About one in eight people with a credit file in Grant County, South Dakota, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Grant County, 12.4% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 90% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 96% of U.S. counties.
What drives Grant County's score
In Grant County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 27.6. Jobs are the lowest part, at 12.5. Unemployment averaged 2.9%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, lower than in 89% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Grant 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.
Grant 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.
- 27.7 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 line9.5% · 202410th percentile
- People with a disability15.1% · 2020 to 202441st percentile
- People without health insurance7.8% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$77,781 · 202423rd percentile
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- 21.1 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 rent11.9% · 2020 to 202418th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.2% · fiscal year 202723rd percentile
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- 13.8 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 behind2.7% · August 202511th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score30.8% · second quarter of 202615th percentile
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- 13.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector12.4% · August 20259th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people66.2 · 202517th percentile
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- 12.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202610th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working14.6% · 2020 to 202414th 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 Grant 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 Grant County, 23.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Grant County
South Dakota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Grant County made its largest gain on the way to its 2019 high, from 13.4% in 2014 to 19.0% in 2019.
In Grant County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 19.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Grant County, South Dakota, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 19.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Grant County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 10.8% in 2011 to 8.8% in 2012.
The share of households in Grant County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2011 and has since fallen to 7.6%
Low on the chart: 4.3% in 2019. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Grant County, South Dakota.
How Grant County has changed
Grant County's population had its largest drop, from 9,226 in 1984 to 8,533 in 1989.
Grant County's population fell 16% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 9,320 in 1974. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Grant County, South Dakota.
The number of jobs located in Grant County had its largest rise, from 3,174 in 1995 to 3,528 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Grant County rose by about a quarter from 1990 to 2025, reaching 3,744
High on the chart: 3,997 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Grant County, South Dakota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.1% | 2025 3.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.8% | 2024 8.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,758 | 2024 $77,781 |
The table uses 3.2% for 2025; the score uses 2.9% 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 Grant County's history
1873
1873 (created) January 8, 1878 (organized). Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 10,880. The 2020 Census counted 7,556, 69% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1969
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Grant County, 13 of them for flooding. FEMA
Grant County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Grant County, in South Dakota and Minnesota, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Grant County ranks 5th of the seven; Big Stone County is highest, at 29.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roberts County, SD | 31 | 16.2% | 24.2% |
| Big Stone County, MN | 20 | 12.3% | 29.3% |
| Lac qui Parle County, MN | 10 | 9.3% | 29.1% |
| Day County, SD | 9 | 15.5% | 23.3% |
| Grant County, SD | 3 | 8.6% | 19.0% |
| Codington County, SD | 3 | 8.3% | 17.4% |
| Deuel County, SD | 0 | 8.6% | 16.3% |
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 Grant County the poorest county in South Dakota?
No, Grant 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, Grant County ranks 41st of 66 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Grant 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 Grant County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.