Best Places57638, SD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 57638, 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.
57638 ranks 11,617th 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 57638
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.
57638's strengths and weaknesses
Where 57638 ranks high
- Short commute12.3 minutes each way, better than 98% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 94% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 142 pleasant days a year, better than 87% of zip codes
Where 57638 ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 25% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 57638
A household needs to earn about $34,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 57638 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $64,299, 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 57638's effective rate of 0.92%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 57638
57638 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 57638.
Who works in 57638, and how
Work in 57638 centers on agriculture & forestry and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 75%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 57638
57638 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 91% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 98% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 57638 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 57638, month by month
57638 sees roughly 142 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 31, with lows near 7. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31° | 18° | 7° |
| April | 58° | 41° | 26° |
| July | 89° | 71° | 54° |
| October | 61° | 44° | 29° |
Flying in and out of 57638
The nearest airport, Dickinson/Theodore Roosevelt Regional, is about 67 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Denver International, about 438 miles away.
The best schools in and around 57638
Schools across 57638 average a B−, better than 64% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Little Powder ElementaryA+ · 75% proficient
- Sundance ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
- Lemmon Elementary - 02B− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Bison Jr. High - 04D · 21% proficient
- Lemmon Jr. High - 06D · 21% proficient
Top high schools
- Lemmon High School - 01A · 75% proficient
- Bison High School - 01A · 75% proficient
- Sundance Secondary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 57638 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
57638 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 57638 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 57638
Is 57638 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 57638 ranks 11,617th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on short commutes, clean air, and low taxes, 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 57638 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $127,250. The overall cost of living runs about 24% below the national average. Set against a $64,299 median income, cost of living beats 61% of zip codes.
Is 57638 safe?
57638 is safer than 25% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $493 per resident a year.
Compare 57638 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 57638. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 57638 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.
57638 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 57638: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 57638: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 57638: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 57638: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
57638 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.