Best PlacesAkron, SD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Akron, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Akron ranks 17,635th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low taxes by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Akron
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.
Akron's strengths and weaknesses
Where Akron ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 98% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 92% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 90% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 90% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than 82% of towns
Where Akron ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 6% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 9% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 16% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 20% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Akron
A household needs to earn about $75,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Akron home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $81,941, 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 Akron's effective rate of 1.06%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in Akron
Akron runs older than the country, though fewer residents are over 65 than the national share, 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 Akron.
Who works in Akron, and how
Work in Akron centers on transportation & warehousing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 73%
- Work from home 23%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Akron
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Akron.
What the weather is like in Akron, month by month
Akron sees roughly 107 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 30, with lows near 14. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30° | 21° | 14° |
| April | 61° | 47° | 37° |
| July | 85° | 74° | 64° |
| October | 63° | 50° | 40° |
Flying in and out of Akron
The nearest airport, Sioux Gateway/Brig General Bud Day Field, is about 35 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 115 miles away.
The best schools in and around Akron
Schools across Akron average a B−, better than 58% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Beresford Elementary - 02B− · 40% proficient
- Alcester-hudson Elementary - 04B− · 40% proficient
- Elk Point-jefferson Elementary - 02C− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Elk Point-jefferson Middle School - 03B+ · 50% proficient
- Beresford Middle School - 03B− · 40% proficient
- Alcester-hudson Jr. High - 03D · 21% proficient
Top high schools
- Alcester-hudson High School - 01A− · 60% proficient
- Elk Point-jefferson High School - 01B · 50% proficient
- Beresford High School - 01C+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Akron school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Akron 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 Akron against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Akron
Is Akron a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Akron ranks 17,635th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low taxes, few empty homes, and state infrastructure, and lowest on a weak job market and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Akron expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $278,000. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $81,941 median income, cost of living beats 81% of towns.
Is Akron safe?
Yes, Akron is safer than 62% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $308 per resident a year.
Compare Akron with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Akron. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Akron 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.
Akron detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Akron: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Akron: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Akron: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Akron: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Akron 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.