About three in ten people in Dewey County, South Dakota, live below the poverty line
In Dewey County, 28.8% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 97% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 82% of U.S. counties.
What drives Dewey County's score
In Dewey County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 92.2. People with a car or retail loan behind: 15.8%, August 2025, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 79.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Dewey 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.
Dewey County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a disability (10.6%, 2020 to 2024) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (10.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 92.2 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.1% · August 202591st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind15.8% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score55.5% · second quarter of 202690th percentile
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- 79.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202668th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working30.4% · 2020 to 202490th percentile
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- 75.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line28.8% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line27.7% · 202487th percentile
- People with a disability10.6% · 2020 to 20246th percentile
- People without health insurance21.2% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$46,718 · 2024top 5%
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- 50.8 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 rent10.7% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income26.1% · fiscal year 202787th percentile
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- 46.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector32.5% · August 202580th 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 Dewey 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 Dewey County, 10.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Dewey County
South Dakota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Dewey County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 30.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Dewey County, South Dakota, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 30.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Dewey County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply from its first year (19.2% in 2009) to 24.4% in 2010.
The share of households in Dewey County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 19.2% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Dewey County, South Dakota.
How Dewey County has changed
Dewey County's population rose most sharply after its 1979 low, from 4,989 in 1979 to 5,485 in 1984.
Dewey County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1999 and is down 10% since
High on the chart: 5,933 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Dewey County, South Dakota.
The number of jobs located in Dewey County had its largest rise, from 1,451 in 1990 to 1,691 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Dewey County nearly doubled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 2,348
High on the chart: 2,353 in 2020. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Dewey County, South Dakota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 11.1% | 2025 5.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 35.5% | 2024 28.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,746 | 2024 $46,718 |
The table uses 5.1% for 2025; the score uses 4.3% 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 Dewey County's history
1883
1883 (created) 1910 (organized). Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 6,476. The 2020 Census counted 5,239, 81% of the peak. Census Bureau
1946
On April 21, 1946, a large tornado struck the area in and around Timber Lake. The U.S. Weather Bureau published a paper in 1946 stating the width of this tornado was 4 miles (6.4 km), which would make this the widest tornado ever documented in history. Wikipedia
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Since 1976
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Dewey County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Dewey County beside its neighbors
Dewey County scores higher than all six counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Dewey County ranks 3rd of the seven; Ziebach County is highest, at 41.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dewey County, SD | 82 | 28.8% | 30.1% |
| Corson County, SD | 64 | 37.9% | 38.3% |
| Ziebach County, SD | 52 | 45.8% | 41.2% |
| Walworth County, SD | 16 | 14.6% | 23.9% |
| Potter County, SD | 14 | 9.6% | 24.9% |
| Stanley County, SD | 5 | 7.4% | 15.7% |
| Sully County, SD | 0 | 8.0% | 12.9% |
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 Dewey County the poorest county in South Dakota?
No, Dewey County's poverty rate was 28.8% in 2024, 8th 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, Dewey County ranks 3rd of 66 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Dewey 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 Dewey County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.