Best PlacesSanborn County, SD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Sanborn 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.
Sanborn County ranks 965th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Sanborn 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.
Sanborn County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Sanborn County ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 99% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 97% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 88% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 86% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 86% of counties
Where Sanborn County ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 4% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 9% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 10% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 22% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Sanborn County
A household needs to earn about $39,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Sanborn County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $82,936, 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 Sanborn County's effective rate of 0.59%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Sanborn County
Sanborn County's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Sanborn County.
Who works in Sanborn County, and how
Work in Sanborn County centers on agriculture & forestry and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Sanborn County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Sanborn County.
Is Sanborn County growing, and who is moving in?
Sanborn County has grown about 3% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Davison County, SD.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Sanborn County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Sanborn County, month by month
Sanborn County sees roughly 126 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 Sanborn County
The nearest airport, Joe Foss Field, is about 76 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 219 miles away.
The best schools in and around Sanborn County
Schools across Sanborn County average a B−, better than 74% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Mount Vernon Elementary - 02A+ · 75% proficient
- Sanborn Central Elementary - 06A+ · 75% proficient
- Hendricks ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
Top middle schools
- Sanborn Central Middle School - 02A+ · 75% proficient
- Huron Middle School - 02C− · 30% proficient
- Mount Vernon Middle School - 03D · 21% proficient
Top high schools
- Sanborn Central High School - 01A · 75% proficient
- Mount Vernon High School- 01A− · 60% proficient
- Wessington Springs High School - 01C+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Sanborn County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Sanborn 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 Sanborn County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Sanborn County
Is Sanborn County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Sanborn County ranks 965th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a strong job market, low taxes, and state infrastructure, and lowest on distance from a big city and walkability. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Sanborn County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $151,826. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $82,936 median income, cost of living beats 76% of counties.
Is Sanborn County safe?
Sanborn County is safer than 45% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $398 per resident a year.
Compare Sanborn County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Sanborn County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Sanborn 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.
Sanborn County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Sanborn County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Sanborn County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Sanborn County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Sanborn County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Sanborn 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.