John Lettieri, President and CEO of Economic Innovation Group | Official Website
John Lettieri, President and CEO of Economic Innovation Group | Official Website
Among all government transfer programs, Income Maintenance was the smallest contributor in the county. Social Security was the largest contributor, totaling $66.54 million, equating to $3,434 per capita and making up 32.6% of total transfers.
Comparatively, Income Maintenance transfers across South Dakota amounted to $1.21 billion, ranking lowest among all transfer types within the state. This translates to an average of $1,327 per capita, or 12.4% 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.
Medicare was the second largest contributor in Beadle County in 2022, accounting for $51.98 million, averaging $2,683 per capita, representing 25.4% of transfers. Medicaid transfers provided another $37.68 million, averaging $1,945 per capita and comprising 18.4% of government support, making them the third largest 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 17.5% of the population aged 65 and older, Beadle County has a significant demand for programs like Social Security and Medicare. Despite this aid, the total per capita income in Beadle County, excluding government transfers was $47,739, which is noticeably below the county's total income of $58,281, emphasizing the role of government transfers in overall income.
When comparing 2022 to the previous year, Beadle County saw a decrease in its Income Maintenance transfer dependency by 0.4%.
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 Beadle County, reliance on government transfers has similarly increased from 8.9% (or $1,928 per capita) in 1970 to 18.1% (or $10,542 per capita) in 2022.
According to the Economic Innovation Group’s analysis, these trends are not merely short-term responses to economic pressures but rather reflect a profound, long-term transformation in how government support is integrated into American life. The study illustrates that structural shifts—from rising healthcare expenses and demographic changes to stagnant wages—have significantly increased dependency on government transfers.
| County | Rank | Dependency on Transfers (%) | % Population 65+ | Social Security Transfers (%) | Medicare Transfers (%) | Medicaid Transfers (%) | Income Maintenance Transfers (%) | Per Capita Transfers ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
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