kassandra Martinchek, "Debt in America," last updated November 20, 2025, https://datacatalog.urban.org/dataset/debt-america-2025. Licensed under ODC-By 1.0.
- Rent on a two-bedroom and household income The rent share compares HUD fair market rent for fiscal year 2027 with Census Bureau median household income for 2024. The page calls this the typical household's income.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Dickey County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.