Unemployment in Sully County, South Dakota, is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties
In Sully County, 1.5% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 99% of U.S. counties.
What drives Sully County's score
In Sully County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 16.6. Jobs are the lowest part, at 5.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Sully 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.
Sully 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.
- 16.6 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 rent13.9% · 2020 to 202426th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income15.9% · fiscal year 20276th percentile
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- 15.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.0% · 20248th percentile
- Children below the poverty line7.8% · 20245th percentile
- People with a disability10.1% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- People without health insurance6.6% · 2020 to 202438th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$80,411 · 202419th percentile
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- 14.9 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 people66.9 · 202517th percentile
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- 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 score23.2% · second quarter of 20265th 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 year1.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20265th or lower percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working6.6% · 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 Sully 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 Sully 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
Sully County
South Dakota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Sully County had its largest rise, from 7.7% in 2014 to 12.1% in 2019.
In Sully County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 12.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about five times as much as benefit checks
In Sully County, South Dakota, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 12.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Sully County getting SNAP food aid moved most in two steps: 3.0% in 2019 to 4.4% in 2020; 5.7% in 2021 to 4.3% in 2022.
The share of households in Sully County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2021 and has since fallen to 4.9%
Low on the chart: 2.1% in 2011. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Sully County, South Dakota.
How Sully County has changed
Sully County's population had its largest drop, from 2,428 in 1969 to 2,174 in 1974.
Sully County's population fell 40% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 2,428 in 1969. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Sully County, South Dakota.
The number of jobs located in Sully County had its largest rise, from 585 in 2015 to 841 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Sully County was at its highest on the chart in 2020 and is down 18% since
High on the chart: 841 in 2020. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Sully County, South Dakota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.2% | 2025 1.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.9% | 2024 8.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,116 | 2024 $80,411 |
The table uses 1.7% for 2025; the score uses 1.5% 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 Sully County's history
1873
1873 (created) 1883 (organized). Wikipedia
1884
Blair Colony was largest African American homesteader settlement in South Dakota, founded 1884. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 3,852. The 2020 Census counted 1,446, 38% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1976
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Sully County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Sully County beside its neighbors
All five counties that border Sully County score higher than it does. Of the group, Sully County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Dewey County gets the largest, at 30.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dewey County, SD | 82 | 28.8% | 30.1% |
| Potter County, SD | 14 | 9.6% | 24.9% |
| Stanley County, SD | 5 | 7.4% | 15.7% |
| Hyde County, SD | 4 | 11.7% | 20.9% |
| Hughes County, SD | 1 | 8.7% | 16.7% |
| Sully County, SD | 0 | 8.0% | 12.9% |
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 Sully County the poorest county in South Dakota?
No, Sully County's poverty rate was 8.0% in 2024, 62nd 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, Sully County ranks 57th of 66 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Sully 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.
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 Sully County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.