Mellette County, SD
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 43.58, -100.76.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- US counties: not published this period
- South Dakota counties: not published this period
- US counties: not published this period
- South Dakota counties: not published this period
- US counties: not published this period
- South Dakota counties: not published this period
- 1st pct · 3,182nd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 1st pct · 65th of 66 South Dakota counties · median 1,825
- 2nd pct · 3,138th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 1st pct · 65th of 66 South Dakota counties · median $978
- US counties: not published this period
- South Dakota counties: not published this period
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 #
No Zillow home value index for this area
- US counties: not published this period
- South Dakota counties: not published this period
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 #
No rent index for this area
- 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 #
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 #
346 jobs at 42 employers (2026 Q1); +6.5% jobs and +0.7% average weekly wage over the year
- 1st pct · 3,182nd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 1st pct · 65th of 66 South Dakota counties · median 1,825
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Mellette County, SD | 346 jobs · $708/wk · +6.5% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation and food services | 34 | $199 | 1.09 | +13.3% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | withheld | |||
| Wholesale trade | withheld | |||
| Retail trade | withheld | |||
| Finance and insurance | withheld | |||
| Real estate and rental | withheld | |||
| Professional and technical services | withheld | |||
| Administrative and waste services | withheld | |||
| Health care and social assistance | 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 #
12 gauges · 0 flooding · 0 with quality panels · 3 stale
Sites found: 12, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| LITTLE WHITE RIVER BELOW WHITE RIVER, SD | flow 91.8 ft³/s | 2 km |
| WHITE RIVER NEAR WHITE RIVER, SD | flow 41.3 ft³/s | 16 km |
| LITTLE WHITE RIVER NEAR ROSEBUD, SD | flow 108.0 ft³/s | 30 km |
| ANTELOPE CR NEAR MISSION, SD | flow 1.88 ft³/s | 35 km |
| LITTLE WHITE R ABV ROSEBUD SD | flow 91.0 ft³/s · STALE | 38 km |
| ROSEBUD CR AT ROSEBUD SD | flow 7.10 ft³/s · STALE | 39 km |
| BLACK PIPE CREEK NEAR BELVIDERE, SD | stage 2.18 ft | 43 km |
| ROCK CREEK NR HIDDEN TIMBER, SD | stage 3.56 ft | 49 km |
| WHITE RIVER NEAR KADOKA, SD | flow 15.1 ft³/s | 65 km |
| LITTLE WHITE RIVER NEAR VETAL, SD | flow 70.1 ft³/s | 66 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 #
15 wells in 1 named aquifer: High Plains aquifer
Sites found: 15, 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-431342100344101 | depth 15.0 ft · 2026-10-05 | 42 km |
| USGS-431158100461002 | depth 88.9 ft · 2026-10-05 | 42 km |
| USGS-431116100422001 | depth 69.7 ft · 2026-10-06 | 44 km |
| USGS-431027100333001 | depth 6.76 ft · 2026-10-05 | 48 km |
| USGS-430820100371401 | depth 57.3 ft · 2026-10-05 | 50 km |
| USGS-431428100192701 | depth 24.2 ft · 2026-10-05 | 51 km |
| USGS-430712100421301 | depth 54.5 ft · 2026-10-05 | 52 km |
| USGS-430726101033501 | depth 28.4 ft · 2026-10-05 | 57 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 #
$26.6 m in deposits at 1 offices of 1 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 10,000, highly concentrated. $18.6 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $15.8 m, grants $2.8 m), $53,875 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| First Fidelity Bank | $26.6 m · 100.0% share · 1 office | |
| Mellette, SD | $18.6 m FY2026 · $53,875/job | |
| REDACTED DUE TO PII | $8.2 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Fidelity Bank | $26,572,000 | 100.0% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 10,000 across 1 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 1 banks with deposits in the county = 100.0² = 10,000
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 |
|---|---|
| Department of Agriculture | $8,208,514 |
| Social Security Administration | $6,620,551 |
| Department of Education | $2,295,890 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $633,328 |
| Department of Transportation | $553,269 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $98,305 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $89,532 |
| Department of the Interior | $76,700 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $64,762 |
| Department of Energy | $0 |
That is $53,875 per covered job, against 346 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $18.6 m / 346 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $53,875
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 #
Mellette County, SD: 8 findings, 8 noted
noteMellette County, SD's covered employment was 6.5% 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
- +6.5 % = 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
noteMellette 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
noteMellette County, SD's covered employment of 346 ranks 3,182nd of 3,221 US counties, against a median of 8,232.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 1 on the 0-to-100 scale across 3221 US counties that published jobs.emp
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteMellette County, SD's covered employment of +6.5% ranks 2nd of 66 South Dakota counties, against a median of -0.8%.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 98 on the 0-to-100 scale across 66 South Dakota counties that published jobs.yoy.emp
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteMellette County, SD's average weekly wage of $708 ranks 65th of 66 South Dakota counties, against a median of $978.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 2 on the 0-to-100 scale across 66 South Dakota counties that published jobs.avgWeeklyWage
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
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.