Unemployment in Brule County, South Dakota, is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties
In Brule County, 1.6% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 93% of U.S. counties.
What drives Brule County's score
In Brule County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 46.5. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 9.2. About one in nine people with a credit file (11.2%, August 2025) has unpaid debt sent to a collector, a lower share than in 93% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Brule 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.
Brule 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.
- 46.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.7% · 202446th percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.0% · 202449th percentile
- People with a disability17.0% · 2020 to 202459th percentile
- People without health insurance6.8% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$71,448 · 202437th percentile
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- 25.9 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 rent15.8% · 2020 to 202436th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.3% · fiscal year 202715th percentile
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- 13.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind1.1% · August 20255th or lower 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 score31.3% · second quarter of 202617th percentile
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- 12.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year1.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20265th or lower percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.6% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
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- 9.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector11.2% · August 20256th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people56.5 · 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 Brule 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 Brule County, 21.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Brule County
South Dakota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Brule County had its largest rise, from 11.6% in 1979 to 15.2% in 1984.
In Brule County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 18.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Brule County, South Dakota, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 18.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Brule County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 13.6% in 2018 to 9.8% in 2019.
The share of households in Brule County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen by about half
Low on the chart: 3.3% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Brule County, South Dakota.
How Brule County has changed
Brule County's population fell 10% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1999 and 2004
High on the chart: 5,857 in 1969. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Brule County, South Dakota.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Brule County rose 9% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 2,004 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Brule County, South Dakota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.2% | 2025 1.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 19.3% | 2024 12.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,036 | 2024 $71,448 |
The table uses 1.4% for 2025; the score uses 1.6% 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 Brule County's history
1875
1875 (created) 1879 (organized). Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 7,416. The 2020 Census counted 5,247, 71% of the peak. Census Bureau
1979
A tornado in June 1979 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1976
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Brule County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Brule County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Brule County, three score higher. Of the group, Brule County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Buffalo County gets the largest, at 50.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo County, SD | 62 | 36.3% | 50.5% |
| Lyman County, SD | 38 | 21.4% | 25.5% |
| Charles Mix County, SD | 20 | 20.3% | 25.6% |
| Brule County, SD | 6 | 12.7% | 18.5% |
| Jerauld County, SD | 3 | 14.3% | 24.3% |
| Aurora County, SD | 2 | 10.6% | 22.0% |
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 Brule County the poorest county in South Dakota?
No, Brule County's poverty rate was 12.7% in 2024, 24th 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, Brule County ranks 32nd of 66 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Brule 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.
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 Brule County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.