Best Places57078, SD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 57078, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
57078 ranks 3,518th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 57078
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
57078's strengths and weaknesses
Where 57078 ranks high
- Short commute14.0 minutes each way, better than 98% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 97% of zip codes
- School gradeA, better than 95% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 57078 ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 26% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 33% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 57078
A household needs to earn about $68,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 57078 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $76,512, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 57078's effective rate of 1.04%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 57078
57078 runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 57078.
Who works in 57078, and how
Work in 57078 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in 57078
57078 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 90% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 81% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 57078 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 57078, month by month
57078 sees roughly 120 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 31, with lows near 13. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31° | 21° | 13° |
| April | 61° | 47° | 37° |
| July | 87° | 75° | 65° |
| October | 64° | 51° | 41° |
Flying in and out of 57078
The nearest airport, Joe Foss Field, is about 58 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 134 miles away.
The best schools in and around 57078
Schools across 57078 average an A, better than 95% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Akron Westfield Elementary SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Beadle Elementary - 03A− · 60% proficient
- Stewart Elementary - 05A− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- Akron Westfield Middle SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
- Yankton Middle School - 02B · 45% proficient
- Irene - Wakonda Jr. High - 04D · 21% proficient
Top high schools
- Akron Westfield Senior High SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Crofton High SchoolB+ · 58% proficient
- Yankton High School - 01B+ · 56% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 57078 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
57078 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 57078 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 57078 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 73% of zip codes and 5% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 75% of zip codes and health care access beats 57%.
Common questions about living in 57078
Is 57078 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 57078 ranks 3,518th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on short commutes, low taxes, and good schools, and lowest on distance from a big city and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 57078 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $251,488. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $76,512 median income, cost of living beats 73% of zip codes.
Is 57078 safe?
Yes, 57078 is safer than 84% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $242 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 57078?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 31 with lows near 13. That works out to about 120 pleasant days a year, more than 75% of zip codes.
Is 57078 good for families?
Schools beat 95% of zip codes, crime safety beats 84%, and childcare runs $702 a month.
Compare 57078 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 57078. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 57078 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
57078 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 57078: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 57078: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 57078: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 57078: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
57078 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.