Best PlacesCorson County, SD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Corson 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.
Corson County ranks 2,943rd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on clean air by a wide margin, and civic engagement ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Corson 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.
Corson County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Corson County ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 98% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 97% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 88% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 138 pleasant days a year, better than 87% of counties
- QuietBetter than 86% of counties
Where Corson County ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 1% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 2% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than only 2% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 4% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 4% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Corson County
A household needs to earn about $21,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Corson County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $47,571, 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 Corson County's effective rate of 1.24%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Corson County
Corson 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 Corson County.
Who works in Corson County, and how
Work in Corson County centers on agriculture & forestry and education. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 73%
- Work from home 24%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Corson County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Corson County.
Is Corson County growing, and who is moving in?
Corson County has lost about 10% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Rapid City, SD.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Corson County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Corson County, month by month
Corson County sees roughly 138 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 29, with lows near 10. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29° | 18° | 10° |
| April | 59° | 44° | 32° |
| July | 89° | 75° | 63° |
| October | 62° | 48° | 38° |
Flying in and out of Corson County
The nearest airport, Bismarck Municipal, is about 71 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 378 miles away.
The best schools in and around Corson County
Schools across Corson County average a D+, better than 13% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Sundance ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
- Lemmon Elementary - 02B− · 40% proficient
- Timber Lake Elementary - 02B− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mcintosh Middle School - 03A+ · 75% proficient
- Timber Lake Middle School - 03B− · 40% proficient
- Browns Valley MiddleC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Lemmon High School - 01A · 75% proficient
- Mcintosh High School - 01A · 75% proficient
- Timber Lake High School - 01A− · 60% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Corson County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Corson 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 Corson County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Corson County
Is Corson County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Corson County ranks 2,943rd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on clean air, low taxes, and state infrastructure, and lowest on civic engagement and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Corson County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $75,166. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $47,571 median income, cost of living beats 5% of counties.
Is Corson County safe?
Corson County is safer than 2% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $874 per resident a year.
Compare Corson County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Corson County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Corson 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.
Corson County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Corson County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Corson County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Corson County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Corson County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Corson 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.