In Union County, South Dakota, benefit checks make up only 8 cents of every dollar of income
In Union County, 7.7% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 98% of U.S. counties.
What drives Union County's score
In Union County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 24.5. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 8.6. About one in 17 people (5.8%, 2024) lives below the poverty line, a lower share than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Union 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.
Union 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.
- 24.5 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 rent17.1% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income14.1% · fiscal year 20275th or lower percentile
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- 16.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector11.4% · August 20256th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people81.5 · 202526th percentile
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- 12.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.4% · August 202515th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.5% · August 20259th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score30.2% · second quarter of 202613th percentile
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- 8.8 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 working14.1% · 2020 to 202412th percentile
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- 8.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line5.8% · 20245th or lower percentile
- Children below the poverty line4.7% · 20245th or lower percentile
- People with a disability10.8% · 2020 to 20247th percentile
- People without health insurance5.1% · 2020 to 202420th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$101,682 · 20245th 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 Union 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 Union County, 19.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Union County
South Dakota
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Union County had its largest drop, from 15.3% in 1989 to 10.2% in 1994.
In Union County, pay from work still brings in about seven times as much as benefit checks, and benefit checks' share of income is smaller than in 1969
In Union County, South Dakota, benefit checks' share of income fell from 1969 to 2024, reaching 7.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Union County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 4.3% in 2016 to 5.6% in 2017.
The share of households in Union County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2011 and has since fallen to 4.1%
Biggest drop: 2012 to 2013, reaching 4.8%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Union County, South Dakota.
How Union County has changed
Union County's population doubled to 17,402, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1994 to 1999, reaching 12,586. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Union County, South Dakota.
The number of jobs located in Union County rose most sharply from its first year (3,625 in 1990) to 9,655 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Union County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 8% since
High on the chart: 10,392 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Union County, South Dakota.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.2% | 2025 2.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.7% | 2024 5.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,058 | 2024 $101,682 |
The table uses 2.1% 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 Union County's history
1990
A tornado in June 1990 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1993
Hail in May 1993 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 16,811, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2020
Lightning in August 2020 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2024
A flood in June 2024 did $54.52 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1969
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Union County, 14 of them for flooding. FEMA
Union County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Union County, in South Dakota, Iowa and Nebraska, four score higher. Of the group, Union County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Woodbury County gets the largest, at 23.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodbury County, IA | 39 | 13.6% | 23.0% |
| Dakota County, NE | 34 | 11.2% | 16.2% |
| Clay County, SD | 23 | 19.3% | 19.6% |
| Dixon County, NE | 2 | 8.9% | 19.9% |
| Union County, SD | 1 | 5.8% | 7.7% |
| Plymouth County, IA | 1 | 7.6% | 17.6% |
| Lincoln County, SD | 0 | 3.8% | 8.6% |
| Sioux County, IA | 0 | 7.3% | 14.2% |
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 Union County the poorest county in South Dakota?
No, Union County's poverty rate was 5.8% in 2024, 65th 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, Union County ranks 54th of 66 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Union 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 Union County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.