Counties in South Dakota by unemployment rate

Jones County had the highest unemployment rate of 66 counties in March 2026, at 5.1%. Sully County had the lowest, at 0.8%. The median was 2.1% and the figure for South Dakota was 2.3%. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Highest5.1Jones County
Lowest0.8Sully County
Median2.166 counties
South Dakota2.3History

Top 40 counties, March 2026

CSVChart (SVG)

Jones CountyJones County: 5.1 %5.1Oglala Lakota CountyOglala Lakota County: 4.8 %4.8Todd CountyTodd County: 4.4 %4.4Jackson CountyJackson County: 4.3 %4.3Grant CountyGrant County: 4.2 %4.2Roberts CountyRoberts County: 4.1 %4.1Deuel CountyDeuel County: 4 %4Dewey CountyDewey County: 3.7 %3.7Potter CountyPotter County: 3.6 %3.6Mellette CountyMellette County: 3.3 %3.3Buffalo CountyBuffalo County: 3.1 %3.1Fall River CountyFall River County: 3.1 %3.1Moody CountyMoody County: 3.1 %3.1Walworth CountyWalworth County: 3.1 %3.1Marshall CountyMarshall County: 3 %3Bennett CountyBennett County: 2.9 %2.9Campbell CountyCampbell County: 2.8 %2.8Hanson CountyHanson County: 2.8 %2.8Day CountyDay County: 2.7 %2.7Clark CountyClark County: 2.6 %2.6Corson CountyCorson County: 2.5 %2.5Spink CountySpink County: 2.5 %2.5Custer CountyCuster County: 2.4 %2.4Hamlin CountyHamlin County: 2.4 %2.4Kingsbury CountyKingsbury County: 2.3 %2.3Lyman CountyLyman County: 2.3 %2.3Minnehaha CountyMinnehaha County: 2.3 %2.3Union CountyUnion County: 2.3 %2.3Butte CountyButte County: 2.2 %2.2Charles Mix CountyCharles Mix County: 2.2 %2.2McPherson CountyMcPherson County: 2.2 %2.2Meade CountyMeade County: 2.2 %2.2Hutchinson CountyHutchinson County: 2.1 %2.1McCook CountyMcCook County: 2.1 %2.1Bon Homme CountyBon Homme County: 2 %2Brookings CountyBrookings County: 2 %2Brown CountyBrown County: 2 %2Codington CountyCodington County: 2 %2Edmunds CountyEdmunds County: 2 %2Gregory CountyGregory County: 2 %2
%. Source: BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCountiesMarch 2026 (%)Change on March 2025
1Jones County5.1+1.3 pts
2Oglala Lakota County4.8+0.9 pts
3Todd County4.4+0.3 pts
4Jackson County4.3+1.5 pts
5Grant County4.2-0.3 pts
6Roberts County4.1+0.2 pts
7Deuel County4+0.5 pts
8Dewey County3.7+0.7 pts
9Potter County3.6+1.9 pts
10Mellette County3.3+0.5 pts
11Buffalo County3.1-0.5 pts
11Fall River County3.1+0.3 pts
11Moody County3.1+0.7 pts
11Walworth County3.1-0.3 pts
15Marshall County3+0.1 pts
16Bennett County2.9+0.5 pts
17Campbell County2.8-0.9 pts
17Hanson County2.8+0.6 pts
19Day County2.7-0.3 pts
20Clark County2.6+0.3 pts
21Corson County2.5+1 pts
21Spink County2.5-0.2 pts
23Custer County2.4-0.2 pts
23Hamlin County2.4+0.5 pts
25Kingsbury County2.3-0.1 pts
25Lyman County2.3+0.1 pts
25Minnehaha County2.3+0.1 pts
25Union County2.3+0.4 pts
29Butte County2.2+0.4 pts
29Charles Mix County2.2+0.6 pts
29McPherson County2.2+0.2 pts
29Meade County2.2+0.2 pts
33Hutchinson County2.1+0.3 pts
33McCook County2.1+0.4 pts
35Bon Homme County2-0.3 pts
35Brookings County2+0.3 pts
35Brown County2-0.1 pts
35Codington County2+0.1 pts
35Edmunds County2+0.1 pts
35Gregory County2-0.1 pts
35Jerauld County2+0.2 pts
35Miner County2-0.7 pts
35Pennington County2+0.1 pts
44Beadle County1.9+0.1 pts
44Davison County1.9+0.1 pts
44Lincoln County1.9+0.3 pts
44Turner County1.9-0.2 pts
48Perkins County1.8+0.6 pts
48Yankton County1.8+0.1 pts
50Douglas County1.70 pts
50Hughes County1.7+0.2 pts
50Lawrence County1.7+0.1 pts
50Ziebach County1.7+0.2 pts
54Faulk County1.6+0.3 pts
54Lake County1.60 pts
54Stanley County1.6+0.1 pts
54Tripp County1.6+0.6 pts
58Clay County1.5+0.2 pts
58Haakon County1.5+0.1 pts
58Hand County1.5+0.3 pts
61Brule County1.4+0.6 pts
62Aurora County1.3-0.3 pts
62Sanborn County1.3-0.3 pts
64Harding County1-0.4 pts
64Hyde County1-0.1 pts
66Sully County0.8-0.9 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?

Jones County, with 5.1% in March 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest unemployment rate?

Sully County, with 0.8% in March 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