Best PlacesHanson County, SD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Hanson County, 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.
Hanson County ranks 1,314th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low taxes by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Hanson 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.
Hanson County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Hanson County ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 97% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 88% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 87% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 85% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 128 pleasant days a year, better than 81% of counties
Where Hanson County ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 10% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 13% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 20% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 23% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 25% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Hanson County
A household needs to earn about $50,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Hanson County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $82,601, 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 Hanson County's effective rate of 0.82%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Hanson County
Hanson 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 Hanson County.
Who works in Hanson County, and how
Work in Hanson County centers on agriculture & forestry and construction. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Hanson County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Hanson County.
Is Hanson County growing, and who is moving in?
Hanson County has grown about 2% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Davison County, SD.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Hanson County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Hanson County, month by month
Hanson County 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 Hanson County
The nearest airport, Joe Foss Field, is about 52 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 189 miles away.
The best schools in and around Hanson County
Schools across Hanson County average a C, better than 43% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Shannon Colony Elementary - 08A+ · 75% proficient
- Oaklane Colony Elementary - 05A+ · 75% proficient
- Parkston Elementary - 02A− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hanson Middle School - 02B− · 40% proficient
- Bridgewater-emery Middle School - 04B− · 40% proficient
- Mitchell Middle School - 02C− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Bridgewater-emery High School - 01A− · 60% proficient
- Ethan High School - 01A− · 60% proficient
- Parkston High School - 01B · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Hanson County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Hanson 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 Hanson County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Hanson County
Is Hanson County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Hanson County ranks 1,314th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low taxes, state infrastructure, and a strong job market, 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 Hanson County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $191,383. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $82,601 median income, cost of living beats 69% of counties.
Is Hanson County safe?
Hanson County is safer than 50% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $403 per resident a year.
Compare Hanson County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Hanson County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Hanson 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.
Hanson County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Hanson County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Hanson County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Hanson County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Hanson County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Hanson 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.