Counties in South Dakota by unemployment rate

Dewey County had the highest unemployment rate of 66 counties in July 2026, at 7.5%. Harding 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.

Highest7.5Dewey County
Median1.966 counties
South Dakota2History

Top 40 counties, July 2026

CSVChart (SVG)

Dewey CountyDewey County: 7.5 %7.5Oglala Lakota CountyOglala Lakota County: 6.3 %6.3Todd CountyTodd County: 6.2 %6.2Buffalo CountyBuffalo County: 5.4 %5.4Ziebach CountyZiebach County: 5.2 %5.2Corson CountyCorson County: 4.6 %4.6Mellette CountyMellette County: 4 %4Roberts CountyRoberts County: 3 %3Campbell CountyCampbell County: 2.9 %2.9Jackson CountyJackson County: 2.8 %2.8Bennett CountyBennett County: 2.7 %2.7Fall River CountyFall River County: 2.6 %2.6Moody CountyMoody County: 2.6 %2.6Potter CountyPotter County: 2.6 %2.6Lyman CountyLyman County: 2.5 %2.5Hanson CountyHanson County: 2.4 %2.4Jones CountyJones County: 2.4 %2.4McPherson CountyMcPherson County: 2.4 %2.4Clay CountyClay County: 2.3 %2.3Douglas CountyDouglas County: 2.3 %2.3Charles Mix CountyCharles Mix County: 2.2 %2.2Miner CountyMiner County: 2.2 %2.2Union CountyUnion County: 2.2 %2.2Walworth CountyWalworth County: 2.2 %2.2Brookings CountyBrookings County: 2.1 %2.1Bon Homme CountyBon Homme County: 2 %2Custer CountyCuster County: 2 %2Day CountyDay County: 2 %2Hand CountyHand County: 2 %2Lake CountyLake County: 2 %2Brown CountyBrown County: 1.9 %1.9Grant CountyGrant County: 1.9 %1.9Jerauld CountyJerauld County: 1.9 %1.9Kingsbury CountyKingsbury County: 1.9 %1.9Meade CountyMeade County: 1.9 %1.9Pennington CountyPennington County: 1.9 %1.9Perkins CountyPerkins County: 1.9 %1.9Spink CountySpink County: 1.9 %1.9Beadle CountyBeadle County: 1.8 %1.8Butte CountyButte County: 1.8 %1.8
%. Source: BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCountiesJuly 2026 (%)Change on July 2025
1Dewey County7.5-4.3 pts
2Oglala Lakota County6.3-0.9 pts
3Todd County6.2-1.4 pts
4Buffalo County5.40 pts
5Ziebach County5.2-1 pts
6Corson County4.6-2.4 pts
7Mellette County4+0.8 pts
8Roberts County3-1 pts
9Campbell County2.9-1 pts
10Jackson County2.8+0.7 pts
11Bennett County2.7+0.7 pts
12Fall River County2.6+0.4 pts
12Moody County2.6-0.6 pts
12Potter County2.6+0.2 pts
15Lyman County2.5+0.4 pts
16Hanson County2.4+0.5 pts
16Jones County2.4+1.1 pts
16McPherson County2.4+0.2 pts
19Clay County2.3-0.1 pts
19Douglas County2.3+0.7 pts
21Charles Mix County2.2-0.2 pts
21Miner County2.2+0.7 pts
21Union County2.2+0.2 pts
21Walworth County2.20 pts
25Brookings County2.10 pts
26Bon Homme County2+0.4 pts
26Custer County2+0.2 pts
26Day County20 pts
26Hand County2+0.5 pts
26Lake County2+0.2 pts
31Brown County1.9+0.1 pts
31Grant County1.9-0.5 pts
31Jerauld County1.9+0.4 pts
31Kingsbury County1.9+0.1 pts
31Meade County1.9+0.1 pts
31Pennington County1.9+0.1 pts
31Perkins County1.9+0.1 pts
31Spink County1.9+0.3 pts
39Beadle County1.8+0.1 pts
39Butte County1.8+0.3 pts
39Marshall County1.8-0.8 pts
39Minnehaha County1.80 pts
39Yankton County1.80 pts
44Clark County1.7-0.3 pts
44Codington County1.70 pts
44Davison County1.7+0.1 pts
44Edmunds County1.7+0.2 pts
44Faulk County1.7+0.1 pts
44Gregory County1.7+0.2 pts
44Haakon County1.7+0.1 pts
44Hughes County1.7+0.3 pts
44Lawrence County1.70 pts
44Lincoln County1.7+0.1 pts
44McCook County1.70 pts
44Sully County1.7-0.1 pts
44Tripp County1.7+0.2 pts
44Turner County1.7+0.1 pts
58Brule County1.6+0.2 pts
58Hamlin County1.6+0.3 pts
58Hutchinson County1.6+0.1 pts
58Sanborn County1.6-0.1 pts
62Aurora County1.5+0.2 pts
62Deuel County1.5-0.4 pts
62Hyde County1.5+0.2 pts
62Stanley County1.5+0.1 pts
66Harding County1.4+0.3 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 7.5% in July 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest unemployment rate?

Harding County, with 1.4% in July 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