About one in 36 people with a credit file in Hanson County, South Dakota, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Hanson County, 2.8% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 99% of U.S. counties.
What drives Hanson County's score
In Hanson County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 22.3. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 5.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Hanson 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.
Hanson 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.
- 22.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.7% · 202413th percentile
- Children below the poverty line10.6% · 202416th percentile
- People with a disability7.7% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- People without health insurance9.8% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$87,793 · 202412th percentile
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- 14.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.3% · August 20255th 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 score32.1% · second quarter of 202619th percentile
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- 5.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20266th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working9.4% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
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- 5.0 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 rent2.5% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income13.9% · fiscal year 20275th or lower percentile
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- 5.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector2.8% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people28.8 · 20255th 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 Hanson 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 Hanson County, 16.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Hanson County
South Dakota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Hanson County had its largest rise, from 10.3% in 1979 to 16.8% in 1984.
In Hanson County, benefit checks' share of income has risen by about half since 1969, reaching 14.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks
In Hanson County, South Dakota, benefit checks' share of income rose by about half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 14.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Hanson County getting SNAP food aid rose most in two steps: 2.6% in 2009 to 3.8% in 2010; 1.9% in 2023 to 3.1% in 2024.
The share of households in Hanson County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 0.8% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Hanson County, South Dakota.
How Hanson County has changed
Hanson County's population had its largest rise, from 3,101 in 1999 to 3,503 in 2004.
Hanson County's population fell 10% from 1969 to 2024, with its low point on the chart in 1994
Low on the chart: 2,905 in 1994. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Hanson County, South Dakota.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Hanson County rose 36% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2010 and 2015
High on the chart: 623 in 2025. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Hanson County, South Dakota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.5% | 2025 2.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 19.6% | 2024 8.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,369 | 2024 $87,793 |
The table uses 2.4% for 2025; the score uses 2.7% 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 Hanson County's history
1871
January 13, 1871 (created) 1873 (organized). Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 6,237. The 2020 Census counted 3,461, 55% of the peak. Census Bureau
1997
A thunderstorm in June 1997 did $1.2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
A tornado in May 1998 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1969
25 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Hanson County, 18 of them for flooding. FEMA
Hanson County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Hanson County, four score higher. Of the group, Hanson County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Hutchinson County gets the largest, at 20.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Davison County, SD | 9 | 10.8% | 18.0% |
| Sanborn County, SD | 5 | 12.7% | 19.5% |
| Miner County, SD | 4 | 11.3% | 20.1% |
| McCook County, SD | 4 | 8.3% | 17.4% |
| Hutchinson County, SD | 0 | 12.2% | 20.3% |
| Hanson County, SD | 0 | 8.7% | 14.1% |
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 Hanson County the poorest county in South Dakota?
No, Hanson County's poverty rate was 8.7% in 2024, 53rd 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, Hanson County ranks 64th of 66 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Hanson 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.
Download the CSV for Hanson County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
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 Hanson County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.