Best PlacesWhite River, SD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around White River, 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.
White River ranks 35,639th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on clean air by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in White River
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.
White River's strengths and weaknesses
Where White River ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 98% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 98% of towns
- Short commute16.5 minutes each way, better than 96% of towns
- QuietBetter than 93% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 90% of towns
Where White River ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 3% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 5% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 5% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 6% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in White River
A household needs to earn about $18,000 a year to comfortably buy the median White River home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $46,397, 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 White River's effective rate of 0.62%, 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 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in White River
White River runs younger than the country, 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 White River.
Who works in White River, and how
Work in White River centers on agriculture & forestry and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in White River
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across White River.
What the weather is like in White River, month by month
White River sees roughly 143 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 31, with lows near 13. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31° | 21° | 13° |
| April | 59° | 44° | 33° |
| July | 89° | 74° | 62° |
| October | 63° | 48° | 38° |
Flying in and out of White River
The nearest airport, Pierre Regional, is about 62 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 293 miles away.
The best schools in and around White River
Schools across White River average a B, better than 67% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- White River Elementary - 02D+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Newcastle Middle SchoolA− · 57% proficient
- Jones County Middle School - 04B+ · 50% proficient
- White River Middle School - 04F · 11% proficient
Top high schools
- Jones County High School - 01A · 75% proficient
- Newcastle High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- White River High School - 01D · 21% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every White River school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
White River 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 White River against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in White River
Is White River a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, White River ranks 35,639th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on clean air, low taxes, and short commutes, and lowest on distance from a big city and health outcomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is White River expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $70,956. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $46,397 median income, cost of living beats 9% of towns.
Is White River safe?
White River is safer than 6% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $721 per resident a year.
Compare White River with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to White River. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in White River 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.
White River detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for White River: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in White River: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of White River: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in White River: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
White River 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.