Best PlacesAurora County, SD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Aurora County, 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.
Aurora County ranks 1,054th of 3,144 U.S. counties 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 Aurora County
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.
Aurora County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Aurora County ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 97% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 92% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 88% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 85% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 129 pleasant days a year, better than 82% of counties
Where Aurora County ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 4% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 7% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 15% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 29% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 33% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Aurora County
A household needs to earn about $41,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Aurora County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $70,890, 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 Aurora County's effective rate of 0.97%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Aurora County
Aurora County'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 Aurora County.
Who works in Aurora County, and how
Work in Aurora County centers on agriculture & forestry and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Aurora County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Aurora County.
Is Aurora County growing, and who is moving in?
Aurora County has held roughly flat in population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Sioux Falls, SD.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Aurora County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Aurora County, month by month
Aurora County sees roughly 129 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 29, with lows near 12. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, August, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29° | 19° | 12° |
| April | 60° | 46° | 36° |
| July | 88° | 76° | 65° |
| October | 63° | 50° | 39° |
Flying in and out of Aurora County
The nearest airport, Joe Foss Field, is about 90 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 213 miles away.
The best schools in and around Aurora County
Schools across Aurora County average a C, better than 51% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- West Lyon Elementary SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Mount Vernon Elementary - 02A+ · 75% proficient
- Corsica-stickney Elementary - 02A− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- West Lyon Junior High SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Kimball Middle School - 04B+ · 50% proficient
- Platte - Geddes Jr. High - 03B− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- West Lyon High SchoolA+ · 86% proficient
- Mount Vernon High School- 01A− · 60% proficient
- Wessington Springs High School - 01C+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Aurora County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Aurora County 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 Aurora County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Aurora County
Is Aurora County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Aurora County ranks 1,054th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low taxes, low crime, and state infrastructure, 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 Aurora County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $152,980. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $70,890 median income, cost of living beats 50% of counties.
Is Aurora County safe?
Yes, Aurora County is safer than 92% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $261 per resident a year.
Compare Aurora County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Aurora County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Aurora County 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.
Aurora County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Aurora County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Aurora County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Aurora County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Aurora County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Aurora County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.