Unemployment in Harding County, South Dakota, is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties
In Harding County, 1.4% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 97% of U.S. counties.
What drives Harding County's score
In Harding County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 26.6. Jobs are the lowest part, at 5.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Harding 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.
Harding 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.
- 26.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.8% · 202438th percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.4% · 202429th percentile
- People with a disability6.6% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- People without health insurance2.8% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$65,228 · 202454th percentile
-
- 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 rent0.9% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.6% · fiscal year 202737th percentile
-
- 13.9 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 score11.7% · second quarter of 20265th or lower percentile
-
- 12.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collectornot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202511th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 peoplenot published for this county; scored at the state median · 202512th percentile
-
- 5.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year1.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20265th or lower percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working10.4% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
-
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 Harding 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 Harding County, 20.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Harding County
South Dakota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Harding County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 17.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks
In Harding County, South Dakota, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 17.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Harding County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 9.9% in 2013 to 5.4% in 2014.
The share of households in Harding County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen to 2.0%
Low on the chart: 0.6% 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, Harding County, South Dakota.
How Harding County has changed
Harding County's population had its largest drop, from 1,926 in 1969 to 1,734 in 1974.
Harding County's population fell by about a third from 1969 to 2024, reaching 1,325
High on the chart: 1,926 in 1969. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Harding County, South Dakota.
The number of jobs located in Harding County had its largest rise, from 331 in 2000 to 383 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Harding County fell to its lowest on the chart in 2000, then climbed past the 1990 level
Low on the chart: 331 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Harding County, South Dakota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.4% | 2025 1.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.7% | 2024 11.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,331 | 2024 $65,228 |
The table uses 1.6% for 2025; the score uses 1.4% 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 Harding County's history
1881
1881 (created) 1898 (dissolved) 1908 (re-created w revised shape) 1909 (organized). Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 4,228. The 2020 Census counted 1,311, 31% of the peak. Census Bureau
-
Since 1976
15 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Harding County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Harding County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Harding County, in South Dakota, North Dakota and Montana, five score higher. Of the group, Harding County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Adams County gets the largest, at 36.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Butte County, SD | 25 | 11.6% | 25.3% |
| Adams County, ND | 17 | 12.2% | 36.7% |
| Carter County, MT | 15 | 13.0% | 27.1% |
| Perkins County, SD | 8 | 12.8% | 27.9% |
| Fallon County, MT | 6 | 9.3% | 20.6% |
| Harding County, SD | 2 | 11.8% | 17.1% |
| Bowman County, ND | 1 | 10.0% | 24.0% |
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 Harding County the poorest county in South Dakota?
No, Harding County's poverty rate was 11.8% in 2024, 27th 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, Harding County ranks 48th of 66 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Harding 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.
-
Dakota Plains Legal Services
Legal aid
-
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 Harding 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 Harding County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.