Best PlacesHughes County, SD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Hughes County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Hughes County ranks 141st of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on clean air by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Hughes 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.
Hughes County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Hughes County ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 99% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 97% of counties
- Short commute14.6 minutes each way, better than 96% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 96% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 93% of counties
Where Hughes County ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 4% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 15% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 28% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 30% of counties
- TransitBetter than only 35% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Hughes County
A household needs to earn about $67,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Hughes County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $87,922, 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 Hughes County's effective rate of 1.04%, 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 Hughes County
Hughes County's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Hughes County.
Who works in Hughes County, and how
Work in Hughes County centers on public administration and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Hughes County
Hughes County has more parkland per resident than 99% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Hughes County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Hughes County growing, and who is moving in?
Hughes County has lost about 1% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Pittsylvania County, VA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Hughes County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Hughes County, month by month
Hughes County sees roughly 124 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 30, with lows near 12. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30° | 20° | 12° |
| April | 60° | 45° | 33° |
| July | 90° | 75° | 63° |
| October | 62° | 48° | 38° |
Flying in and out of Hughes County
The nearest airport, Pierre Regional, is about 1 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 308 miles away.
The best schools in and around Hughes County
Schools across Hughes County average a B+, better than 80% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Hendricks ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
- Buchanan Elementary - 03B · 50% proficient
- Jefferson Elementary - 06B · 45% proficient
Top middle schools
- Highmore Jr. High - 03A+ · 75% proficient
- Georgia Morse Middle School - 02B+ · 51% proficient
- Browns Valley MiddleC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Hendricks Senior HighA · 75% proficient
- Highmore High School - 01A− · 60% proficient
- T F Riggs High School - 01B+ · 55% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Hughes County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Hughes 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 Hughes County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Hughes County
Is Hughes County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Hughes County ranks 141st of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on clean air, low taxes, and short commutes, and lowest on distance from a big city and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Hughes County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $246,975. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $87,922 median income, cost of living beats 91% of counties.
Is Hughes County safe?
Yes, Hughes County is safer than 59% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $355 per resident a year.
Compare Hughes County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Hughes County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Hughes 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.
Hughes County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Hughes County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Hughes County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Hughes County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Hughes County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Hughes 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.