Counties in South Dakota by unemployment rate

Dewey County had the highest unemployment rate of 66 counties in June 2026, at 5.7%. Sanborn County had the lowest, at 1.4%. The median was 1.9% and the figure for South Dakota was 2%. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Highest5.7Dewey County
Median1.966 counties
South Dakota2History

Top 40 counties, June 2026

CSVChart (SVG)

Dewey CountyDewey County: 5.7 %5.7Oglala Lakota CountyOglala Lakota County: 5.5 %5.5Buffalo CountyBuffalo County: 5.1 %5.1Todd CountyTodd County: 5 %5Ziebach CountyZiebach County: 4.1 %4.1Corson CountyCorson County: 3.7 %3.7Campbell CountyCampbell County: 3.1 %3.1Potter CountyPotter County: 2.9 %2.9Bennett CountyBennett County: 2.8 %2.8Moody CountyMoody County: 2.8 %2.8Fall River CountyFall River County: 2.7 %2.7Jackson CountyJackson County: 2.7 %2.7Mellette CountyMellette County: 2.7 %2.7Roberts CountyRoberts County: 2.6 %2.6Hanson CountyHanson County: 2.4 %2.4Jones CountyJones County: 2.4 %2.4Clay CountyClay County: 2.3 %2.3Lyman CountyLyman County: 2.3 %2.3Charles Mix CountyCharles Mix County: 2.2 %2.2McPherson CountyMcPherson County: 2.2 %2.2Union CountyUnion County: 2.2 %2.2Bon Homme CountyBon Homme County: 2.1 %2.1Custer CountyCuster County: 2.1 %2.1Douglas CountyDouglas County: 2.1 %2.1Brookings CountyBrookings County: 2 %2Clark CountyClark County: 2 %2Day CountyDay County: 2 %2Grant CountyGrant County: 2 %2Jerauld CountyJerauld County: 2 %2Meade CountyMeade County: 2 %2Walworth CountyWalworth County: 2 %2Beadle CountyBeadle County: 1.9 %1.9Brown CountyBrown County: 1.9 %1.9Butte CountyButte County: 1.9 %1.9Deuel CountyDeuel County: 1.9 %1.9Hand CountyHand County: 1.9 %1.9Lawrence CountyLawrence County: 1.9 %1.9Miner CountyMiner County: 1.9 %1.9Minnehaha CountyMinnehaha County: 1.9 %1.9Pennington CountyPennington County: 1.9 %1.9
%. Source: BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCountiesJune 2026 (%)Change on June 2025
1Dewey County5.7-1.6 pts
2Oglala Lakota County5.5-0.7 pts
3Buffalo County5.1-0.5 pts
4Todd County5-1.6 pts
5Ziebach County4.10 pts
6Corson County3.7-2.8 pts
7Campbell County3.1-1.3 pts
8Potter County2.9+0.7 pts
9Bennett County2.8+0.1 pts
9Moody County2.8-0.1 pts
11Fall River County2.7+0.2 pts
11Jackson County2.7+0.1 pts
11Mellette County2.7-0.1 pts
14Roberts County2.6-0.3 pts
15Hanson County2.4+0.3 pts
15Jones County2.4+0.6 pts
17Clay County2.3-0.3 pts
17Lyman County2.30 pts
19Charles Mix County2.20 pts
19McPherson County2.20 pts
19Union County2.20 pts
22Bon Homme County2.1-0.2 pts
22Custer County2.10 pts
22Douglas County2.1+0.7 pts
25Brookings County2-0.1 pts
25Clark County2-0.1 pts
25Day County2-0.1 pts
25Grant County2-0.4 pts
25Jerauld County2+0.3 pts
25Meade County20 pts
25Walworth County2-0.4 pts
32Beadle County1.90 pts
32Brown County1.90 pts
32Butte County1.9+0.1 pts
32Deuel County1.90 pts
32Hand County1.9+0.2 pts
32Lawrence County1.9-0.1 pts
32Miner County1.90 pts
32Minnehaha County1.90 pts
32Pennington County1.9-0.1 pts
32Spink County1.90 pts
32Yankton County1.9-0.1 pts
43Codington County1.8-0.1 pts
43Davison County1.80 pts
43Edmunds County1.80 pts
43Gregory County1.8-0.2 pts
43Haakon County1.80 pts
43Kingsbury County1.8-0.2 pts
43Lake County1.80 pts
43Lincoln County1.8+0.1 pts
43Marshall County1.8+0.1 pts
43Perkins County1.80 pts
43Sully County1.80 pts
54Aurora County1.7+0.2 pts
54Brule County1.7+0.1 pts
54Hughes County1.7+0.2 pts
54Hutchinson County1.70 pts
54McCook County1.7-0.2 pts
54Tripp County1.7+0.2 pts
54Turner County1.7-0.1 pts
61Hamlin County1.60 pts
61Hyde County1.6+0.2 pts
63Faulk County1.5-0.1 pts
63Harding County1.5+0.3 pts
63Stanley County1.5+0.1 pts
66Sanborn County1.4-0.4 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 5.7% in June 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest unemployment rate?

Sanborn County, with 1.4% in June 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