Best PlacesPennington County, SD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Pennington 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.
Pennington County ranks 1,069th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It earns the spot by being affordable and steady rather than flashy: everyday costs run well below the national average, and crime is low. The trade is distance from a big city: the nearest large city and its jobs, flights, and culture are a drive away.
The best neighborhoods in Pennington 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.
Pennington County's strengths and weaknesses
Pennington County lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Low taxes, a strong job market, and state infrastructure carry most of that.
The one real hole is distance from a big city, near the bottom of the country. An overheated housing market and noise also cost it ground. That one depends almost entirely on which part you pick, which is what the map below settles.
Where Pennington County ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 97% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 92% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 88% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 88% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 86% of counties
Where Pennington County ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 4% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 7% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 9% of counties
- School gradeD+, better than only 16% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 30% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Pennington County
A household needs to earn about $87,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Pennington County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $78,033; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Pennington County's effective rate of 1.00%, 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 Pennington County
Pennington County's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Pennington County.
Who works in Pennington County, and how
Work in Pennington County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Pennington County
Pennington County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 70% of counties and more parkland per resident than 85% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Pennington County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Pennington County growing, and who is moving in?
Pennington County has grown about 8% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Sioux Falls, SD.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Pennington County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Pennington County, month by month
Pennington County sees roughly 108 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 39, with lows near 14. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 26° | 14° |
| April | 60° | 44° | 31° |
| July | 90° | 75° | 60° |
| October | 65° | 48° | 35° |
Flying in and out of Pennington County
The nearest airport, Rapid City Regional, is about 8 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Denver International, about 300 miles away.
The best schools in and around Pennington County
Schools across Pennington County average a D+, better than 16% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Hill City Elementary - 02B · 50% proficient
- Corral Drive Elementary - 21B · 45% proficient
- Pinedale Elementary - 11B · 45% proficient
Top middle schools
- Newcastle Middle SchoolA− · 57% proficient
- Southwest Middle School - 38B+ · 50% proficient
- Hill City Middle School - 04B+ · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- Stevens High School - 42A · 67% proficient
- Sundance Secondary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Douglas High School - 03B · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Pennington County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Pennington 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 Pennington County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Pennington County suits
Families
Schools land around the 16th percentile and crime safety beats 83%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 76% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 10% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Pennington County
Is Pennington County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Pennington County ranks 1,069th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low taxes, a strong job market, and state infrastructure, and lowest on distance from a big city and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Pennington County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $322,101. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $78,033 median income, cost of living beats 76% of counties.
Is Pennington County safe?
Yes, Pennington County is safer than 83% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $317 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Pennington County?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 39 with lows near 14. That works out to about 108 pleasant days a year, more than 66% of counties.
Is Pennington County good for families?
Schools beat 16% of counties, crime safety beats 83%, and childcare runs $729 a month.
Is Pennington County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 76% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 63% of counties. About 10% of workers already work from home.
Compare Pennington County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Pennington County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Pennington 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.
Pennington County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Pennington County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Pennington County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Pennington County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Pennington County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Pennington 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.