Best Places57701, SD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 57701, 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.
57701 ranks 20,939th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low taxes by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 57701
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.
57701's strengths and weaknesses
Where 57701 ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Short commute18.0 minutes each way, better than 91% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 89% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 89% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 85% of zip codes
Where 57701 ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- School gradeD, better than only 8% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 19% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 57701
A household needs to earn about $74,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 57701 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $61,959, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 57701's effective rate of 0.99%, 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 57701
57701's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 57701.
Who works in 57701, and how
Work in 57701 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 57701
57701 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 83% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 80% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 57701 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 57701, month by month
57701 sees roughly 105 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 39, with lows near 14. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 26° | 14° |
| April | 60° | 44° | 31° |
| July | 90° | 75° | 60° |
| October | 65° | 48° | 35° |
Flying in and out of 57701
The nearest airport, Rapid City Regional, is about 8 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Denver International, about 301 miles away.
The best schools in and around 57701
Schools across 57701 average a D, better than 8% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Vandenberg Elementary - 02B− · 43% proficient
- Grandview Elementary - 06B− · 40% proficient
- Woodrow Wilson Elementary - 17C− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Newcastle Middle SchoolA− · 57% proficient
- Southwest Middle School - 38B+ · 50% proficient
- Sturgis Williams Middle School - 02B · 45% proficient
Top high schools
- Douglas High School - 03B · 50% proficient
- Central High School - 41B · 48% proficient
- Sturgis Brown High School - 01C− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 57701 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
57701 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 57701 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 57701 suits
Common questions about living in 57701
Is 57701 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 57701 ranks 20,939th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low taxes, short commutes, and cell coverage, and lowest on distance from a big city and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 57701 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $274,322. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $61,959 median income, cost of living beats 34% of zip codes.
Is 57701 safe?
57701 is safer than 46% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $412 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 57701?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 39 with lows near 14. That works out to about 105 pleasant days a year, more than 66% of zip codes.
Is 57701 good for families?
Schools beat 8% of zip codes, crime safety beats 46%, and childcare runs $725 a month.
Compare 57701 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 57701. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 57701 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.
57701 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 57701: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 57701: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 57701: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 57701: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
57701 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.