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: 28.6.

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

South Dakota Snapshot

66 Counties Scored
28.6 Mean Score
24.5 Median Score
61.9 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
61.9 Elevated
Consumer Credit Distress
#2 Todd County
59.0 Elevated
Consumer Credit Distress
#3 Dewey County
57.6 Elevated
Consumer Credit Distress

Least Distressed

#66 Hamlin County
10.8 Healthy
Consumer Credit Distress
#65 Hanson County
12.1 Healthy
Consumer Credit Distress
#64 Hutchinson County
14.3 Healthy
Consumer Credit Distress

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
1 832 Oglala Lakota County 61.9 Elevated Consumer Credit Distress
2 1,020 Todd County 59.0 Elevated Consumer Credit Distress
3 1,119 Dewey County 57.6 Elevated Consumer Credit Distress
4 1,313 Fall River County 54.4 Elevated Consumer Credit Distress
5 1,507 Jackson County 51.2 Elevated Consumer Credit Distress
6 1,853 Corson County 45.9 Normal Consumer Credit Distress
7 1,883 Buffalo County 45.2 Normal Consumer Credit Distress
8 1,966 Bennett County 43.8 Normal Consumer Credit Distress
9 2,034 Pennington County 42.6 Normal Consumer Credit Distress
10 2,042 Ziebach County 42.5 Normal Consumer Credit Distress
11 2,080 Mellette County 41.8 Normal Consumer Credit Distress
12 2,111 Beadle County 41.2 Normal Consumer Credit Distress
13 2,182 Butte County 40.2 Normal Housing Cost Burden
14 2,218 Roberts County 39.6 Normal Consumer Credit Distress
15 2,273 Tripp County 38.6 Normal Housing Cost Burden
16 2,287 Lyman County 38.4 Normal Consumer Credit Distress
17 2,403 Gregory County 36.4 Normal Consumer Credit Distress
18 2,455 Minnehaha County 35.5 Normal Consumer Credit Distress
19 2,587 Clay County 33.0 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
20 2,599 Stanley County 32.8 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
21 2,611 Brown County 32.5 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
22 2,687 Moody County 31.3 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
23 2,688 Walworth County 31.2 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
24 2,733 Codington County 30.5 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
25 2,743 Lawrence County 30.4 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
26 2,785 Lake County 29.5 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
27 2,789 Charles Mix County 29.4 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
28 2,849 Sanborn County 28.0 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
29 2,874 Potter County 27.4 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
30 2,879 Davison County 27.3 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
31 2,934 Jones County 26.0 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
32 2,954 Meade County 25.4 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
33 2,981 Kingsbury County 24.6 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
34 2,985 Miner County 24.4 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
35 2,996 Yankton County 23.8 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
36 2,999 Day County 23.6 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
37 3,003 Perkins County 23.4 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
38 3,010 Jerauld County 23.2 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
39 3,014 Brule County 23.0 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
40 3,016 Hughes County 22.9 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
41 3,025 McCook County 22.5 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
42 3,038 Union County 21.9 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
43 3,048 Clark County 21.3 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
44 3,063 McPherson County 20.5 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
45 3,064 Marshall County 20.5 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
46 3,065 Grant County 20.5 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
47 3,066 Lincoln County 20.3 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
48 3,068 Hyde County 20.2 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
49 3,072 Brookings County 20.0 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
50 3,077 Custer County 19.7 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
51 3,079 Aurora County 19.7 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
52 3,082 Bon Homme County 19.4 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
53 3,091 Turner County 18.9 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
54 3,097 Harding County 18.3 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
55 3,110 Spink County 17.6 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
56 3,117 Haakon County 17.1 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
57 3,118 Campbell County 17.1 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
58 3,123 Douglas County 16.2 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
59 3,124 Sully County 16.2 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
60 3,126 Deuel County 15.9 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
61 3,127 Faulk County 15.9 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
62 3,131 Edmunds County 15.3 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
63 3,134 Hand County 15.2 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
64 3,138 Hutchinson County 14.3 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
65 3,141 Hanson County 12.1 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
66 3,144 Hamlin County 10.8 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress

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: 34.5 (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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