Best PlacesBuffalo County, SD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Buffalo County, 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.
Buffalo County ranks 2,255th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and the cost of living against local pay is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Buffalo 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.
Buffalo County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Buffalo County ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 99% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 99% of counties
- Short commute13.4 minutes each way, better than 98% of counties
- QuietBetter than 98% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 97% of counties
Where Buffalo County ranks low
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 1% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 3% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 3% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than only 3% of counties
- Household income$45,729 median, better than only 4% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Buffalo County
A household needs to earn about $29,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Buffalo County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $45,729, 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 Buffalo County's effective rate of 0.20%, 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 Buffalo County
Buffalo County runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Buffalo County.
Who works in Buffalo County, and how
Work in Buffalo County centers on public administration and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Buffalo County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Buffalo County.
Is Buffalo County growing, and who is moving in?
Buffalo County has lost about 12% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Hughes County, SD.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Buffalo County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Buffalo County, month by month
Buffalo County sees roughly 123 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 31, with lows near 13. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31° | 21° | 13° |
| April | 60° | 46° | 35° |
| July | 88° | 75° | 64° |
| October | 63° | 49° | 39° |
Flying in and out of Buffalo County
The nearest airport, Pierre Regional, is about 50 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 260 miles away.
The best schools in and around Buffalo County
Schools across Buffalo County average a B+, better than 90% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Hendricks ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
- Pipestone ElementaryB · 50% proficient
- Wessington Springs Elementary - 02B− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Kimball Middle School - 04B+ · 50% proficient
- Pipestone MiddleC+ · 35% proficient
- Chamberlain Jr. High - 02D · 20% proficient
Top high schools
- Hendricks Senior HighA · 75% proficient
- Wessington Springs High School - 01C+ · 40% proficient
- Chamberlain High School - 01C− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Buffalo County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Buffalo 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 Buffalo County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Buffalo County
Is Buffalo County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Buffalo County ranks 2,255th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low property taxes, clean air, and short commutes, and lowest on the cost of living against local pay and thin health care access. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Buffalo County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $122,814. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $45,729 median income, cost of living beats 1% of counties.
Is Buffalo County safe?
Buffalo County is safer than 3% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $798 per resident a year.
Compare Buffalo County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Buffalo County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Buffalo 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.
Buffalo County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Buffalo County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Buffalo County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Buffalo County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Buffalo County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Buffalo 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.