Best PlacesSouth Dakota Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in South Dakota, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
South Dakota ranks 25th of 50 U.S. states on the BestNeighborhood index. It ranks low mainly on distance from a big city and transit. It does better on short commutes, which keeps it off the bottom.
The best neighborhoods in South Dakota
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.
The best areas in South Dakota
The counties of South Dakota, grouped by direction and ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood in each. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the state.
Minnehaha County & Lincoln County
Fewer homes sit empty, big-city amenities are closer, and local pay stretches further.
Brookings County & Lake County
More adults hold degrees, though prices have run up more.
Codington County, Roberts County & Grant County
It is quieter and homes cost less.
Brown County
The air is cleaner, though crime runs higher.
Charles Mix County, Bon Homme County & Hutchinson County
Biking is worse and health outcomes score lower.
Pennington County & Meade County
Fewer households have young kids and schools score lower.
Beadle County & Davison County
Incomes run lower and heat risk is higher.
Butte County, Walworth County & Dewey County
Advertised internet is slower and tree cover is thinner.
Oglala Lakota County, Todd County & Fall River County
Health care is harder to reach and fewer residents vote.
South Dakota shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 1% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
South Dakota's strengths and weaknesses
South Dakota lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Short commutes is the standout, in the top 1% of states. A strong job market and low taxes follow.
The one real hole is distance from a big city, near the bottom of the country. Transit and internet speeds also cost it ground. That one depends almost entirely on which part you pick, which is what the map below settles.
Where South Dakota ranks high
- Short commute17.8 minutes each way, better than 99% of states
- Local economyBetter than 95% of states
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 93% of states
- Cheap childcare$704 a month, better than 89% of states
- State infrastructureBetter than 85% of states
Where South Dakota ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of states
- TransitBetter than only 9% of states
- Internet speedBetter than only 11% of states
- Tree shadeBetter than only 12% of states
- Household income$79,403 median, better than only 23% of states
What it costs to buy a home in South Dakota
A household needs to earn about $71,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South Dakota home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $79,403, 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 South Dakota's effective rate of 0.99%, 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 South Dakota
South Dakota'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 South Dakota.
Who works in South Dakota, and how
Work in South Dakota 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 84%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in South Dakota
South Dakota has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most states and more parkland per resident than 88% of states. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of South Dakota and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in South Dakota, month by month
South Dakota sees roughly 115 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 31, with lows near 9. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31° | 19° | 9° |
| April | 62° | 47° | 34° |
| July | 88° | 75° | 62° |
| October | 65° | 50° | 38° |
The best schools in and around South Dakota
Schools across South Dakota average a C+, better than 49% of states.
Top elementary schools
- Challenge Center - 51A+ · 80% proficient
- West Lyon Elementary SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Mount Vernon Elementary - 02A+ · 75% proficient
Top middle schools
- Akron Westfield Middle SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
- West Lyon Junior High SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Frederick Jr. High - 03A+ · 75% proficient
Top high schools
- Montrose High School - 01A+ · 90% proficient
- West Lyon High SchoolA+ · 86% proficient
- Jones County High School - 01A · 75% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every South Dakota school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South Dakota 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 South Dakota against the other 49 states.
Who South Dakota suits
Families
Schools land around the 49th percentile and crime safety beats 59%.
Common questions about living in South Dakota
Is South Dakota a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South Dakota ranks 25th of 50 states. It scores highest on short commutes, a strong job market, and low taxes, and lowest on distance from a big city and transit. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is South Dakota expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $265,371. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $79,403 median income, cost of living beats 55% of states.
Is South Dakota safe?
Yes, South Dakota is safer than 59% of states. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $385 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in South Dakota?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 31 with lows near 9. That works out to about 115 pleasant days a year, more than 70% of states.
What are the best areas in South Dakota?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Minnehaha County & Lincoln County, Brookings County & Lake County, and Codington County, Roberts County & Grant County. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is South Dakota good for families?
Schools beat 49% of states, crime safety beats 59%, and childcare runs $704 a month.
Is South Dakota good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 55% of states, though advertised internet speeds beat only 11% of states. About 10% of workers already work from home.
Compare South Dakota with other states
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South Dakota. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South Dakota 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.
South Dakota detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South Dakota: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South Dakota: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South Dakota: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South Dakota: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South Dakota 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.
- 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.