Unemployment in Lake County, South Dakota, is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties
In Lake County, 1.8% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 95% of U.S. counties.
What drives Lake County's score
In Lake County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 30.6. Jobs are the lowest part, at 5.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Lake 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.
Lake 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.
- 30.6 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.8% · August 202538th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.9% · August 202545th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score27.4% · second quarter of 20267th percentile
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- 22.6 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 rent14.7% · 2020 to 202429th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.3% · fiscal year 202715th percentile
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- 19.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector11.9% · August 20257th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people90.7 · 202531st percentile
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- 18.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.8% · 202413th percentile
- Children below the poverty line8.3% · 20247th percentile
- People with a disability15.1% · 2020 to 202441st percentile
- People without health insurance4.0% · 2020 to 20248th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$80,099 · 202420th percentile
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- 5.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year1.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20265th or lower percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working8.3% · 2020 to 20245th 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 Lake 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 Lake County, 24.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Lake County
South Dakota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Lake County had its largest drop in the last span, from 17.3% in 2019 to 13.3% in 2024.
In Lake County, pay from work still brings in about five times as much as benefit checks, with little change in benefit checks' share since 1969
In Lake County, South Dakota, benefit checks' share of income rose by about a quarter from 1969 to 2024, reaching 13.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Lake County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 7.6% in 2017 to 4.5% in 2018.
The share of households in Lake County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen by about half
Low on the chart: 4.0% 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, Lake County, South Dakota.
How Lake County has changed
Lake County's population fell 4% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1969 and 1974
High on the chart: 11,486 in 1969. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Lake County, South Dakota.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Lake County rose 38% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 4,333. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Lake County, South Dakota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.5% | 2025 1.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.3% | 2024 8.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,721 | 2024 $80,099 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Lake County's history
1873
Created January 8, 1873; organized September 1, 1873 with Old Madison as county seat. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 12,412. The 2020 Census counted 11,059, 89% of the peak. Census Bureau
1992
A tornado in August 1992 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2012
A flash flood in May 2012 did $2 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A flood in September 2019 did $1.42 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1969
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Lake County, 13 of them for flooding. FEMA
Lake County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Lake County, two score higher. Of the group, Lake County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Miner County gets the largest, at 20.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moody County, SD | 14 | 10.1% | 15.9% |
| Minnehaha County, SD | 9 | 7.5% | 14.5% |
| Miner County, SD | 4 | 11.3% | 20.1% |
| Lake County, SD | 4 | 8.8% | 13.3% |
| McCook County, SD | 4 | 8.3% | 17.4% |
| Kingsbury County, SD | 0 | 9.0% | 19.0% |
| Brookings County, SD | 0 | 10.8% | 13.5% |
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 Lake County the poorest county in South Dakota?
No, Lake County's poverty rate was 8.8% in 2024, 52nd 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, Lake County ranks 37th of 66 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Lake 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 Lake County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.