In Buffalo County, South Dakota, benefit checks brought in more money than paychecks in 2024
In 2024, 51 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 62% of U.S. counties.
What drives Buffalo County's score
In Buffalo County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 81.5. About one in three people (36.3%, 2024) lives below the poverty line, a higher share than in 95% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 75.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Buffalo 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.
Buffalo County does better than most counties on one measure: people with a disability (13.6%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 81.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line36.3% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line41.9% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability13.6% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
- People without health insurance43.0% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$35,054 · 2024top 5%
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- 75.5 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 rent19.1% · 2020 to 202455th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income48.2% · fiscal year 2027top 5%
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- 75.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202655th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working43.5% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 43.9 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 score66.0% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 12.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collectornot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202511th 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 Buffalo 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 Buffalo County, 9.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Buffalo County
South Dakota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Buffalo County had its largest rise, from 37.8% in 2014 to 52.7% in 2019.
In Buffalo County, benefit checks brought in more than pay from work in 2024, a bigger share of income than across South Dakota
In Buffalo County, South Dakota, benefit checks' share of income rose from 1969 to 2024, reaching 50.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Buffalo County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 50.5% in 2019 to 39.4% in 2020.
The share of households in Buffalo County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2019 and has since fallen by about half
Low on the chart: 22.4% 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, Buffalo County, South Dakota.
How Buffalo County has changed
Buffalo County's population had its largest rise, from 1,858 in 2009 to 2,078 in 2014.
Buffalo County's population was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and is down 12% since
High on the chart: 2,078 in 2014. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Buffalo County, South Dakota.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Buffalo County nearly doubled to 530, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 481. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Buffalo County, South Dakota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.0% | 2025 4.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 37.0% | 2024 36.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $14,183 | 2024 $35,054 |
The table uses 4.4% for 2025; the score uses 4.2% 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 Buffalo County's history
1864
1864 (created) 1871 (organized). Wikipedia
1992
A tornado in June 1992 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 2,032. The 2020 Census counted 1,948, 96% of the peak. Census Bureau
2015
A thunderstorm in June 2015 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1969
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Buffalo County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Buffalo County beside its neighbors
Buffalo County scores higher than all five counties that border it. Of the group, Buffalo County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (50.5%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo County, SD | 62 | 36.3% | 50.5% |
| Lyman County, SD | 38 | 21.4% | 25.5% |
| Brule County, SD | 6 | 12.7% | 18.5% |
| Hyde County, SD | 4 | 11.7% | 20.9% |
| Jerauld County, SD | 3 | 14.3% | 24.3% |
| Hand County, SD | 0 | 8.4% | 16.0% |
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 Buffalo County the poorest county in South Dakota?
No, Buffalo County's poverty rate was 36.3% in 2024, 3rd 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, Buffalo County ranks 6th of 66 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Buffalo 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 Buffalo 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 Buffalo County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.