About half adults aged 25 to 54 in Bennett County, South Dakota, are not working
In Bennett County, 47.3% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 99% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 53% of U.S. counties.
What drives Bennett County's score
In Bennett County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 75.8. About three in ten people (29.4%, 2024) live below the poverty line, a higher share than in 95% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 62.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Bennett 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.
Bennett County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a disability (8.9%, 2020 to 2024) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (2.8%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 75.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line29.4% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line36.3% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability8.9% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- People without health insurance27.7% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$51,441 · 202489th percentile
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- 62.5 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 rent14.8% · 2020 to 202430th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income32.5% · fiscal year 2027top 5%
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- 52.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20269th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working47.3% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 43.1 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 202519th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202517th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score57.0% · second quarter of 202692nd percentile
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- 26.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector20.8% · August 202541st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 peoplenot published for this county; scored at the state median · 202512th 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 Bennett 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 Bennett County, 15.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Bennett County
South Dakota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Bennett County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 33.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Bennett County, South Dakota, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 33.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Bennett County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 23.2% in 2011 to 31.0% in 2012.
The share of households in Bennett County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen by about half
Low on the chart: 16.6% in 2020. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Bennett County, South Dakota.
How Bennett County has changed
Bennett County's population rose 5% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1969 and 1974
High on the chart: 3,536 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Bennett County, South Dakota.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Bennett County rose 16% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 882 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Bennett County, South Dakota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.2% | 2025 2.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 35.6% | 2024 29.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,797 | 2024 $51,441 |
The table uses 2.6% for 2025; the score uses 2.8% 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 Bennett County's history
1909
June 3, 1909 (created) April 27, 1912 (organized). Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 4,590. The 2020 Census counted 3,381, 74% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1976
14 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Bennett County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Bennett County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Bennett County, in South Dakota and Nebraska, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Bennett County ranks 4th of the five; Oglala Lakota County is highest, at 49.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oglala Lakota County, SD | 84 | 35.8% | 49.2% |
| Todd County, SD | 84 | 32.9% | 43.4% |
| Jackson County, SD | 62 | 29.1% | 33.8% |
| Bennett County, SD | 53 | 29.4% | 33.2% |
| Cherry County, NE | 9 | 10.2% | 20.9% |
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 Bennett County the poorest county in South Dakota?
No, Bennett County's poverty rate was 29.4% in 2024, 6th highest of 66 in South Dakota (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Ziebach County, at 45.8%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Bennett County ranks 7th of 66 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Bennett 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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Dakota Plains Legal Services
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 Bennett 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 Bennett County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.