Counties in South Dakota by unemployment rate

Oglala Lakota County had the highest unemployment rate of 66 counties in January 2026, at 5.4%. Harding County had the lowest, at 1%. The median was 2.3% and the figure for South Dakota was 2.2%. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Median2.366 counties
South Dakota2.2History

Top 40 counties, January 2026

CSVChart (SVG)

Oglala Lakota CountyOglala Lakota County: 5.4 %5.4Jackson CountyJackson County: 5.2 %5.2Todd CountyTodd County: 4.7 %4.7Grant CountyGrant County: 4.5 %4.5Roberts CountyRoberts County: 4.5 %4.5Deuel CountyDeuel County: 4 %4Dewey CountyDewey County: 3.9 %3.9Fall River CountyFall River County: 3.9 %3.9Hanson CountyHanson County: 3.7 %3.7Buffalo CountyBuffalo County: 3.6 %3.6Jones CountyJones County: 3.5 %3.5Marshall CountyMarshall County: 3.4 %3.4Potter CountyPotter County: 3.4 %3.4Walworth CountyWalworth County: 3.4 %3.4Day CountyDay County: 3.2 %3.2Mellette CountyMellette County: 3.2 %3.2Moody CountyMoody County: 3.2 %3.2Corson CountyCorson County: 3.1 %3.1Bennett CountyBennett County: 3 %3Custer CountyCuster County: 3 %3Campbell CountyCampbell County: 2.9 %2.9Kingsbury CountyKingsbury County: 2.9 %2.9Lyman CountyLyman County: 2.9 %2.9Spink CountySpink County: 2.8 %2.8Charles Mix CountyCharles Mix County: 2.6 %2.6Clark CountyClark County: 2.6 %2.6Hutchinson CountyHutchinson County: 2.6 %2.6McPherson CountyMcPherson County: 2.6 %2.6Minnehaha CountyMinnehaha County: 2.6 %2.6McCook CountyMcCook County: 2.4 %2.4Miner CountyMiner County: 2.4 %2.4Union CountyUnion County: 2.4 %2.4Aurora CountyAurora County: 2.3 %2.3Bon Homme CountyBon Homme County: 2.3 %2.3Brookings CountyBrookings County: 2.3 %2.3Codington CountyCodington County: 2.3 %2.3Davison CountyDavison County: 2.3 %2.3Meade CountyMeade County: 2.3 %2.3Pennington CountyPennington County: 2.3 %2.3Turner CountyTurner County: 2.3 %2.3
%. Source: BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCountiesJanuary 2026 (%)Change on January 2025
1Oglala Lakota County5.4+0.9 pts
2Jackson County5.2+1.8 pts
3Todd County4.7-0.2 pts
4Grant County4.5-0.1 pts
4Roberts County4.5+0.5 pts
6Deuel County4+0.4 pts
7Dewey County3.9+0.7 pts
7Fall River County3.9+0.7 pts
9Hanson County3.7+0.7 pts
10Buffalo County3.6-0.6 pts
11Jones County3.5+0.2 pts
12Marshall County3.4+0.6 pts
12Potter County3.4+1.7 pts
12Walworth County3.4-0.1 pts
15Day County3.2+0.4 pts
15Mellette County3.2+0.9 pts
15Moody County3.2+0.8 pts
18Corson County3.1+0.9 pts
19Bennett County3+0.5 pts
19Custer County3+0.2 pts
21Campbell County2.9-0.2 pts
21Kingsbury County2.9+0.4 pts
21Lyman County2.9+0.4 pts
24Spink County2.80 pts
25Charles Mix County2.6+1.1 pts
25Clark County2.6+0.1 pts
25Hutchinson County2.6+0.3 pts
25McPherson County2.6+0.4 pts
25Minnehaha County2.6+0.4 pts
30McCook County2.4+0.4 pts
30Miner County2.4-0.5 pts
30Union County2.4+0.3 pts
33Aurora County2.3+0.6 pts
33Bon Homme County2.3+0.2 pts
33Brookings County2.3+0.3 pts
33Codington County2.3+0.3 pts
33Davison County2.3+0.6 pts
33Meade County2.3+0.3 pts
33Pennington County2.3+0.3 pts
33Turner County2.3+0.2 pts
41Brown County2.2-0.1 pts
41Butte County2.2+0.1 pts
41Edmunds County2.20 pts
41Gregory County2.2+0.1 pts
41Hamlin County2.2+0.2 pts
41Hughes County2.2+0.5 pts
47Beadle County2.1+0.2 pts
47Hand County2.1+0.6 pts
47Lincoln County2.1+0.4 pts
50Douglas County2+0.1 pts
50Haakon County2+0.6 pts
50Lawrence County2+0.2 pts
50Perkins County2+0.6 pts
50Yankton County2+0.2 pts
50Ziebach County2+0.4 pts
56Clay County1.9+0.3 pts
56Tripp County1.9+0.6 pts
58Faulk County1.8+0.6 pts
58Jerauld County1.8-0.1 pts
58Lake County1.8+0.2 pts
58Stanley County1.8+0.3 pts
62Sanborn County1.7-0.2 pts
63Hyde County1.5+0.2 pts
63Sully County1.5+0.3 pts
65Brule County1.4+0.6 pts
66Harding County1-0.5 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?

Oglala Lakota County, with 5.4% in January 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest unemployment rate?

Harding County, with 1% in January 2026.

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