In 2022, Medicare transfers in Jerauld County totaled $12.15 million, amounting to $7,366 per capita, or 40.9% of total government transfers, according to information from the Economic Innovation Group.
Among all government transfer programs, Medicare was the largest contributor in the county. Social Security was the second largest contributor, totaling $10.33 million, equating to $6,260 per capita and making up 34.7% of total transfers.
Comparatively, Medicare transfers across South Dakota amounted to $2.39 billion, ranking second highest among all transfer types within the state. This translates to an average of $2,629 per capita, or 24.5% of total government transfers. Including all transfer types, government transfer payments totaled $9.75 billion, accounting for 15.7% of residents’ total income, with an average of $10,713 per resident.
Income Maintenance was the third largest contributor in Jerauld County in 2022, accounting for $2.57 million, averaging $1,555 per capita, representing 8.6% of transfers. Medicaid transfers provided another $2.2 million, averaging $1,335 per capita and comprising 7.4% of government support, making them the smallest contributors.
Government transfer payments are non-repayable funds provided by federal, state, or local governments to support individuals in need. These payments aim to stabilize economic conditions and provide financial support during hardships. Key programs include Social Security transfers (retirement benefits), Medicare transfers (healthcare for seniors), Medicaid transfers (healthcare for low-income individuals), and income maintenance transfers (financial assistance for basic needs).
With 29.9% of the population aged 65 and older, Jerauld County has a significant demand for programs like Social Security and Medicare. Despite this aid, the total per capita income in Jerauld County, excluding government transfers was $55,004, which is noticeably below the county’s total income of $73,021, emphasizing the role of government transfers in overall income.
When comparing 2022 to the previous year, Jerauld County saw a decrease in its Medicare transfer dependency by 0.2%.
Government transfers have long been a modest financial safety net, historically comprising only a small fraction of Americans’ income. However, since the 1970s—sometimes dubbed the “Great Transfer-mation”—dependency has surged from 8.2% (or $2,022 per capita in inflation-adjusted 2022 dollars) in 1970 to 17.6% (or $11,542 per capita) in 2022 nationwide. In Jerauld County, reliance on government transfers has similarly increased from 11.1% (or $2,046 per capita) in 1970 to 24.7% (or $18,017 per capita) in 2022, reflecting broader national trends.
According to the Economic Innovation Group’s analysis, these trends are not merely short-term responses to economic pressures but rather reflect a profound, long-term transformation in how government support is integrated into American life. The study illustrates that structural shifts—from rising healthcare expenses and demographic changes to stagnant wages—have significantly increased dependency on government transfers.
| County | Rank | Dependency on Transfers (%) | % Population 65+ | Social Security Transfers (%) | Medicare Transfers (%) | Medicaid Transfers (%) | Income Maintenance Transfers (%) | Per Capita Transfers ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnehaha County | 1 | 13.2% | 13.8% | 5.1% | 3.2% | 1.8% | 1.6% | $9,501 |
| Pennington County | 2 | 18.8% | 20.1% | 7% | 4.5% | 2% | 1.9% | $13,016 |
| Lincoln County | 3 | 7.2% | 14.7% | 3.3% | 2.1% | 0.3% | 0.6% | $6,016 |
| Brown County | 4 | 14.2% | 18.2% | 5.3% | 3.8% | 1.7% | 1.6% | $10,173 |
| Lawrence County | 5 | 18.2% | 24.2% | 7.3% | 4.6% | 1.5% | 1.6% | $12,355 |
| Meade County | 6 | 18.5% | 17% | 6.8% | 4% | 1.4% | 2.1% | $9,884 |
| Codington County | 7 | 15.4% | 19.6% | 5.8% | 4.2% | 1.7% | 1.7% | $10,402 |
| Brookings County | 8 | 13.2% | 13.7% | 5.1% | 3% | 1.3% | 1.6% | $7,422 |
| Yankton County | 9 | 16.1% | 21.6% | 6.1% | 4% | 2.4% | 1.8% | $10,995 |
| Davison County | 10 | 18.1% | 20.6% | 6.4% | 4.5% | 2.7% | 2.2% | $11,263 |
| Oglala Lakota County | 11 | 45% | 7.6% | 4.1% | 5% | 16.3% | 14.3% | $16,063 |
| Beadle County | 12 | 18.1% | 17.5% | 5.9% | 4.6% | 3.3% | 2.7% | $10,542 |
| Hughes County | 13 | 16.3% | 18.6% | 5.9% | 4.3% | 2.2% | 1.8% | $10,433 |
| Union County | 14 | 7.4% | 19.2% | 3.4% | 2% | 0.5% | 0.6% | $9,048 |
| Todd County | 15 | 42.4% | 7.9% | 4.6% | 5.4% | 13.9% | 13.4% | $15,184 |
| Fall River County | 16 | 34% | 30.9% | 10.8% | 7.5% | 3.3% | 2.9% | $18,578 |
| Custer County | 17 | 23.2% | 33.3% | 9.5% | 6% | 1.4% | 1.6% | $14,538 |
| Butte County | 18 | 24.4% | 20.5% | 8.4% | 5.9% | 2.8% | 3.3% | $11,679 |
| Clay County | 19 | 17% | 12.6% | 5.5% | 3.3% | 2.7% | 2.6% | $8,230 |
| Roberts County | 20 | 23.1% | 20.9% | 7.3% | 4.7% | 4% | 3.9% | $12,054 |
| Lake County | 21 | 15% | 24.9% | 5.9% | 4% | 1.6% | 1.5% | $10,999 |
| Charles Mix County | 22 | 23.5% | 18.8% | 5.9% | 5.9% | 4.6% | 4.3% | $12,675 |
| Spink County | 23 | 20.8% | 24.4% | 5% | 4.4% | 8.5% | 1.4% | $18,057 |
| Grant County | 24 | 17.4% | 24.2% | 6.7% | 5.1% | 1.8% | 1.5% | $12,264 |
| Turner County | 25 | 14.5% | 19.9% | 5.5% | 4.1% | 1.8% | 1.4% | $10,318 |
| Hutchinson County | 26 | 15.9% | 21.5% | 6% | 4.4% | 2% | 1.6% | $11,636 |
| Day County | 27 | 20.6% | 26.9% | 6.8% | 6.3% | 2.3% | 2.2% | $14,712 |
| Dewey County | 28 | 27.8% | 10.1% | 4.4% | 4.5% | 7.4% | 7.9% | $15,130 |
| Tripp County | 29 | 20.7% | 24.1% | 6% | 4.6% | 4.7% | 2.9% | $13,620 |
| Walworth County | 30 | 22.6% | 24.4% | 7.8% | 5.7% | 3.4% | 2.7% | $14,174 |
| Bon Homme County | 31 | 19.2% | 21.4% | 7.1% | 5.6% | 1.9% | 2.1% | $10,466 |
| Kingsbury County | 32 | 16.5% | 23% | 6.4% | 5.4% | 1.3% | 1.5% | $12,245 |
| Moody County | 33 | 14.9% | 20% | 6% | 4% | 1.1% | 1.8% | $9,890 |
| McCook County | 34 | 14.5% | 18.5% | 5.4% | 3.8% | 2.4% | 1.5% | $10,622 |
| Hamlin County | 35 | 14.5% | 14.4% | 5.2% | 3.6% | 1.8% | 1.8% | $9,225 |
| Brule County | 36 | 16.5% | 20.6% | 5.1% | 3.3% | 3.9% | 2.1% | $10,627 |
| Gregory County | 37 | 23.4% | 26.2% | 7.5% | 6.7% | 2.9% | 3.2% | $14,244 |
| Marshall County | 38 | 15.1% | 23% | 5.8% | 4.4% | 1.6% | 1.6% | $11,217 |
| Corson County | 39 | 30.8% | 13.3% | 4.9% | 4.3% | 8.2% | 9.7% | $12,764 |
| Deuel County | 40 | 16.6% | 22.2% | 6.7% | 5% | 1.3% | 1.6% | $10,917 |
| Bennett County | 41 | 28.7% | 14.3% | 4.8% | 4.5% | 8.4% | 7.5% | $13,953 |
| Hanson County | 42 | 16.6% | 16.2% | 8.4% | 5.2% | 0.3% | 1.2% | $13,071 |
| Lyman County | 43 | 19.9% | 18.4% | 5.7% | 3.4% | 4.2% | 4% | $11,518 |
| Edmunds County | 44 | 11.1% | 23.2% | 4.2% | 3.3% | 1.3% | 1.1% | $10,258 |
| Jackson County | 45 | 31.5% | 13.4% | 5.6% | 6.1% | 7.6% | 7.8% | $13,928 |
| Clark County | 46 | 12.9% | 23.6% | 5% | 3.1% | 1.2% | 1.6% | $9,922 |
| Perkins County | 47 | 24.1% | 26.5% | 8.2% | 6.7% | 3.1% | 2.6% | $13,042 |
| Douglas County | 48 | 17.8% | 24.3% | 6% | 5.8% | 2.4% | 1.8% | $13,152 |
| Stanley County | 49 | 13.9% | 22.8% | 6.2% | 3.7% | 0.6% | 1.2% | $11,371 |
| Hand County | 50 | 12.7% | 25.3% | 5% | 4.1% | 1.2% | 1.2% | $10,857 |
| Potter County | 51 | 15.4% | 27.5% | 5.5% | 5.6% | 1.6% | 1.1% | $13,023 |
| McPherson County | 52 | 17.6% | 30.3% | 6.4% | 5.8% | 1.7% | 2% | $12,757 |
| Jerauld County | 53 | 24.7% | 29.9% | 8.6% | 10.1% | 1.8% | 2.1% | $18,017 |
| Aurora County | 54 | 18.2% | 21.3% | 6.1% | 5.5% | 1.5% | 2.2% | $10,730 |
| Faulk County | 55 | 15.4% | 24.1% | 4.7% | 6.4% | 1.5% | 1.3% | $13,640 |
| Miner County | 56 | 17.2% | 23.4% | 6.2% | 5.3% | 2.4% | 1.7% | $12,487 |
| Buffalo County | 57 | 42.8% | 9.9% | 5.6% | 5% | 13.7% | 13.8% | $15,128 |
| Mellette County | 58 | 31.9% | 16.1% | 6% | 5.2% | 8.5% | 8.1% | $14,481 |
| Ziebach County | 59 | 33.5% | 11% | 3.4% | 3.5% | 9% | 13.7% | $11,283 |
| Sanborn County | 60 | 17.3% | 21.9% | 5.9% | 5% | 1.3% | 2.1% | $11,042 |
| Haakon County | 61 | 16.4% | 26.8% | 5.5% | 5.8% | 1.3% | 1.6% | $12,759 |
| Campbell County | 62 | 14.5% | 31.7% | 5.6% | 5% | 0.7% | 1.4% | $11,838 |
| Hyde County | 63 | 16.3% | 25.7% | 5.7% | 4.9% | 2.2% | 1.7% | $13,052 |
| Sully County | 64 | 8.9% | 27.1% | 4.7% | 2.6% | 0.1% | 0.7% | $9,050 |
| Harding County | 65 | 15.1% | 21.7% | 6.2% | 3.5% | 0.4% | 2.1% | $7,762 |
| Jones County | 66 | 14.3% | 27.1% | 6% | 3.4% | 0.9% | 2% | $11,344 |
