Unemployment in Faulk County, South Dakota, is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties
In Faulk County, 1.7% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 91% of U.S. counties.
What drives Faulk County's score
In Faulk County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 42.0. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 6.7. About one in 11 people with a credit file (9.2%, August 2025) has unpaid debt sent to a collector, a lower share than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Faulk 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.
Faulk 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.
- 42.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.7% · 202454th percentile
- Children below the poverty line20.4% · 202466th percentile
- People with a disability12.5% · 2020 to 202418th percentile
- People without health insurance6.3% · 2020 to 202434th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$71,926 · 202436th percentile
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- 28.3 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 score39.7% · second quarter of 202648th percentile
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- 26.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year1.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20265th or lower percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.3% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
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- 14.9 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 rent9.7% · 2020 to 202411th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.6% · fiscal year 202718th percentile
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- 6.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector9.2% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people46.5 · 20258th 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 Faulk 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 Faulk County, 24.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Faulk County
South Dakota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Faulk County had its largest rise, from 14.0% in 2014 to 19.2% in 2019.
In Faulk County, benefit checks' share of income has risen by about half since 1969, reaching 18.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Faulk County, South Dakota, benefit checks' share of income rose by about half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 18.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Faulk County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 2.4% in 2014 to 3.7% in 2015.
The share of households in Faulk County getting SNAP food aid fell by more than half from 2009 to 2024, reaching 1.4%, with its low point on the chart in 2020
Low on the chart: 0.9% in 2020. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Faulk County, South Dakota.
How Faulk County has changed
Faulk County's population had its largest drop, from 3,133 in 1984 to 2,789 in 1989.
Faulk County's population fell 45% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 3,879 in 1969. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Faulk County, South Dakota.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Faulk County rose by about a quarter to 668, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 668. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Faulk County, South Dakota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 1.7% | 2025 1.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.5% | 2024 13.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,689 | 2024 $71,926 |
The table uses 1.6% for 2025; the score uses 1.7% 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 Faulk County's history
1873
1873 (created) 1883 (organized). Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 6,895. The 2020 Census counted 2,125, 31% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1969
17 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Faulk County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Faulk County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Faulk County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Faulk County ranks 4th of the seven; Potter County is highest, at 24.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Potter County, SD | 14 | 9.6% | 24.9% |
| Brown County, SD | 13 | 11.6% | 15.7% |
| Faulk County, SD | 8 | 13.7% | 18.0% |
| Hyde County, SD | 4 | 11.7% | 20.9% |
| Spink County, SD | 3 | 11.7% | 22.2% |
| Edmunds County, SD | 1 | 11.0% | 14.7% |
| 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 Faulk County the poorest county in South Dakota?
No, Faulk County's poverty rate was 13.7% in 2024, 21st 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, Faulk County ranks 27th of 66 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Faulk 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 Faulk County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.