Day County, SD
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 45.36, -97.58.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 62nd pct · 1,163rd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 53rd pct · 24th of 50 South Dakota counties · median $262,610
- 74th pct · 785th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 65th pct · 18th of 50 South Dakota counties · median +3.6%
- US counties: not published this period
- South Dakota counties: not published this period
- 14th pct · 2,744th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 50th pct · 33rd of 66 South Dakota counties · median 1,825
- 38th pct · 1,970th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 56th pct · 29th of 66 South Dakota counties · median $978
- 68th pct · 959th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 57th pct · 22nd of 50 South Dakota counties · median 5.1
Typical home value divided by the average annual wage of one covered job.
A percentile here is a min-max scaling of average rank: the smallest published value in the cohort is 0 and the largest is 100, and tied values share the average of the ranks they span. It is not the share of entities below the value, so 0 means smallest, not none below. Entities that did not publish the metric are outside the cohort entirely and are counted in neither the rank nor its denominator.
Home values #
Typical home $271,080 (Aug 2026), +5.2% over one year, +12.2% over five
- 62nd pct · 1,163rd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 53rd pct · 24th of 50 South Dakota counties · median $262,610
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Day County, SD | $271,080 · +5.2% 1-yr |
Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), typical value of homes in the 35th to 65th percentile, smoothed and seasonally adjusted; a model estimate of value, not a sale price. Data through Zillow Research.
Rents #
Zillow publishes no rent index for this area (ZORI covers about 1,400 counties)
- US counties: not published this period
- South Dakota counties: not published this period
Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI), smoothed, all homes and multifamily; price-to-rent = typical home / (typical rent × 12).
What the typical home costs to carry #
Principal and interest of $1,484 a month on $271,080 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,286 a month: 34.6% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $271,080 × 80% = $216,864, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,484/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $989 × 52 / 12 = $4,286) = 35% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $271,080 / ($989 × 52) = 5.3
The wage is one covered job’s average, not a household’s income, so this is the share of a single paycheque and not a mortgage underwriting ratio.
Estimate. Principal and interest on the typical home with 20% down over 30 years at this week's Freddie Mac average rate; compared with the average weekly wage of all jobs covered by unemployment insurance in the area (BLS QCEW), which is pay per job, not household income.
Jobs & wages #
1,838 jobs at 283 employers (2026 Q1); -4.0% jobs and +6.9% average weekly wage over the year
- 14th pct · 2,744th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 50th pct · 33rd of 66 South Dakota counties · median 1,825
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Day County, SD | 1,838 jobs · $989/wk · -4.0% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail trade | 297 | $580 | 1.66 | +2.4% |
| Manufacturing | 200 | $1,988 | 1.35 | +7.0% |
| Wholesale trade | 115 | $1,317 | 1.63 | -16.1% |
| Construction | 93 | $965 | 0.97 | +1.1% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 79 | $1,032 | 5.95 | +0.0% |
| Professional and technical services | 63 | $1,695 | 0.50 | -8.7% |
| Other services | 39 | $597 | 0.71 | +2.6% |
| Administrative and waste services | 12 | $522 | 0.11 | +0.0% |
| Information | 11 | $1,277 | 0.32 | -15.4% |
| Utilities | withheld | |||
| Transportation and warehousing | withheld | |||
| Finance and insurance | withheld |
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, all ownerships, total covered employment in the quarter's third month; over-the-year changes as published. Suppressed cells stay blank.
Drought #
D0 abnormally dry
Sites found: 5, searched within 0 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 0 km away are not.
US Drought Monitor current week; the highest class of any polygon containing the point.
Reservoirs #
No reservoir gauges within 150 km (or the camera is above the gauge altitude)
Sites found: 0, searched within 150 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 150 km away are not.
Σ(capacity × percent full) / Σ capacity over TWDB reservoirs within 150 km. Texas only; elsewhere USGS reservoir elevation/storage is listed without a capacity to normalise by.
Stream gauges #
27 gauges · 0 flooding · 0 with quality panels · 6 stale
Sites found: 27, searched within 75 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 75 km away are not.
| Site | Reading | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| South Dakota Glacial Lakes at Blue Dog Lake | observation not current | 21 km |
| South Dakota Glacial Lakes at Bitter Lake | observation not current | 25 km |
| USGS-06479159 | flow 4.90 ft³/s · STALE | 26 km |
| USGS-06479215 | flow 1.25 ft³/s · no flooding | 37 km |
| USGS-06479430 | flow 0.93 ft³/s · STALE | 46 km |
| USGS-06479438 | flow 0.52 ft³/s · no flooding | 51 km |
| USGS-05289985 | flow 11.0 ft³/s · out of service · STALE | 51 km |
| USGS-06479490 | stage 7.52 ft · no flooding | 54 km |
| USGS-06479450 | flow 30.0 ft³/s · STALE | 55 km |
| USGS-06479452 | stage 18.5 ft · no flooding | 56 km |
USGS latest readings screened against EPA freshwater criteria (DO ≥ 5 mg/L, pH 6.5–9, conductance, turbidity, temperature); NWS flood categories where a NWPS gauge is co-located.
Groundwater #
9 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 9, searched within 75 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 75 km away are not.
| Site | Reading | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| USGS-452115097110601 | depth 13.4 ft · 2026-10-05 | 31 km |
| USGS-452304097083901 | depth 12.6 ft · 2026-10-05 | 34 km |
| USGS-451605097071701 | depth 91.1 ft · 2026-10-05 | 37 km |
| USGS-450905097072202 | depth 25.5 ft · 2002-09-17 | 42 km |
| USGS-453515097083801 | depth 4.52 ft · 2026-10-05 | 43 km |
| USGS-454745097450401 | depth 39.1 ft · 2002-09-29 | 51 km |
| USGS-453819096572501 | depth 56.6 ft · 2026-10-05 | 58 km |
| USGS-455049097095501 | depth 31.4 ft · 2026-10-05 | 64 km |
USGS latest daily water levels. A single latest reading says where the table is, not which way it is moving; select a well for its 365-day trace.
Water stress #
low (0.00)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.00 / 0.35
Banks & federal dollars #
$226.4 m in deposits at 7 offices of 4 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 4,276, highly concentrated. $56.7 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $50.9 m, grants $5.5 m), $30,866 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Dacotah Bank | $137.9 m · 60.9% share · 2 offices | |
| CorTrust Bank National Association | $43.2 m · 19.1% share · 2 offices | |
| First Savings Bank | $25.2 m · 11.1% share · 2 offices | |
| Day, SD | $56.7 m FY2026 · $30,866/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $37.3 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dacotah Bank | $137,889,000 | 60.9% | 2 |
| CorTrust Bank National Association | $43,154,000 | 19.1% | 2 |
| First Savings Bank | $25,215,000 | 11.1% | 2 |
| First Interstate Bank | $20,140,000 | 8.9% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 4,276 across 4 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 4 banks with deposits in the county = 60.9² + 19.1² + 11.1² + … (1 more) = 4,276
FDIC Summary of Deposits: deposits at every insured office as of June 30, annual; HHI is the sum of squared county deposit shares (DOJ 1995 bank merger screen: 1000 / 1800). USAspending: obligations by place of performance for the latest complete federal fiscal year (Oct 1 to Sep 30), what agencies committed, not what they paid out; recipients are legal entities. Per-job divides obligations by BLS QCEW covered employment.
Federal obligations #
USAspending place-of-performance obligations for FY2026, by awarding agency.
| Awarding agency | Obligations |
|---|---|
| Social Security Administration | $32,370,108 |
| Department of Agriculture | $8,005,244 |
| Department of the Interior | $5,714,767 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $4,990,323 |
| Department of Transportation | $3,463,698 |
| Department of Education | $1,750,078 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $288,264 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $146,518 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $2,378 |
| Department of Energy | $0 |
That is $30,866 per covered job, against 1,838 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $56.7 m / 1,838 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $30,866
USAspending obligations are recorded where the work is performed, so a prime award performed here is counted here even when the recipient is headquartered elsewhere. Recipients are legal entities, never people.
National context, not this county #
These are United States, single-gauge, single-state and port series. None of them is keyed to this county.
| Series | Latest | As of | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi River at Memphis, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Mississippi River at St. Louis, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Ohio River at Louisville, stage · ft | 12.69 | 2026-10-05 | +3.3% |
| Missouri River at St. Joseph, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Colorado River below Hoover Dam, flow (Hoover releases) · ft³/s | 5,170.00 | 2026-02-05 | -25.3% |
| Texas reservoirs, statewide percent full · % | 72.60 | 2026-10-06 | +0.0% |
| Laredo truck crossings, monthly · trucks | 258,700.00 | 2026-08-01 | -0.4% |
| Los Angeles + Long Beach container volume, annual · TEU | 10,513,167.00 | 2023-01-01 | -13.5% |
| Containerships waiting for a berth, all US ports · ships | 6.00 | 2026-09-22 | -14.3% |
| Shanghai to Los Angeles container rate · $ per 40 ft box | 6,830.00 | 2026-08-01 | +7.4% |
| US diesel retail price · $ per gallon | unavailable | not published | |
| WTI crude oil, spot · $ per barrel | 96.16 | 2026-09-29 | -3.2% |
| 30-year fixed mortgage rate · % | 7.28 | 2026-10-01 | +3.6% |
| Housing starts, annual rate · thousands of units | 1,275.00 | 2026-08-01 | -2.6% |
| Building permits, annual rate · thousands of units | 1,403.00 | 2026-08-01 | -2.1% |
| Case-Shiller US home price index · index, Jan 2000 = 100 | 337.31 | 2026-07-01 | +0.1% |
| Unemployment rate · % | 4.20 | 2026-09-01 | +2.4% |
| US goods and services trade balance, monthly · $ millions | -105,572.00 | 2026-08-01 | -13.7% |
| Retail sales excluding food services, monthly · $ millions | 646,347.00 | 2026-08-01 | +1.1% |
The indicator registry has no county-keyed series and no geographic selection: every entry is national, a named gauge, a single state or a port. They are here as the backdrop the county's own numbers move against, and they are never this county's readings.
What changed #
Day County, SD: 8 findings, 1 at an alert level, 2 at a watch level and 5 noted
alertDay County, SD's covered employment is -4.0% against a year earlier, an alert level here: covered employment at least 3 percent below the same quarter a year earlier (BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level). The previous published period is not in this table, so this is a standing level rather than a change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- test: jobs.yoy.emp = -4 <= -3
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchDay County, SD's covered employment is -4.0% against a year earlier, a watch level here: covered employment below the same quarter a year earlier (BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level). The previous published period is not in this table, so this is a standing level rather than a change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- test: jobs.yoy.emp = -4 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchDay County, SD's covered employment of 1,838 scores 15 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 51 across South Dakota counties, a gap of 36 points.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 36 = |15 across US counties - 51 across South Dakota counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteDay County, SD's average weekly wage was 6.9% higher than the same quarter a year earlier in 2026 Q1, on BLS QCEW's published over-the-year change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- +6.9 % = BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change for 2026 Q1, as published
- the newest QCEW file carries no year-earlier level, so no move from one level to another is printed
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published
noteDay County, SD's covered employment was 4.0% lower than the same quarter a year earlier in 2026 Q1, on BLS QCEW's published over-the-year change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- -4 % = BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change for 2026 Q1, as published
- the newest QCEW file carries no year-earlier level, so no move from one level to another is printed
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published
Read all 8 findings in the full brief
Every finding is produced by a fixed rule table and a fixed sentence for each rule. Nothing here is generated prose.