Lake County, SD
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 44.03, -97.12.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 72nd pct · 833rd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 77th pct · 12th of 50 South Dakota counties · median $262,610
- 40th pct · 1,834th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 34th pct · 33rd of 50 South Dakota counties · median +3.6%
- US counties: not published this period
- South Dakota counties: not published this period
- 37th pct · 2,013th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 78th pct · 15th of 66 South Dakota counties · median 1,825
- 64th pct · 1,152nd of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 84th pct · 11th of 66 South Dakota counties · median $978
- 71st pct · 859th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 67th pct · 17th 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 $316,621 (Aug 2026), +2.1% over one year, +40.2% over five
- 72nd pct · 833rd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 77th pct · 12th of 50 South Dakota counties · median $262,610
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Lake County, SD | $316,621 · +2.1% 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 $1,733 a month on $316,621 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,814 a month: 36.0% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $316,621 × 80% = $253,296, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,733/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,111 × 52 / 12 = $4,814) = 36% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $316,621 / ($1,111 × 52) = 5.5
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 #
5,058 jobs at 503 employers (2026 Q1); -0.5% jobs and +0.7% average weekly wage over the year
- 37th pct · 2,013th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 78th pct · 15th of 66 South Dakota counties · median 1,825
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Lake County, SD | 5,058 jobs · $1,111/wk · -0.5% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 988 | $1,180 | 2.43 | +3.7% |
| Health care and social assistance | 611 | $1,052 | 0.80 | -0.8% |
| Accommodation and food services | 486 | $300 | 1.07 | -5.1% |
| Retail trade | 484 | $625 | 0.98 | +6.6% |
| Professional and technical services | 228 | $1,670 | 0.65 | +10.7% |
| Wholesale trade | 223 | $1,904 | 1.15 | -10.4% |
| Finance and insurance | 197 | $2,323 | 0.96 | +1.5% |
| Construction | 150 | $959 | 0.57 | -23.1% |
| Other services | 87 | $1,050 | 0.58 | -1.1% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 48 | $481 | 0.58 | +2.1% |
| Information | 31 | $1,160 | 0.33 | -31.1% |
| Educational services | 29 | $687 | 0.27 | +262.5% |
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 #
D1 moderate drought
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 #
19 gauges · 0 flooding · 0 with quality panels · 4 stale
Sites found: 19, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| EAST FORK VERMILLION RIVER NEAR RAMONA, SD | flow 2.60 ft³/s · STALE | 23 km |
| BATTLE CR NEAR NUNDA SD | flow 0.20 ft³/s · STALE | 23 km |
| SKUNK CREEK NEAR CHESTER, SD | flow 0.24 ft³/s | 30 km |
| LITTLE VERMILLION R NEAR SALEM,SD | flow 0.00 ft³/s · STALE | 33 km |
| BIG SIOUX RIVER NEAR BROOKINGS, SD | flow 135.0 ft³/s | 34 km |
| BIG SIOUX RIVER NEAR DELL RAPIDS, SD | flow 179.0 ft³/s | 40 km |
| SPRING CREEK NEAR FLANDREAU, SD | flow 14.0 ft³/s · STALE | 44 km |
| SKUNK CREEK NEAR HARTFORD, SD | stage 3.58 ft | 47 km |
| WILLOW CREEK NEAR CROOKS, SD | stage 3.76 ft | 50 km |
| FLANDREAU CREEK ABOVE FLANDREAU, SD | flow 5.85 ft³/s | 51 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-434329096521201 | depth 7.38 ft · 2026-10-05 | 39 km |
| USGS-434330096434801 | depth 9.36 ft · 2026-10-04 | 46 km |
| USGS-440405096290501 | depth 8.38 ft · 2026-10-05 | 51 km |
| USGS-433929096432701 | depth 8.10 ft · 2022-11-08 | 52 km |
| USGS-433920096434001 | depth 5.75 ft · 2021-10-24 | 52 km |
| USGS-433926096431701 | depth 9.93 ft · 2022-11-08 | 52 km |
| USGS-433923096431301 | depth 9.43 ft · 2022-11-08 | 52 km |
| USGS-433726096444501 | depth 10.2 ft · 2026-10-05 | 54 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 #
moderate (0.25)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.25 / 0.35
Banks & federal dollars #
$497.1 m in deposits at 6 offices of 6 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,313, highly concentrated. $108.0 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $95.5 m, grants $11.5 m), $21,350 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| First Bank & Trust | $185.0 m · 37.2% share · 1 office | |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $88.7 m · 17.8% share · 1 office | |
| BankWest, Inc. | $87.8 m · 17.7% share · 1 office | |
| Lake, SD | $108.0 m FY2026 · $21,350/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $67.8 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Bank & Trust | $185,001,000 | 37.2% | 1 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $88,668,000 | 17.8% | 1 |
| BankWest, Inc. | $87,816,000 | 17.7% | 1 |
| First Interstate Bank | $67,498,000 | 13.6% | 1 |
| First PREMIER Bank | $49,405,000 | 9.9% | 1 |
| First National Bank | $18,679,000 | 3.8% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 2,313 across 6 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 6 banks with deposits in the county = 37.2² + 17.8² + 17.7² + … (3 more) = 2,313
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 | $60,577,681 |
| Department of Agriculture | $22,807,685 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $6,995,199 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $5,986,959 |
| Department of Transportation | $4,942,865 |
| Department of Education | $4,141,618 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $1,055,765 |
| Department of Defense | $842,302 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $246,701 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $205,304 |
| Department of the Interior | $150,943 |
| National Science Foundation | $19,968 |
That is $21,350 per covered job, against 5,058 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $108.0 m / 5,058 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $21,350
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 #
Lake County, SD: 5 findings, 2 at a watch level and 3 noted
watchLake County, SD's covered employment is -0.5% 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 = -0.5 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchLake County, SD's covered employment of 5,058 scores 38 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 78 across South Dakota counties, a gap of 41 points.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 41 = |38 across US counties - 78 across South Dakota counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteLake County, SD's average weekly wage was 0.7% 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
- +0.7 % = 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
noteLake County, SD's covered employment was 0.5% 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
- -0.5 % = 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
noteThe next Zillow ZHVI typical home value (monthly) covering Lake County, SD is due between 2026-10-14 and 2026-10-21, estimated from the publisher's past release pattern.
Show the arithmetic
- window = 2026-10-14 to 2026-10-21, estimated from the publisher's past release pattern
estimated from the publisher's past release pattern; not an announced date
Every finding is produced by a fixed rule table and a fixed sentence for each rule. Nothing here is generated prose.