About half adults aged 25 to 54 in Mellette County, South Dakota, are not working
In Mellette County, 49.8% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 99% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 53% of U.S. counties.
What drives Mellette County's score
In Mellette County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 84.6. About one in four people (25.9%, 2024) lives below the poverty line, a higher share than in 95% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 59.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Mellette 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.
Mellette County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (6.3%, 2020 to 2024) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.4%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 84.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line25.9% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line31.7% · 202493rd percentile
- People with a disability15.9% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
- People without health insurance25.0% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$51,141 · 202489th percentile
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- 59.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202624th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working49.8% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 45.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector31.4% · August 202577th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 peoplenot published for this county; scored at the state median · 202512th percentile
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- 44.4 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 rent6.3% · 2020 to 20245th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income25.0% · fiscal year 202783rd percentile
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- 26.7 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 score38.3% · second quarter of 202643rd 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 Mellette 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 Mellette County, 16.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Mellette County
South Dakota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Mellette County fell most sharply after its 2009 high, from 33.4% in 2009 to 25.3% in 2014.
In Mellette County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 32.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Mellette County, South Dakota, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 32.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Mellette County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 24.8% in 2010 to 33.6% in 2011.
The share of households in Mellette County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2012 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 22.4% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Mellette County, South Dakota.
How Mellette County has changed
Mellette County's population fell by about a quarter to 1,834, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1969 to 1974, reaching 2,345. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Mellette County, South Dakota.
The number of jobs located in Mellette County fell most sharply on the way to its 2020 low, from 353 in 2015 to 289 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Mellette County was at its highest on the chart in 2010 and is down 14% since
High on the chart: 390 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Mellette County, South Dakota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.0% | 2025 3.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 38.2% | 2024 25.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,773 | 2024 $51,141 |
The table uses 3.0% for 2025; the score uses 3.4% 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 Mellette County's history
1909
1909 (created) 1911 (organized). Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 5,293. The 2020 Census counted 1,918, 36% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1976
14 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Mellette County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Mellette County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Mellette County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Mellette County ranks 3rd of the six; Todd County is highest, at 43.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Todd County, SD | 84 | 32.9% | 43.4% |
| Jackson County, SD | 62 | 29.1% | 33.8% |
| Mellette County, SD | 53 | 25.9% | 32.8% |
| Lyman County, SD | 38 | 21.4% | 25.5% |
| Tripp County, SD | 33 | 16.3% | 23.4% |
| Jones County, SD | 6 | 13.2% | 17.4% |
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 Mellette County the poorest county in South Dakota?
No, Mellette County's poverty rate was 25.9% in 2024, 9th 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, Mellette County ranks 8th of 66 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Mellette 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.
Download the CSV for Mellette 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 Mellette County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.