Population 771 · Census ACS 2020–24
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Population and households in Willow Lake
Household size in Willow Lake
| Period | Willow Lake | South Dakota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006–10 | 2.98 | 2.51 | 2.68 |
| 2010–14 | 2.66 | 2.51 | 2.73 |
| 2015–19 | 3.09 | 2.50 | 2.71 |
| 2020–24 | 3.50 | 2.48 | 2.65 |
| Change | +0.52 | −0.03 | −0.03 |
Willow Lake is a place of big households: 3.50 people per home on average, compared with 2.65 nationally. Numbers like that usually point to plenty of families with kids. Household size has climbed from 2.98 in 2006–10, but in a place this small, survey estimates can swing a lot from one release to the next.
Household size: the average number of people living in each occupied home. Source: BestNeighborhood calculations from U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-year block-group estimates (table B25010).
Median age in Willow Lake
| Period | Willow Lake | South Dakota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006–10 | 32.5 | 37.9 | 37.7 |
| 2010–14 | 28.0 | 38.3 | 38.6 |
| 2015–19 | 26.7 | 38.8 | 39.6 |
| 2020–24 | 22.6 | 38.9 | 40.1 |
| Change | −9.9 | +1.0 | +2.3 |
Willow Lake is young: half of its residents are under 22.6, compared with a national median of 40.1. The population tilts toward families with many children.
Median age: the age that splits residents into two equal halves. Source: BestNeighborhood calculations from U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-year block-group estimates (table B01002).
Single-parent households in Willow Lake
| Period | Willow Lake | South Dakota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006–10 | 9.5% | 10.8% | 12.3% |
| 2010–14 | 5.1% | 11.1% | 12.3% |
| 2015–19 | 5.3% | 10.9% | 11.6% |
| 2020–24 | 2.1% | 10.7% | 11.6% |
| Change | −7.4 pts | −0.1 pts | −0.6 pts |
Single parents head only 2.1% of households in Willow Lake, well below the national share of 11.6%.
Single-parent households: households where one adult with no spouse present lives with children under 18. Source: BestNeighborhood calculations from U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-year block-group estimates (table B11003).
Housing in Willow Lake
Renters in Willow Lake
| Period | Willow Lake | South Dakota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006–10 | 14.0% | 31.1% | 33.3% |
| 2010–14 | 21.0% | 32.0% | 35.6% |
| 2015–19 | 15.4% | 32.0% | 36.0% |
| 2020–24 | 29.4% | 31.4% | 34.8% |
| Change | +15.4 pts | +0.3 pts | +1.5 pts |
Most households in Willow Lake own their homes; 29.4% rent, a little below the national share of 34.8%. The picture is much the same across South Dakota. Among homeowners, 48.5% have no mortgage at all, above the national share of 39.8%.
Renters: occupied homes that are rented rather than owned. Source: BestNeighborhood calculations from U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-year block-group estimates (table B25003).
Vacant homes in Willow Lake
| Period | Willow Lake | South Dakota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006–10 | 11.9% | 11.3% | 11.4% |
| 2010–14 | 8.3% | 10.7% | 11.4% |
| 2015–19 | 20.3% | 11.6% | 11.1% |
| 2020–24 | 11.3% | 10.3% | 9.6% |
| Change | −0.6 pts | −1.1 pts | −1.8 pts |
Vacancy runs a little high in Willow Lake: 11.3% of homes are empty, against 9.6% nationally. The count includes vacation homes and homes between owners or tenants, not just abandoned ones. South Dakota as a whole looks much the same.
Vacant homes: homes with no one living in them, including vacation homes and homes for sale or rent. Source: BestNeighborhood calculations from U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-year block-group estimates (table B25002).
Age of homes in Willow Lake
| Period | Willow Lake | South Dakota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006–10 | 1938 | 1972 | 1974 |
| 2010–14 | 1947 | 1974 | 1975 |
| 2015–19 | 1938 | 1977 | 1977 |
| 2020–24 | 1959 | 1981 | 1980 |
| Change | +21 | +9 | +6 |
The housing in Willow Lake is old by national standards: the median home dates to 1959, against 1980 for the U.S., so buyers will find more older houses, some of them due for updates.
Age of homes: the year that splits the housing stock into older and newer halves. Source: BestNeighborhood calculations from U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-year block-group estimates (table B25035).
Rent in Willow Lake
| Period | Willow Lake | South Dakota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006–10 | $307 | $631 | $965 |
| 2010–14 | $348 | $692 | $1,040 |
| 2015–19 | $627 | $798 | $1,213 |
| 2020–24 | $845 | $1,000 | $1,571 |
| Change | +$538 | +$369 | +$606 |
The median renter in Willow Lake pays $845 a month for rent and utilities, well below the national median of $1,571. The typical renter here spends 20.1% of household income on rent, comfortably under the 30% mark often used to define affordable rent, and a smaller share than renters pay nationally.
Rent: monthly rent plus the utilities renters pay themselves. Source: BestNeighborhood calculations from U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-year block-group estimates (table B25064).
Education in Willow Lake
Bachelor's degrees in Willow Lake
| Period | Willow Lake | South Dakota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006–10 | 11.9% | 26.8% | 28.4% |
| 2010–14 | 20.9% | 27.8% | 29.6% |
| 2015–19 | 19.3% | 29.4% | 32.1% |
| 2020–24 | 29.4% | 32.5% | 35.6% |
| Change | +17.5 pts | +5.6 pts | +7.2 pts |
About three in ten adults 25 and older in Willow Lake (29.4%) have a bachelor's degree or higher, a little below the national share of 35.6%.
Bachelor's degrees: adults 25 and older with a bachelor's degree or higher. Source: BestNeighborhood calculations from U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-year block-group estimates (table B15003).
High school graduates in Willow Lake
| Period | Willow Lake | South Dakota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006–10 | 83.5% | 89.9% | 84.9% |
| 2010–14 | 91.8% | 91.0% | 86.1% |
| 2015–19 | 88.8% | 91.8% | 87.7% |
| 2020–24 | 95.5% | 93.1% | 89.3% |
| Change | +12.0 pts | +3.2 pts | +4.3 pts |
High school completion is high in Willow Lake: 95.5% of adults 25 and older have a diploma or equivalent, well above the national rate of 89.3%.
High school graduates: adults 25 and older with a high school diploma, GED or more. Source: BestNeighborhood calculations from U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-year block-group estimates (table B15003).
Jobs in Willow Lake
| Period | Willow Lake | South Dakota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006–10 | 4.4% | 4.9% | 8.1% |
| 2010–14 | 7.0% | 4.9% | 9.4% |
| 2015–19 | 0.1% | 3.6% | 5.6% |
| 2020–24 | 0.9% | 3.1% | 5.4% |
| Change | −3.5 pts | −1.7 pts | −2.7 pts |
The job market in Willow Lake has been strong: just 0.9% of the labor force was out of work and looking, well below the national rate of 5.4%. Each figure pools five years of surveys (2020–24), so it describes that whole stretch rather than today's job market.
Unemployment: people looking for work as a share of everyone working or looking. Source: BestNeighborhood calculations from U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-year block-group estimates (table B23025).
Willow Lake compared with nearby cities
| City | Household size | Median age | Single parents | Renters | Vacant homes | Median year built | Median rent | Bachelor's degree | High school diploma | Unemployment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willow Lake | 3.50 | 22.6 | 2.1% | 29.4% | 11.3% | 1959 | $845 | 29.4% | 95.5% | 0.9% |
| Vienna | 3.21 | 36.7 | 7.4% | 18.5% | 17.0% | 1959 | $753 | 20.7% | 89.2% | 0.3% |
| Bryant | 3.35 | 26.8 | 4.8% | 17.4% | 6.2% | 1958 | $862 | 17.4% | 90.3% | 0.6% |
| Bancroft | 3.00 | 38.7 | 7.1% | 18.5% | 16.7% | 1968 | $770 | 22.3% | 85.2% | 0.3% |
| Hazel | 2.81 | 35.3 | 5.2% | 17.4% | 20.9% | 1956 | $761 | 19.3% | 93.2% | 0.2% |
| Erwin | 3.47 | 28.9 | 8.5% | 16.3% | 15.2% | 1940 | $643 | 16.0% | 88.8% | 0.3% |
| Clark | 2.49 | 48.1 | 7.9% | 24.1% | 16.6% | 1964 | $778 | 15.8% | 91.0% | 6.3% |
| Carpenter | 2.78 | 41.2 | 6.9% | 15.2% | 16.5% | 1962 | $690 | 25.5% | 90.7% | 0.1% |
| Osceola | 2.51 | 37.4 | 4.5% | 16.5% | 15.9% | 1967 | $750 | 27.6% | 91.7% | 0.2% |
| Raymond | 3.06 | 42.5 | 6.3% | 17.6% | 18.6% | 1956 | $695 | 21.9% | 86.9% | 1.3% |
| DeSmet | 2.25 | 49.2 | 2.9% | 14.5% | 10.0% | 1963 | $611 | 25.0% | 93.9% | 0.1% |
All figures 2020–24.
Cities with similar populations: Woodford, SC · Danevang, TX · Crum, WV · Wingville, OR · Winston, MO · Wolf Creek, MT · Cokeburg, PA · Wolf Lake, MI · Cocolamus, PA · Coburn, PA
About these numbers
Every figure on this page is a BestNeighborhood calculation from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS), built up from the Census block groups that make up Willow Lake. Each ACS 5-year release pools five years of responses; this page shows the last 15 releases, 2006–10 through 2020–24. Neighboring releases share four of their five years, so they move gradually and small changes between them are within the survey's margin of error; in small places the lines can jump from one release to the next for the same reason. The maps show the same measures for each neighborhood, ranked against the whole country.
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