Unemployment in Charles Mix County, South Dakota, is lower than in 97% of U.S. counties

In Charles Mix County, 2.2% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 97% of U.S. counties.

Photo of Ross Kilburn
Data from
County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026
17th
of 66 counties in South Dakota
20score /100

Less distressed than 79% of U.S. counties.

What drives Charles Mix County's score

In Charles Mix County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 69.8. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 18.7. About one in six people with a credit file (16.6%, August 2025) has unpaid debt sent to a collector, a lower share than in 75% of U.S. counties.

The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Charles Mix 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.

Even so, Charles Mix County is worse off than most counties on people without health insurance (17.1%, 2020 to 2024) and people below the poverty line (20.3%, 2024).

A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.

  • Income and safety net

    Biggest factor
    69.8 of 100

    Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey

    • People below the poverty line
      20.3% · 2024
      88th percentile
    • Children below the poverty line
      26.1% · 2024
      84th percentile
    • People with a disability
      11.5% · 2020 to 2024
      11th percentile
    • People without health insurance
      17.1% · 2020 to 2024
      93rd percentile
    • Median household income (lower income, longer bar)
      $59,612 · 2024
      71st percentile

  • Jobs

    26.8 of 100

    Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey

    • Unemployment rate, average over the latest year
      2.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026
      5th or lower percentile
    • Adults 25 to 54 not working
      20.5% · 2020 to 2024
      48th percentile

  • Housing costs

    26.2 of 100

    Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027

    • Renters paying half their income or more in rent
      6.2% · 2020 to 2024
      5th percentile
    • Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income
      20.4% · fiscal year 2027
      47th percentile

  • Late payments

    23.1 of 100

    Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026

    • People with a credit card behind
      1.4% · August 2025
      5th or lower percentile
    • People with a car or retail loan behind
      2.3% · August 2025
      7th percentile
    • People with a subprime credit score
      42.2% · second quarter of 2026
      57th percentile

  • Collections and bankruptcy

    18.7 of 100

    Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025

    • People with unpaid debt sent to a collector
      16.6% · August 2025
      24th percentile
    • Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people
      not published for this county; scored at the state median · 2025
      12th percentile

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 Charles Mix 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 Charles Mix County, 19.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.

Cents of every dollar of income, 2024

Charles Mix County

54 20 26

South Dakota

58 25 17

United States

61 21 18
  • Pay from work
  • Investments and rent
  • Benefit checks
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4), shares of all personal income received by residents, 2024. Pay from work is total income minus the other two, so the three add to 100.

In Charles Mix County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 25.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks

In Charles Mix County, South Dakota, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 25.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.

  • Benefit checks
  • Pay from work
0%40%80% 196919741979198419891994199920042009201420192024 0%40%80% 196919791989199920092024
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4), shares of all personal income received by residents, Charles Mix County, South Dakota American Default Research · americandefault.org/counties/south-dakota/charles-mix-county-sd/
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The share of households in Charles Mix County getting SNAP food aid fell most in two steps: 17.8% in 2009 to 16.3% in 2010; 15.0% in 2022 to 13.5% in 2023.

The share of households in Charles Mix County getting SNAP food aid fell by about a quarter from 2009 to 2023, reaching 13.5%, then turned up in 2024

Low on the chart: 13.5% 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, Charles Mix County, South Dakota.

0%10%20% 17.8%14.2% 2009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 0%10%20% 17.8%14.2% 20092011201320152017201920212024
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates American Default Research · americandefault.org/counties/south-dakota/charles-mix-county-sd/
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How Charles Mix County has changed

Charles Mix County's population had its largest drop, from 9,524 in 1984 to 9,172 in 1989.

Charles Mix County's population fell 9% from 1969 to 2024

High on the chart: 10,286 in 1969. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Charles Mix County, South Dakota.

010,00020,000 10,2869,343 196919741979198419891994199920042009201420192024 010,00020,000 10,2869,343 196919791989199920092024
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts American Default Research · americandefault.org/counties/south-dakota/charles-mix-county-sd/
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The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.

The number of jobs located in Charles Mix County rose by about half from 1990 to 2025, reaching 3,461, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995

High on the chart: 3,485 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Charles Mix County, South Dakota.

02,0004,000 2,3623,461 19901995200020052010201520202025 02,0004,000 2,3623,461 19901995200020052010201520202025
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages American Default Research · americandefault.org/counties/south-dakota/charles-mix-county-sd/
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MeasureThenNowSource
Unemployment rateBLS LAUS 1990 3.7% 2025 2.1% BLS LAUS
People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE 1989 26.8% 2024 20.3% Census SAIPE
Median household incomeCensus SAIPE 1989 $18,872 2024 $59,612 Census SAIPE

The table uses 2.1% for 2025; the score uses 2.2% 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 Charles Mix County's history

  1. 1862

    1862 (created) 1879 (organized). Wikipedia

  2. 1930

    The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 16,703. The 2020 Census counted 9,373, 56% of the peak. Census Bureau

  3. 1973

    A tornado in June 1973 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database

  4. 1979

    A tornado in June 1979 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database

  5. 1998

    Hail in July 1998 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database

  6. 2024

    A flood in June 2024 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database

  7. Since 1976

    17 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Charles Mix County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA

Charles Mix County beside its neighbors

Of the nine counties that border Charles Mix County, in South Dakota and Nebraska, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Charles Mix County ranks 3rd of the 10; Boyd County is highest, at 30.8%.

CountyDistress scoreScoreRank in its state Poverty rateBenefit checks, share of incomeBenefit checks
Lyman County, SD 38 10th of 66 21.4% 25.5%
Boyd County, NE 31 14th of 93 13.1% 30.8%
Gregory County, SD 24 15th of 66 14.1% 25.9%
Charles Mix County, SD 20 17th of 66 20.3% 25.6%
Knox County, NE 8 62nd of 93 12.1% 25.3%
Brule County, SD 6 32nd of 66 12.7% 18.5%
Bon Homme County, SD 2 45th of 66 14.2% 23.7%
Aurora County, SD 2 52nd of 66 10.6% 22.0%
Douglas County, SD 1 56th of 66 10.3% 19.5%
Hutchinson County, SD 0 58th of 66 12.2% 20.3%

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 Charles Mix County the poorest county in South Dakota?

No, Charles Mix County's poverty rate was 20.3% in 2024, 11th 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, Charles Mix County ranks 17th of 66 in the state.

If you're behind on your mortgage in Charles Mix 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.

South Dakota foreclosure guide →

The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.

Download the CSV for Charles Mix County · Every U.S. county (CSV)

Cite this Charles Mix County, South Dakota, scores 20 on the County Distress Index (data through Sep 2026): less distressed than 79% of U.S. counties · American Default Research · americandefault.org/counties/south-dakota/charles-mix-county-sd/

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 Charles Mix County comes from, 2024.
  • History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.