Best PlacesRockport Colony, SD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Rockport Colony, 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.
Rockport Colony ranks 20,347th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low taxes by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Rockport Colony
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.
Rockport Colony's strengths and weaknesses
Where Rockport Colony ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 98% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 90% of towns
- Short commute20.8 minutes each way, better than 85% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 128 pleasant days a year, better than 84% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 83% of towns
Where Rockport Colony ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 4% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 7% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 7% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 27% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Rockport Colony
A household needs to earn about $53,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Rockport Colony home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $88,802, 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 Rockport Colony's effective rate of 0.82%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Rockport Colony
Rockport Colony's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Rockport Colony.
Who works in Rockport Colony, and how
Work in Rockport Colony centers on agriculture & forestry and education. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Rockport Colony
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Rockport Colony.
What the weather is like in Rockport Colony, month by month
Rockport Colony sees roughly 128 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 29, with lows near 12. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, August, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29° | 19° | 12° |
| April | 60° | 46° | 36° |
| July | 88° | 76° | 65° |
| October | 63° | 50° | 39° |
Flying in and out of Rockport Colony
The nearest airport, Joe Foss Field, is about 55 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 187 miles away.
The best schools in and around Rockport Colony
Schools across Rockport Colony average a C, better than 31% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Ethan Elementary - 02B− · 40% proficient
- Hanson Elementary - 06D+ · 21% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hanson Middle School - 02B− · 40% proficient
- Mitchell Middle School - 02C− · 30% proficient
- Ethan Jr. High - 03D · 21% proficient
Top high schools
- Ethan High School - 01A− · 60% proficient
- Abbott House High School - 07D+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Rockport Colony school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Rockport Colony 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 Rockport Colony against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Rockport Colony
Is Rockport Colony a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Rockport Colony ranks 20,347th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low taxes, state infrastructure, and short commutes, and lowest on tree cover and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Rockport Colony expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $202,607. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $88,802 median income, cost of living beats 70% of towns.
Is Rockport Colony safe?
Rockport Colony is safer than 40% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $414 per resident a year.
Compare Rockport Colony with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Rockport Colony. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Rockport Colony 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.
Rockport Colony detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Rockport Colony: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Rockport Colony: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Rockport Colony: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Rockport Colony: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Rockport Colony 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.