Best PlacesIpswich, SD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Ipswich, 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.
Ipswich ranks 5,615th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Ipswich
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.
Ipswich's strengths and weaknesses
Where Ipswich ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 98% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 98% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 98% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 161 pleasant days a year, better than 95% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 90% of towns
Where Ipswich ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 7% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 19% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 20% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 43% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Ipswich
A household needs to earn about $51,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Ipswich home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $80,384, 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 Ipswich's effective rate of 0.75%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Ipswich
Ipswich runs younger than the country, though it still carries a larger-than-average share of residents over 65.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Ipswich.
Who works in Ipswich, and how
Work in Ipswich 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 79%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in Ipswich
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Ipswich.
What the weather is like in Ipswich, month by month
Ipswich sees roughly 161 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 23, with lows near 6. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 23° | 14° | 6° |
| April | 53° | 40° | 30° |
| July | 84° | 71° | 60° |
| October | 58° | 44° | 35° |
Flying in and out of Ipswich
The nearest airport, Aberdeen Regional, is about 28 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 285 miles away.
The best schools in and around Ipswich
Schools across Ipswich average a B, better than 67% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Leola Elementary - 02A+ · 75% proficient
- Ipswich Elementary - 02A− · 60% proficient
- Warner Elementary - 02A− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- Warner Middle School - 03B− · 40% proficient
- Ipswich Middle School - 04B− · 40% proficient
- Browns Valley MiddleC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Edmunds Central High School - 01A · 75% proficient
- Warner High School - 01C+ · 40% proficient
- Ipswich High School - 01C+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Ipswich school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Ipswich 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 Ipswich against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Ipswich
Is Ipswich a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Ipswich ranks 5,615th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on walkability, clean air, and low taxes, 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 Ipswich expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $196,629. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $80,384 median income, cost of living beats 76% of towns.
Is Ipswich safe?
Ipswich is safer than 50% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $341 per resident a year.
Compare Ipswich with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Ipswich. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Ipswich 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.
Ipswich detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Ipswich: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Ipswich: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Ipswich: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Ipswich: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Ipswich 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.