Unemployment in Perkins County, South Dakota, is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties
In Perkins County, 1.9% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 91% of U.S. counties.
What drives Perkins County's score
In Perkins County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 54.9. Jobs are the lowest part, at 5.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Perkins 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.
Perkins 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.
- 54.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.8% · 202446th percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.9% · 202448th percentile
- People with a disability14.5% · 2020 to 202435th percentile
- People without health insurance10.7% · 2020 to 202470th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$59,364 · 202472nd percentile
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- 37.2 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 rent13.1% · 2020 to 202422nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.8% · fiscal year 202751st percentile
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- 15.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.7% · August 202521st 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 score26.6% · second quarter of 20265th 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 collector9.6% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people35.3 · 20255th or lower 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 year1.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20265th or lower percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working8.9% · 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 Perkins 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 Perkins County, 26.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Perkins County
South Dakota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Perkins County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 27.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Perkins County, South Dakota, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 27.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Perkins County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 7.9% in 2017 to 4.3% in 2018.
The share of households in Perkins County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 8.2%
Low on the chart: 2.7% in 2019. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Perkins County, South Dakota.
How Perkins County has changed
Perkins County's population had its largest drop, from 4,483 in 1984 to 4,074 in 1989.
Perkins County's population fell 40% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 4,723 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Perkins County, South Dakota.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Perkins County fell 15% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 2015 and 2020
High on the chart: 1,263 in 1990. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Perkins County, South Dakota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.4% | 2025 1.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.6% | 2024 12.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,482 | 2024 $59,364 |
The table uses 1.8% for 2025; the score uses 1.9% 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 Perkins County's history
1908
November 3, 1908 (established) 1909 (organized). Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 11,348. The 2020 Census counted 2,835, 25% of the peak. Census Bureau
2009
Hail in July 2009 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1976
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Perkins County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Perkins County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Perkins County, in South Dakota and North Dakota, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Perkins County ranks 4th of the seven; Ziebach County is highest, at 41.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corson County, SD | 64 | 37.9% | 38.3% |
| Ziebach County, SD | 52 | 45.8% | 41.2% |
| Butte County, SD | 25 | 11.6% | 25.3% |
| Adams County, ND | 17 | 12.2% | 36.7% |
| Perkins County, SD | 8 | 12.8% | 27.9% |
| Meade County, SD | 3 | 8.1% | 20.8% |
| Harding County, SD | 2 | 11.8% | 17.1% |
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 Perkins County the poorest county in South Dakota?
No, Perkins County's poverty rate was 12.8% in 2024, 23rd 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, Perkins County ranks 28th of 66 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Perkins 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 Perkins 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 Perkins County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.