About one in 28 people with a credit file in Campbell County, South Dakota, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Campbell County, 3.6% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 97% of U.S. counties.
What drives Campbell County's score
In Campbell County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 27.3. Jobs are the lowest part, at 8.3. About one in 13 adults aged 25 to 54 (7.6%, 2020 to 2024) isn't working, a lower share than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Campbell 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.
Campbell 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.
- 27.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.5% · 202426th percentile
- Children below the poverty line11.0% · 202417th percentile
- People with a disability14.8% · 2020 to 202438th percentile
- People without health insurance4.8% · 2020 to 202416th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$71,257 · 202437th percentile
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- 15.9 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 rent11.7% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.1% · fiscal year 202714th percentile
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- 13.9 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 score19.7% · second quarter of 20265th or lower percentile
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- 13.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector3.6% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people74.6 · 202522nd percentile
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- 8.3 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 202611th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working7.6% · 2020 to 20245th 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 Campbell 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 Campbell County, 26.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Campbell County
South Dakota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Campbell County had its largest rise, from 11.9% in 1984 to 16.5% in 1989.
In Campbell County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 20.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Campbell County, South Dakota, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 20.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Campbell County getting SNAP food aid rose most from 2.5% in 2019 to 5.7% in 2021, 1.6 points each year.
The share of households in Campbell County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2018, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 2.3% in 2018. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Campbell County, South Dakota.
How Campbell County has changed
Campbell County's population had its largest drop, from 2,573 in 1974 to 2,221 in 1979.
Campbell County's population fell by about half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 1,342, with no rise in any year shown
Smallest drop: 1979 to 1984, reaching 2,216. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Campbell County, South Dakota.
The number of jobs located in Campbell County made its largest gain on the way to its 2015 high, from 400 in 2010 to 476 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Campbell County fell 7% from 1990 to 2025
High on the chart: 476 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Campbell County, South Dakota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.8% | 2025 3.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.7% | 2024 10.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,069 | 2024 $71,257 |
The table uses 3.6% 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 Campbell County's history
1873
1873 (created) 1884 (organized). Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 5,629. The 2020 Census counted 1,377, 24% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1976
15 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Campbell County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Campbell County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Campbell County, in South Dakota and North Dakota, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Campbell County ranks 5th of the six; Corson County is highest, at 38.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corson County, SD | 64 | 37.9% | 38.3% |
| Walworth County, SD | 16 | 14.6% | 23.9% |
| Emmons County, ND | 14 | 14.0% | 27.8% |
| McIntosh County, ND | 9 | 12.3% | 34.1% |
| McPherson County, SD | 2 | 17.9% | 19.9% |
| Campbell County, SD | 2 | 10.5% | 20.0% |
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 Campbell County the poorest county in South Dakota?
No, Campbell County's poverty rate was 10.5% in 2024, 42nd 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, Campbell County ranks 49th of 66 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Campbell 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 Campbell 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 Campbell County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.