About one in nine people in Sheridan County, North Dakota, has a disability
In Sheridan County, 10.6% of people reported a disability. That is lower than in 93% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 83% of U.S. counties.
What drives Sheridan County's score
In Sheridan County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 51.7. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 11.2. About one in eight people with a credit file (12.1%, August 2025) has unpaid debt sent to a collector, a lower share than in 91% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Sheridan 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.
Even so, Sheridan County is worse off than most counties on children below the poverty line (24.5%, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 51.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.5% · 202467th percentile
- Children below the poverty line24.5% · 202481st percentile
- People with a disability10.6% · 2020 to 20246th percentile
- People without health insurance6.3% · 2020 to 202434th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$60,820 · 202468th percentile
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- 30.6 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 rent0.0% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.3% · fiscal year 202756th percentile
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- 27.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202641st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working14.4% · 2020 to 202413th percentile
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- 26.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202517th 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 score37.0% · second quarter of 202637th percentile
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- 11.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector12.1% · August 20258th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 peoplenot published for this county; scored at the state median · 202514th 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 Sheridan 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 Sheridan County, 32.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Sheridan County
North Dakota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Sheridan County made its largest gain on the way to its 2014 high, from 23.0% in 2009 to 32.8% in 2014.
In Sheridan County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 30.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Sheridan County, North Dakota, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 30.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Sheridan County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 11.8% in 2019 to 7.3% in 2020.
The share of households in Sheridan County getting SNAP food aid fell from 2009 to 2024, reaching 7.1%, with its low point on the chart in 2021
Low on the chart: 5.4% in 2021. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Sheridan County, North Dakota.
How Sheridan County has changed
Sheridan County's population had its largest drop, from 3,071 in 1979 to 2,547 in 1984.
Sheridan County's population fell by more than half to 1,268, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 3,333 in 1974. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Sheridan County, North Dakota.
The number of jobs located in Sheridan County had its largest drop, from 273 in 2010 to 243 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Sheridan County fell 29% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 314 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Sheridan County, North Dakota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.7% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 23.5% | 2024 15.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,657 | 2024 $60,820 |
The table uses 3.8% for 2025; the score uses 3.7% 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 Sheridan County's history
1873
January 4, 1873 (created) December 24, 1908 (organized). Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 8,103. The 2020 Census counted 1,265, 16% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1969
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Sheridan County, 15 of them for flooding. FEMA
Sheridan County beside its neighbors
Sheridan County scores higher than all six counties that border it. Of the group, Sheridan County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (30.4%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sheridan County, ND | 16 | 15.5% | 30.4% |
| Kidder County, ND | 8 | 13.9% | 22.3% |
| McHenry County, ND | 6 | 11.7% | 22.7% |
| Pierce County, ND | 4 | 11.7% | 27.0% |
| Wells County, ND | 2 | 12.8% | 22.5% |
| Burleigh County, ND | 1 | 8.1% | 14.5% |
| McLean County, ND | 0 | 10.8% | 22.6% |
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 Sheridan County the poorest county in North Dakota?
No, Sheridan County's poverty rate was 15.5% in 2024, 5th 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, Sheridan County ranks 11th of 53 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Sheridan 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 Sheridan 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 Sheridan County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.