Best PlacesHermosa, SD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Hermosa, 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.
Hermosa ranks 21,743rd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Hermosa
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.
Hermosa's strengths and weaknesses
Where Hermosa ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 98% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 98% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 90% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 88% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than 86% of towns
Where Hermosa ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 5% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 6% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 8% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 13% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Hermosa
A household needs to earn about $109,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Hermosa home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $88,324, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Hermosa'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 and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Hermosa
Hermosa runs older than the country, 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 Hermosa.
Who works in Hermosa, and how
Work in Hermosa centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Hermosa
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Hermosa.
What the weather is like in Hermosa, month by month
Hermosa sees roughly 118 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 39, with lows near 13. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 25° | 13° |
| April | 61° | 44° | 29° |
| July | 90° | 73° | 57° |
| October | 65° | 47° | 33° |
Flying in and out of Hermosa
The nearest airport, Rapid City Regional, is about 16 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Denver International, about 286 miles away.
The best schools in and around Hermosa
Schools across Hermosa average a C, better than 32% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Wall Elementary - 02B− · 40% proficient
- Hermosa Elementary - 04C− · 30% proficient
- New Underwood Elementary - 02D+ · 21% proficient
Top middle schools
- Custer Jr. High - 05B− · 40% proficient
- Wall Middle School - 06B− · 40% proficient
- East Middle School - 30C · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- Custer High School - 01B− · 45% proficient
- Wall High School - 01C+ · 40% proficient
- Hot Springs High School - 01C− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Hermosa school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Hermosa 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 Hermosa against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Hermosa
Is Hermosa a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Hermosa ranks 21,743rd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a strong job market, low taxes, and state infrastructure, and lowest on distance from a big city and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Hermosa expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $418,400. The overall cost of living runs about 1% below the national average. Set against a $88,324 median income, cost of living beats 68% of towns.
Is Hermosa safe?
Yes, Hermosa is safer than 88% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $215 per resident a year.
Compare Hermosa with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Hermosa. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Hermosa 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.
Hermosa detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Hermosa: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Hermosa: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Hermosa: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Hermosa: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Hermosa 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.