Best PlacesJackson County, SD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Jackson County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Jackson County ranks 2,767th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and low incomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Jackson 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.
Jackson County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Jackson County ranks high
- Short commute11.5 minutes each way, better than 99% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 97% of counties
- QuietBetter than 94% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 88% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 130 pleasant days a year, better than 82% of counties
Where Jackson County ranks low
- Household income$41,249 median, better than only 1% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 2% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 4% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than only 5% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 5% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Jackson County
A household needs to earn about $35,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Jackson County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $41,249, 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 Jackson County's effective rate of 0.68%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Jackson County
Jackson 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 Jackson County.
Who works in Jackson County, and how
Work in Jackson County centers on agriculture & forestry and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Jackson County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Jackson County.
Is Jackson County growing, and who is moving in?
Jackson County has lost about 16% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Hyde County, SD.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Jackson County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Jackson County, month by month
Jackson County sees roughly 130 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 36, with lows near 11. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, August, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36° | 22° | 11° |
| April | 63° | 45° | 30° |
| July | 94° | 76° | 59° |
| October | 65° | 48° | 34° |
Flying in and out of Jackson County
The nearest airport, Rapid City Regional, is about 75 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Denver International, about 304 miles away.
The best schools in and around Jackson County
Schools across Jackson County average a B, better than 71% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Kadoka Elementary - 02A+ · 75% proficient
- Longvalley Elementary - 10D+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Newcastle Middle SchoolA− · 57% proficient
- Kadoka Middle School - 03B− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Newcastle High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Kadoka Area High School - 01C+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Jackson County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Jackson 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 Jackson County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Jackson County
Is Jackson County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Jackson County ranks 2,767th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on short commutes, low taxes, and quiet, and lowest on low incomes and the cost of living against local pay. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Jackson County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $135,308. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $41,249 median income, cost of living beats 2% of counties.
Is Jackson County safe?
Jackson County is safer than 5% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $742 per resident a year.
Compare Jackson County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Jackson County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Jackson 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.
Jackson County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Jackson County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Jackson County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Jackson County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Jackson County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Jackson 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.