Best PlacesEpiphany, SD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Epiphany, 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.
Epiphany ranks 19,043rd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low taxes by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Epiphany
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.
Epiphany's strengths and weaknesses
Where Epiphany ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 98% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 90% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 86% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 128 pleasant days a year, better than 84% of towns
- Cheap childcare$569 a month, better than 83% of towns
Where Epiphany ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 2% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 8% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 20% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 23% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Epiphany
A household needs to earn about $57,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Epiphany home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $86,276, 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 Epiphany's effective rate of 0.78%, 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 Epiphany
Epiphany's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Epiphany.
Who works in Epiphany, and how
Work in Epiphany centers on agriculture & forestry and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Epiphany
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Epiphany.
What the weather is like in Epiphany, month by month
Epiphany 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 Epiphany
The nearest airport, Joe Foss Field, is about 50 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 198 miles away.
The best schools in and around Epiphany
Schools across Epiphany average a C+, better than 55% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Shannon Colony Elementary - 08A+ · 75% proficient
- Sanborn Central Elementary - 06A+ · 75% proficient
- Pipestone ElementaryB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Sanborn Central Middle School - 02A+ · 75% proficient
- Hanson Middle School - 02B− · 40% proficient
- Pipestone MiddleC+ · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Sanborn Central 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 Epiphany school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Epiphany 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 Epiphany against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Epiphany
Is Epiphany a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Epiphany ranks 19,043rd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low taxes, state infrastructure, and clean air, and lowest on tree cover and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Epiphany expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $220,446. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $86,276 median income, cost of living beats 71% of towns.
Is Epiphany safe?
Epiphany is safer than 55% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $354 per resident a year.
Compare Epiphany with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Epiphany. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Epiphany 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.
Epiphany detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Epiphany: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Epiphany: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Epiphany: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Epiphany: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Epiphany 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.