In Sioux County, North Dakota, benefit checks brought in more money than paychecks in 2024
In 2024, 45 cents of every dollar of income here came from benefit checks, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans' benefits. That was a larger share than across the country.
More distressed than 56% of U.S. counties.
What drives Sioux County's score
In Sioux County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 81.7. About three in ten people (29.9%, 2024) live below the poverty line, a higher share than in 95% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 58.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Sioux 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.
Sioux County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (27.4, 2025) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (2.9%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 81.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line29.9% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line41.8% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability13.8% · 2020 to 202429th percentile
- People without health insurance21.1% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$48,187 · 202494th percentile
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- 58.0 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 rent15.0% · 2020 to 202431st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income25.3% · fiscal year 202784th percentile
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- 53.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202612th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working45.2% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 45.5 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 score62.7% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 31.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector25.3% · August 202557th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people27.4 · 20255th 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 Sioux 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 Sioux County, 9.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Sioux County
North Dakota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Sioux County had its largest rise, from 26.8% in 1984 to 38.9% in 1989.
In Sioux County, benefit checks overtook pay in 2024, a bigger share of income than across North Dakota
In Sioux County, North Dakota, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 44.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Sioux County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 24.2% in 2020 to 30.6% in 2021.
The share of households in Sioux County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2019, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 23.7% in 2019. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Sioux County, North Dakota.
How Sioux County has changed
Sioux County's population had its largest drop, from 4,350 in 2014 to 4,004 in 2019.
Sioux County's population was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and is down 15% since
High on the chart: 4,350 in 2014. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Sioux County, North Dakota.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Sioux County doubled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 1,522, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 1,629 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Sioux County, North Dakota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 15.0% | 2025 3.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 37.1% | 2024 29.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,294 | 2024 $48,187 |
The table uses 3.0% for 2025; the score uses 2.9% 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 Sioux County's history
1863
Fort Abraham Lincoln established Standing Rock Cantonment in 1863. Wikipedia
1878
Fort renamed to Fort Yates in 1878. Wikipedia
1914
September 3, 1914 (created) September 12, 1914 (organized). Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 4,687. The 2020 Census counted 3,898, 83% of the peak. Census Bureau
2010
Hail in July 2010 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A flash flood in July 2019 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1969
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Sioux County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Sioux County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Sioux County, in North Dakota and South Dakota, one scores higher. Of the group, Sioux County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (44.8%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corson County, SD | 64 | 37.9% | 38.3% |
| Sioux County, ND | 56 | 29.9% | 44.8% |
| Grant County, ND | 30 | 16.9% | 33.5% |
| Adams County, ND | 17 | 12.2% | 36.7% |
| Emmons County, ND | 14 | 14.0% | 27.8% |
| Morton County, ND | 7 | 9.2% | 17.6% |
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 Sioux County the poorest county in North Dakota?
Yes, Sioux County's poverty rate was 29.9% in 2024, the highest of 53 counties in North Dakota (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Sioux County ranks 2nd of 53 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Sioux 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.
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 Sioux County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.