Counties in South Dakota by unemployment rate

Dewey County had the highest unemployment rate of 66 counties in September 2025, at 4.7%. Hamlin County had the lowest, at 1.3%. The median was 1.8% and the figure for South Dakota was 2.1%. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Highest4.7Dewey County
Lowest1.3Hamlin County
Median1.866 counties
South Dakota2.1History

Top 40 counties, September 2025

CSVChart (SVG)

Dewey CountyDewey County: 4.7 %4.7Oglala Lakota CountyOglala Lakota County: 4.7 %4.7Todd CountyTodd County: 4.5 %4.5Campbell CountyCampbell County: 3.7 %3.7Corson CountyCorson County: 3.4 %3.4Buffalo CountyBuffalo County: 3.3 %3.3Jackson CountyJackson County: 2.7 %2.7Ziebach CountyZiebach County: 2.7 %2.7Roberts CountyRoberts County: 2.5 %2.5Fall River CountyFall River County: 2.4 %2.4Mellette CountyMellette County: 2.3 %2.3Walworth CountyWalworth County: 2.3 %2.3Bennett CountyBennett County: 2.2 %2.2McPherson CountyMcPherson County: 2.2 %2.2Potter CountyPotter County: 2.1 %2.1Day CountyDay County: 2 %2Grant CountyGrant County: 2 %2Hanson CountyHanson County: 2 %2Jones CountyJones County: 2 %2Kingsbury CountyKingsbury County: 2 %2Lyman CountyLyman County: 2 %2Moody CountyMoody County: 2 %2Bon Homme CountyBon Homme County: 1.9 %1.9Custer CountyCuster County: 1.9 %1.9Meade CountyMeade County: 1.9 %1.9Beadle CountyBeadle County: 1.8 %1.8Brown CountyBrown County: 1.8 %1.8Charles Mix CountyCharles Mix County: 1.8 %1.8Clark CountyClark County: 1.8 %1.8Clay CountyClay County: 1.8 %1.8Douglas CountyDouglas County: 1.8 %1.8Jerauld CountyJerauld County: 1.8 %1.8Lawrence CountyLawrence County: 1.8 %1.8Marshall CountyMarshall County: 1.8 %1.8Miner CountyMiner County: 1.8 %1.8Minnehaha CountyMinnehaha County: 1.8 %1.8Pennington CountyPennington County: 1.8 %1.8Spink CountySpink County: 1.8 %1.8Union CountyUnion County: 1.8 %1.8Yankton CountyYankton County: 1.8 %1.8
%. Source: BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCountiesSeptember 2025 (%)Change on September 2024
1Dewey County4.7+0.7 pts
1Oglala Lakota County4.70 pts
3Todd County4.5+0.8 pts
4Campbell County3.7+1.9 pts
5Corson County3.40 pts
6Buffalo County3.3-1.5 pts
7Jackson County2.7+0.2 pts
7Ziebach County2.7-0.4 pts
9Roberts County2.5+0.6 pts
10Fall River County2.4+0.6 pts
11Mellette County2.30 pts
11Walworth County2.3+0.6 pts
13Bennett County2.2-0.5 pts
13McPherson County2.2+0.8 pts
15Potter County2.1+0.3 pts
16Day County2+0.6 pts
16Grant County2+0.4 pts
16Hanson County2+0.3 pts
16Jones County20 pts
16Kingsbury County2+0.7 pts
16Lyman County2+0.3 pts
16Moody County2+0.3 pts
23Bon Homme County1.9+0.3 pts
23Custer County1.9+0.2 pts
23Meade County1.9+0.5 pts
26Beadle County1.8+0.3 pts
26Brown County1.8+0.4 pts
26Charles Mix County1.8+0.3 pts
26Clark County1.8+0.3 pts
26Clay County1.8+0.3 pts
26Douglas County1.8+0.2 pts
26Jerauld County1.8+0.3 pts
26Lawrence County1.8+0.3 pts
26Marshall County1.8+0.5 pts
26Miner County1.8-0.6 pts
26Minnehaha County1.8+0.4 pts
26Pennington County1.8+0.2 pts
26Spink County1.8+0.3 pts
26Union County1.8+0.3 pts
26Yankton County1.8+0.5 pts
41Brookings County1.7+0.3 pts
41Butte County1.7+0.3 pts
41Codington County1.7+0.4 pts
41Davison County1.7+0.4 pts
41Edmunds County1.7+0.3 pts
41Lincoln County1.7+0.4 pts
41McCook County1.7+0.5 pts
41Perkins County1.7+0.4 pts
41Turner County1.7+0.2 pts
50Deuel County1.6+0.5 pts
50Gregory County1.6+0.3 pts
50Haakon County1.6+0.3 pts
50Hughes County1.6+0.4 pts
50Hyde County1.6-0.1 pts
50Lake County1.6+0.4 pts
50Sully County1.6+0.1 pts
50Tripp County1.6+0.5 pts
58Aurora County1.5+0.2 pts
58Brule County1.5+0.3 pts
58Faulk County1.5+0.1 pts
58Harding County1.5-0.1 pts
58Hutchinson County1.5+0.2 pts
58Sanborn County1.5+0.3 pts
64Hand County1.4+0.1 pts
64Stanley County1.4+0.2 pts
66Hamlin County1.3+0.2 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Unemployed people as a percentage of the labour force, using the survey definition of unemployment: without work, available and looking for work. Spain: EPA, aged 16 and over. EU: Labour Force Survey, aged 15 to 74. United States: civilian labour force aged 16 and over, from the Current Population Survey for the nation and from BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics models, consistent with that survey, for states and counties. Other countries and the World: ILO modelled estimates published by the World Bank, aged 15 and over.

Survey-based. Available for Spain, regions, provinces, EU countries, US states and US counties, not Spanish municipalities. For municipalities use registered_unemployment_rate. US national and state rates are seasonally adjusted; county rates are not. Countries without a national or Eurostat series get the annual ILO modelled estimate, a model output rather than a survey result.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics: unemployment rate by county, not seasonally adjusted. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

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Questions

Which county has the highest unemployment rate?

Dewey County, with 4.7% in September 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest unemployment rate?

Hamlin County, with 1.3% in September 2025.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics: unemployment rate by county, not seasonally adjusted. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Unemployment rate: other rankings

Counties in South Dakota: more rankings