Best PlacesBridgewater, SD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Bridgewater, 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.
Bridgewater ranks 21,919th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Bridgewater
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.
Bridgewater's strengths and weaknesses
Where Bridgewater ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 99% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 98% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 90% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 128 pleasant days a year, better than 84% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 84% of towns
Where Bridgewater ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 11% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than only 11% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 11% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 22% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 26% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Bridgewater
A household needs to earn about $54,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Bridgewater home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $70,176, 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 Bridgewater's effective rate of 1.02%, 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 Bridgewater
Bridgewater runs younger than the country, though it still carries a larger-than-average share of residents over 65.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Bridgewater.
Who works in Bridgewater, and how
Work in Bridgewater centers on agriculture & forestry and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Bridgewater
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Bridgewater.
What the weather is like in Bridgewater, month by month
Bridgewater sees roughly 128 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 Bridgewater
The nearest airport, Joe Foss Field, is about 38 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 176 miles away.
The best schools in and around Bridgewater
Schools across Bridgewater average a B, better than 68% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Freeman Elementary - 02B− · 40% proficient
- Bridgewater-emery Elementary - 02B− · 40% proficient
- Canistota Elementary - 02B− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Freeman Jr High - 05B− · 40% proficient
- Canistota Middle School - 03B− · 40% proficient
- Bridgewater-emery Middle School - 04B− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Canistota High School - 01A · 75% proficient
- Bridgewater-emery High School - 01A− · 60% proficient
- Mccook Central High School - 01C+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Bridgewater school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Bridgewater 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 Bridgewater against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Bridgewater
Is Bridgewater a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Bridgewater ranks 21,919th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on cell coverage, low taxes, and state infrastructure, and lowest on distance from a big city and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Bridgewater expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $200,089. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $70,176 median income, cost of living beats 63% of towns.
Is Bridgewater safe?
Bridgewater is safer than 11% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $664 per resident a year.
Compare Bridgewater with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Bridgewater. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Bridgewater 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.
Bridgewater detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Bridgewater: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Bridgewater: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Bridgewater: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Bridgewater: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Bridgewater 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.