Best Places57252, SD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 57252, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
57252 ranks 6,146th 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 57252
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.
57252's strengths and weaknesses
Where 57252 ranks high
- Short commute11.2 minutes each way, better than 99% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 93% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$569 a month, better than 88% of zip codes
Where 57252 ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
- Household income$68,667 median, better than only 40% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 40% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 57252
A household needs to earn about $57,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 57252 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $68,667, 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 57252's effective rate of 0.90%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 57252
57252 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 57252.
Who works in 57252, and how
Work in 57252 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 57252
57252 has more parkland per resident than 99% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 57252 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 57252, month by month
57252 sees roughly 128 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 23, with lows near 7. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 23° | 15° | 7° |
| April | 54° | 42° | 34° |
| July | 84° | 73° | 63° |
| October | 58° | 47° | 39° |
Flying in and out of 57252
The nearest airport, Watertown Regional, is about 33 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 168 miles away.
The best schools in and around 57252
Schools across 57252 average a B, better than 74% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Milbank Elementary - 03A · 70% proficient
- Madison-marietta-nassau ElementaryB+ · 55% proficient
- Knoll ElementaryB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Milbank Middle School - 02B+ · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- Milbank High School - 01C+ · 40% proficient
- Lac Qui Parle Valley SecondaryC+ · 37% proficient
- Ortonville SecondaryC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 57252 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
57252 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 57252 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 57252
Is 57252 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 57252 ranks 6,146th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on short commutes, low taxes, and a stable housing market, 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 57252 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $214,030. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $68,667 median income, cost of living beats 64% of zip codes.
Is 57252 safe?
Yes, 57252 is safer than 63% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $309 per resident a year.
Compare 57252 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 57252. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 57252 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.
57252 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 57252: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 57252: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 57252: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 57252: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
57252 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.