In Deuel County, South Dakota, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in seven dollars of the typical household's income
In Deuel County, 14.6% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 97% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 99% of U.S. counties.
What drives Deuel County's score
In Deuel County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 18.2. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 6.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Deuel 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.
Deuel 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.
- 18.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.6% · 202412th percentile
- Children below the poverty line7.0% · 20245th or lower percentile
- People with a disability12.2% · 2020 to 202416th percentile
- People without health insurance6.9% · 2020 to 202441st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$83,163 · 202416th percentile
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- 12.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.3% · August 202514th 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 score26.3% · second quarter of 20265th percentile
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- 8.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector12.3% · August 20259th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people45.9 · 20258th percentile
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- 7.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20265th or lower percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working13.7% · 2020 to 202410th percentile
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- 6.2 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 rent7.6% · 2020 to 20247th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income14.6% · fiscal year 20275th 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 Deuel 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 Deuel County, 22.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Deuel County
South Dakota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Deuel County had its largest rise, from 14.2% in 2014 to 18.8% in 2019.
In Deuel County, benefit checks' share of income has grown since 1969, reaching 16.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks
In Deuel County, South Dakota, benefit checks' share of income rose by about a third from 1969 to 2024, reaching 16.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Deuel County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 4.7% in 2021 to 3.5% in 2022.
The share of households in Deuel County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2019 and has since fallen to 3.5%
Low on the chart: 2.6% 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, Deuel County, South Dakota.
How Deuel County has changed
Deuel County's population had its largest drop, from 5,062 in 1984 to 4,542 in 1989.
Deuel County's population fell by about a quarter from 1969 to 2024, reaching 4,335
High on the chart: 5,744 in 1969. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Deuel County, South Dakota.
The number of jobs located in Deuel County had its largest rise, from 984 in 1990 to 1,240 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Deuel County rose by more than half from 1990 to 2025, reaching 1,530
High on the chart: 1,600 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Deuel County, South Dakota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.9% | 2025 2.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.5% | 2024 8.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,861 | 2024 $83,163 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Deuel County's history
1862
1862 (created) 1878 (organized). Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 8,759. The 2020 Census counted 4,295, 49% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1969
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Deuel County, 14 of them for flooding. FEMA
Deuel County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Deuel County, in South Dakota and Minnesota, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Deuel County ranks 6th of the eight; Lac qui Parle County is highest, at 29.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln County, MN | 17 | 12.3% | 28.0% |
| Lac qui Parle County, MN | 10 | 9.3% | 29.1% |
| Yellow Medicine County, MN | 10 | 9.8% | 24.4% |
| Grant County, SD | 3 | 8.6% | 19.0% |
| Codington County, SD | 3 | 8.3% | 17.4% |
| Brookings County, SD | 0 | 10.8% | 13.5% |
| Deuel County, SD | 0 | 8.6% | 16.3% |
| Hamlin County, SD | 0 | 8.2% | 15.6% |
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 Deuel County the poorest county in South Dakota?
No, Deuel County's poverty rate was 8.6% in 2024, 55th 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, Deuel County ranks 63rd of 66 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Deuel 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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East River 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 Deuel County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.