About one in 18 people with a credit file in Kingsbury County, South Dakota, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Kingsbury County, 5.6% 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 Kingsbury County's score
In Kingsbury County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 18.3. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 5.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Kingsbury 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.
Kingsbury 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.
- 18.3 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent14.0% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.4% · fiscal year 20279th percentile
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- 17.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.0% · 202415th percentile
- Children below the poverty line10.3% · 202414th percentile
- People with a disability10.8% · 2020 to 20247th percentile
- People without health insurance5.3% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$75,613 · 202428th percentile
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- 9.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.7% · August 20257th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind0.0% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score31.2% · second quarter of 202616th percentile
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- 7.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20265th or lower percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working13.4% · 2020 to 20249th percentile
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- 5.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector5.6% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people37.9 · 20255th 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 Kingsbury 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 Kingsbury County, 23.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Kingsbury County
South Dakota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Kingsbury County, benefit checks' share of income has risen by about half since 1969, reaching 19.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Kingsbury County, South Dakota, benefit checks' share of income rose by about half 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 Kingsbury County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 5.2% in 2019 to 3.5% in 2020.
The share of households in Kingsbury County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 3.9%
Low on the chart: 2.9% in 2021. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Kingsbury County, South Dakota.
How Kingsbury County has changed
Kingsbury County's population had its largest drop, from 7,633 in 1969 to 7,093 in 1974.
Kingsbury County's population fell by about a third from 1969 to 2019, reaching 5,095, then turned up in 2024
High on the chart: 7,633 in 1969. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Kingsbury County, South Dakota.
The number of jobs located in Kingsbury County rose most in two steps: 1,533 in 1990 to 1,603 in 1995; 1,697 in 2020 to 1,767 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Kingsbury County rose 15% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 1,603. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Kingsbury County, South Dakota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.4% | 2025 2.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.2% | 2024 9.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,521 | 2024 $75,613 |
The table uses 2.3% for 2025; the score uses 2.2% 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 Kingsbury County's history
1873
1873 (created) 1880 (organized). Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 12,805. The 2020 Census counted 5,187, 41% of the peak. Census Bureau
1992
A tornado in June 1992 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
Hail in May 2000 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2003
A tornado in June 2003 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A flood in April 2011 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1969
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Kingsbury County, 17 of them for flooding. FEMA
Kingsbury County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Kingsbury County, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Kingsbury County ranks 4th of the eight; Miner County is highest, at 20.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beadle County, SD | 16 | 10.7% | 19.1% |
| Clark County, SD | 7 | 10.0% | 13.1% |
| Sanborn County, SD | 5 | 12.7% | 19.5% |
| Miner County, SD | 4 | 11.3% | 20.1% |
| Lake County, SD | 4 | 8.8% | 13.3% |
| Kingsbury County, SD | 0 | 9.0% | 19.0% |
| Brookings County, SD | 0 | 10.8% | 13.5% |
| Hamlin County, SD | 0 | 8.2% | 15.6% |
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 Kingsbury County the poorest county in South Dakota?
No, Kingsbury County's poverty rate was 9.0% in 2024, 51st 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, Kingsbury County ranks 60th of 66 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Kingsbury 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 Kingsbury 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 Kingsbury County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.