Best PlacesEllsworth Afb, SD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Ellsworth Afb, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Ellsworth Afb ranks 13,108th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on population health by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Ellsworth Afb
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.
Ellsworth Afb's strengths and weaknesses
Where Ellsworth Afb ranks high
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of towns
- Short commute12.9 minutes each way, better than 99% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 98% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 97% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 96% of towns
Where Ellsworth Afb ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 2% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 3% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 6% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 18% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Ellsworth Afb
A household needs to earn about $59,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Ellsworth Afb home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $67,730, 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 Ellsworth Afb's effective rate of 0.89%, 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 Ellsworth Afb
Ellsworth Afb 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 Ellsworth Afb.
Who works in Ellsworth Afb, and how
Work in Ellsworth Afb centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 15%
Life in Ellsworth Afb
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Ellsworth Afb.
What the weather is like in Ellsworth Afb, month by month
Ellsworth Afb sees roughly 96 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 39, with lows near 14. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 26° | 14° |
| April | 60° | 44° | 31° |
| July | 90° | 75° | 60° |
| October | 65° | 48° | 35° |
Flying in and out of Ellsworth Afb
The nearest airport, Rapid City Regional, is about 7 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Denver International, about 308 miles away.
The best schools in and around Ellsworth Afb
Schools across Ellsworth Afb average a B−, better than 60% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Vandenberg Elementary - 02B− · 43% proficient
- Knollwood Heights Elementary - 08D− · 11% proficient
Top middle schools
- Newcastle Middle SchoolA− · 57% proficient
- Sturgis Williams Middle School - 02B · 45% proficient
- North Middle School - 35D− · 15% proficient
Top high schools
- Douglas High School - 03B · 50% proficient
- Sturgis Brown High School - 01C− · 30% proficient
- Rapid City High School - 45F · 11% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Ellsworth Afb school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Ellsworth Afb 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 Ellsworth Afb against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Ellsworth Afb
Is Ellsworth Afb a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Ellsworth Afb ranks 13,108th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on population health, short commutes, and low taxes, and lowest on tree cover and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Ellsworth Afb expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $224,520. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $67,730 median income, cost of living beats 30% of towns.
Is Ellsworth Afb safe?
Yes, Ellsworth Afb is safer than 68% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $309 per resident a year.
Compare Ellsworth Afb with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Ellsworth Afb. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Ellsworth Afb 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.
Ellsworth Afb detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Ellsworth Afb: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Ellsworth Afb: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Ellsworth Afb: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Ellsworth Afb: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Ellsworth Afb 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.