Best PlacesCodington County, SD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Codington 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.
Codington County ranks 265th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Codington 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.
Codington County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Codington County ranks high
- Short commute14.1 minutes each way, better than 97% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 97% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 93% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 91% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 88% of counties
Where Codington County ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 10% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 18% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 23% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 31% of counties
- TransitBetter than only 35% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Codington County
A household needs to earn about $68,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Codington County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $80,050, 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 Codington County'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 Codington County
Codington 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 Codington County.
Who works in Codington County, and how
Work in Codington County centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Codington County
Codington County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 67% of counties and more parkland per resident than 88% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Codington County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Codington County growing, and who is moving in?
Codington County has grown about 5% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Medford, OR.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Codington County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Codington County, month by month
Codington County sees roughly 125 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 24, with lows near 6. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 24° | 14° | 6° |
| April | 54° | 42° | 32° |
| July | 83° | 72° | 61° |
| October | 58° | 46° | 37° |
Flying in and out of Codington County
The nearest airport, Watertown Regional, is about 1 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 191 miles away.
The best schools in and around Codington County
Schools across Codington County average a B, better than 75% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Henry Elementary - 02A+ · 75% proficient
- Canby ElementaryA · 65% proficient
- Castlewood Elementary - 02A− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- Watertown Middle School - 02B+ · 48% proficient
- Watertown Intermediate School - 13B · 45% proficient
- Webster Area Middle School - 02B− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Henry High School - 01A · 75% proficient
- Watertown High School - 01B · 50% proficient
- Florence High School - 01C+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Codington County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Codington 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 Codington County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Codington County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 82% of counties and 6% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 78% of counties and health care access beats 71%.
Common questions about living in Codington County
Is Codington County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Codington County ranks 265th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on short commutes, low taxes, and cell coverage, 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 Codington County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $252,729. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $80,050 median income, cost of living beats 82% of counties.
Is Codington County safe?
Yes, Codington County is safer than 88% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $285 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Codington County?
July highs average about 83 degrees, and January highs near 24 with lows near 6. That works out to about 125 pleasant days a year, more than 78% of counties.
Is Codington County good for families?
Schools beat 75% of counties, crime safety beats 88%, and childcare runs $702 a month.
Compare Codington County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Codington County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Codington 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.
Codington County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Codington County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Codington County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Codington County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Codington County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Codington 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.