Best PlacesWalworth County, SD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Walworth 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.
Walworth County ranks 740th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Walworth 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.
Walworth County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Walworth County ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 98% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 97% of counties
- Short commute16.8 minutes each way, better than 91% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 88% of counties
Where Walworth County ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 4% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 8% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 22% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 26% of counties
- TransitBetter than only 35% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Walworth County
A household needs to earn about $43,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Walworth County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $64,507, 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 Walworth County's effective rate of 1.13%, 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 Walworth County
Walworth 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 Walworth County.
Who works in Walworth County, and how
Work in Walworth County centers on health care & social and other services. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Walworth County
Walworth County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 80% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Walworth County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Walworth County growing, and who is moving in?
Walworth County has lost about 4% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Orangeburg County, SC.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Walworth County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Walworth County, month by month
Walworth County sees roughly 135 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 29, with lows near 10. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29° | 18° | 10° |
| April | 59° | 44° | 32° |
| July | 89° | 75° | 63° |
| October | 62° | 48° | 38° |
Flying in and out of Walworth County
The nearest airport, Pierre Regional, is about 78 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 348 miles away.
The best schools in and around Walworth County
Schools across Walworth County average a C+, better than 56% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Selby Elementary - 02A+ · 75% proficient
- Hoven Elementary - 02A+ · 75% proficient
- Mobridge Upper Elementary - 04C− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Browns Valley MiddleC+ · 37% proficient
- Mobridge Middle School - 02C− · 30% proficient
- Hoven Jr. High - 03D+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Mobridge High School - 01B · 50% proficient
- Selby High School - 01C+ · 40% proficient
- Bowdle High School - 01D+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Walworth County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Walworth 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 Walworth County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Walworth County
Is Walworth County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Walworth County ranks 740th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on walkability, clean air, and low taxes, 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 Walworth County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $155,568. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $64,507 median income, cost of living beats 48% of counties.
Is Walworth County safe?
Walworth County is safer than 37% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $412 per resident a year.
Compare Walworth County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Walworth County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Walworth 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.
Walworth County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Walworth County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Walworth County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Walworth County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Walworth County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Walworth 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.