About nine in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Sargent County, North Dakota, have a job
In Sargent County, 9.8% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 98% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 97% of U.S. counties.
What drives Sargent County's score
In Sargent County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 24.2. Jobs are the lowest part, at 5.0. Unemployment averaged 2.2%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Sargent 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.
Sargent 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.
- 24.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector16.1% · August 202522nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people79.4 · 202525th percentile
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- 19.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.2% · August 202528th 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 score26.7% · second quarter of 20266th percentile
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- 17.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.1% · 20248th percentile
- Children below the poverty line11.0% · 202417th percentile
- People with a disability12.5% · 2020 to 202418th percentile
- People without health insurance5.2% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$79,922 · 202420th percentile
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- 9.2 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 rent8.9% · 2020 to 202410th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.2% · fiscal year 20278th percentile
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- 5.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20265th or lower percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working9.8% · 2020 to 20245th or lower 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 Sargent 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 Sargent County, 23.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Sargent County
North Dakota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Sargent County made its largest gain on the way to its 2009 high, from 11.5% in 2004 to 18.3% in 2009.
In Sargent County, benefit checks' share of income has risen by more than half since 1969, reaching 17.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Sargent County, North Dakota, benefit checks' share of income rose by more than half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 17.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Sargent County getting SNAP food aid fell most sharply on the way to its 2011 low, from 5.1% in 2010 to 3.2% in 2011.
The share of households in Sargent County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2020 and has since fallen to 5.4%
Low on the chart: 3.2% in 2011. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Sargent County, North Dakota.
How Sargent County has changed
Sargent County's population had its largest drop, from 5,155 in 1984 to 4,630 in 1989.
Sargent County's population fell 39% from 1969 to 2024, with no rise in any year shown
Smallest drop: 2009 to 2014, reaching 3,899. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Sargent County, North Dakota.
The number of jobs located in Sargent County had its largest drop in the last span, from 3,562 in 2020 to 2,608 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Sargent County was at its highest on the chart in 2020 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 3,562 in 2020. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Sargent County, North Dakota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 1.7% | 2025 4.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.8% | 2024 8.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,928 | 2024 $79,922 |
The table uses 4.4% for 2025; the score uses 2.2% 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 Sargent County's history
1883
April 9, 1883 (created) October 8, 1883 (organized). Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 9,655. The 2020 Census counted 3,862, 40% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1966
32 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Sargent County, 24 of them for flooding. FEMA
Sargent County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Sargent County, in North Dakota and South Dakota, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Sargent County ranks 4th of the seven; Roberts County is highest, at 24.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roberts County, SD | 31 | 16.2% | 24.2% |
| Brown County, SD | 13 | 11.6% | 15.7% |
| Richland County, ND | 5 | 10.4% | 18.2% |
| Dickey County, ND | 3 | 12.5% | 17.1% |
| Ransom County, ND | 2 | 8.7% | 22.4% |
| Sargent County, ND | 2 | 8.1% | 17.3% |
| Marshall County, SD | 2 | 9.5% | 16.7% |
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 Sargent County the poorest county in North Dakota?
No, Sargent County's poverty rate was 8.1% in 2024, 49th 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, Sargent County ranks 45th of 53 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Sargent 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 Sargent 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 Sargent County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.