Best PlacesMarshall County, SD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Marshall 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.
Marshall County ranks 431st of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low taxes by a wide margin, and empty homes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Marshall 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.
Marshall County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Marshall County ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 97% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 94% of counties
- Short commute16.0 minutes each way, better than 93% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 92% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 91% of counties
Where Marshall County ranks low
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 10% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 10% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 12% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 23% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Marshall County
A household needs to earn about $40,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Marshall County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $80,078, 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 Marshall County's effective rate of 0.67%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Marshall County
Marshall County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Marshall County.
Who works in Marshall County, and how
Work in Marshall County centers on agriculture & forestry and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Marshall County
Marshall County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 66% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Marshall County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Marshall County growing, and who is moving in?
Marshall County has lost about 7% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Lawrence County, SD.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Marshall County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Marshall County, month by month
Marshall County sees roughly 125 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 21, with lows near 5. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 21° | 13° | 5° |
| April | 52° | 41° | 32° |
| July | 83° | 71° | 61° |
| October | 57° | 46° | 37° |
Flying in and out of Marshall County
The nearest airport, Aberdeen Regional, is about 44 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 222 miles away.
The best schools in and around Marshall County
Schools across Marshall County average a C+, better than 53% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Britton-hecla Elementary - 02A− · 60% proficient
- Browns Valley ElementaryC− · 30% proficient
- Newport Colony Elementary - 04D+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Langford Area Middle School - 03A+ · 75% proficient
- Browns Valley MiddleC+ · 37% proficient
- Sisseton Middle School - 02D+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Sisseton High School - 01B · 50% proficient
- Britton-hecla High School - 01C+ · 40% proficient
- Wheaton SecondaryC+ · 38% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Marshall County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Marshall 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 Marshall County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Marshall County
Is Marshall County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Marshall County ranks 431st of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low taxes, clean air, and short commutes, and lowest on empty homes and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Marshall County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $155,826. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $80,078 median income, cost of living beats 87% of counties.
Is Marshall County safe?
Yes, Marshall County is safer than 70% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $336 per resident a year.
Compare Marshall County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Marshall County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Marshall 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.
Marshall County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Marshall County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Marshall County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Marshall County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Marshall County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Marshall 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.