Best PlacesHutchinson County, SD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Hutchinson County, 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.
Hutchinson County ranks 425th 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 Hutchinson 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.
Hutchinson County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Hutchinson County ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 97% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 91% of counties
- Short commute17.2 minutes each way, better than 90% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 88% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 85% of counties
Where Hutchinson County ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 7% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 14% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 18% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 31% of counties
- TransitBetter than only 35% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Hutchinson County
A household needs to earn about $55,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Hutchinson County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $83,473, 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 Hutchinson County's effective rate of 0.91%, 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 Hutchinson County
Hutchinson County's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Hutchinson County.
Who works in Hutchinson County, and how
Work in Hutchinson County centers on agriculture & forestry and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Hutchinson County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Hutchinson County.
Is Hutchinson County growing, and who is moving in?
Hutchinson County has grown about 3% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Sioux Falls, SD.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Hutchinson County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Hutchinson County, month by month
Hutchinson County sees roughly 126 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 Hutchinson County
The nearest airport, Joe Foss Field, is about 53 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 169 miles away.
The best schools in and around Hutchinson County
Schools across Hutchinson County average a C+, better than 58% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- West Lyon Elementary SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Parkston Elementary - 02A− · 60% proficient
- Menno Elementary - 02B− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- West Lyon Junior High SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Menno Middle School - 05A · 60% proficient
- Freeman Jr High - 05B− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- West Lyon High SchoolA+ · 86% proficient
- Bridgewater-emery High School - 01A− · 60% proficient
- Ethan High School - 01A− · 60% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Hutchinson County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Hutchinson 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 Hutchinson County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Hutchinson County
Is Hutchinson County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Hutchinson County ranks 425th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low taxes, what local pay buys, and short commutes, 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 Hutchinson County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $208,016. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $83,473 median income, cost of living beats 91% of counties.
Is Hutchinson County safe?
Yes, Hutchinson County is safer than 83% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $287 per resident a year.
Compare Hutchinson County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Hutchinson County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Hutchinson 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.
Hutchinson County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Hutchinson County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Hutchinson County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Hutchinson County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Hutchinson County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Hutchinson 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.