Best PlacesLake County, SD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Lake County, 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.
Lake County ranks 617th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low taxes by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Lake 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.
Lake County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Lake County ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 97% of counties
- Short commute14.9 minutes each way, better than 96% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 88% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 88% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than 87% of counties
Where Lake County ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 5% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 17% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 17% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 28% of counties
- TransitBetter than only 35% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Lake County
A household needs to earn about $66,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Lake County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $78,124, 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 Lake County's effective rate of 1.03%, 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 Lake County
Lake County 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 Lake County.
Who works in Lake County, and how
Work in Lake County centers on education 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 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Lake County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Lake County.
Is Lake County growing, and who is moving in?
Lake County has lost about 9% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Sioux Falls, SD.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Lake County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Lake County, month by month
Lake County sees roughly 125 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 25, with lows near 9. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25° | 16° | 9° |
| April | 55° | 43° | 34° |
| July | 82° | 71° | 62° |
| October | 58° | 47° | 38° |
Flying in and out of Lake County
The nearest airport, Joe Foss Field, is about 34 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 196 miles away.
The best schools in and around Lake County
Schools across Lake County average a B−, better than 67% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Madison Elementary - 07B+ · 55% proficient
- Colman Elementary - 03B− · 40% proficient
- Rutland Elementary - 02B− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Rutland Jr. High - 03A+ · 75% proficient
- Madison Middle School - 02C · 35% proficient
- Mccook Central Middle School - 03C− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Madison High School - 01B− · 45% proficient
- Chester High School - 01C+ · 40% proficient
- Mccook Central High School - 01C+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Lake County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Lake 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 Lake County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Lake County
Is Lake County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Lake County ranks 617th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low taxes, short commutes, and clean air, and lowest on an overheated housing market and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Lake County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $246,622. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $78,124 median income, cost of living beats 69% of counties.
Is Lake County safe?
Yes, Lake County is safer than 59% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $383 per resident a year.
Compare Lake County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Lake County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Lake 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.
Lake County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Lake County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Lake County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Lake County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Lake County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Lake 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.