Best PlacesTripp County, SD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Tripp County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Tripp County ranks 1,713th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Tripp 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.
Tripp County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Tripp County ranks high
- Short commute13.9 minutes each way, better than 97% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 97% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 96% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 93% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 88% of counties
Where Tripp County ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 4% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 10% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than only 16% of counties
- School gradeC−, better than only 18% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 22% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Tripp County
A household needs to earn about $40,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Tripp County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $58,967, 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 Tripp County's effective rate of 0.76%, 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 Tripp County
Tripp County runs older than the country, 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 Tripp County.
Who works in Tripp County, and how
Work in Tripp 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 80%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 14%
Life in Tripp County
Tripp County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 83% of counties and more parkland per resident than 91% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Tripp County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Tripp County growing, and who is moving in?
Tripp County has grown about 4% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Hughes County, SD.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Tripp County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Tripp County, month by month
Tripp County sees roughly 124 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 16. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, August, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 24° | 16° |
| April | 62° | 47° | 35° |
| July | 91° | 77° | 65° |
| October | 65° | 51° | 41° |
Flying in and out of Tripp County
The nearest airport, Pierre Regional, is about 75 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 246 miles away.
The best schools in and around Tripp County
Schools across Tripp County average a C−, better than 18% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- West Lyon Elementary SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Akron Westfield Elementary SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Winner Elementary - 04C− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Akron Westfield Middle SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
- West Lyon Junior High SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Colome Middle School - 03D · 21% proficient
Top high schools
- West Lyon High SchoolA+ · 86% proficient
- Akron Westfield Senior High SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Gregory High School - 01A− · 60% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Tripp County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Tripp 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 Tripp County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Tripp County
Is Tripp County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Tripp County ranks 1,713th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on short commutes, low taxes, and walkability, and lowest on distance from a big city and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Tripp County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $153,152. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $58,967 median income, cost of living beats 29% of counties.
Is Tripp County safe?
Tripp County is safer than 16% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $577 per resident a year.
Compare Tripp County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Tripp County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Tripp 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.
Tripp County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Tripp County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Tripp County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Tripp County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Tripp County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Tripp 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.