The 10 Best Counties To Live In South Dakota For 2022


Using science and data, we can tell you which counties in South Dakota have the most for people looking to make the move to South Dakota.

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Some of you might be asking yourself, at this very moment: is South Dakota a good place?

The answer is unequivocally yes… if you know where to locate the best places to live in South Dakota.

Lucky for you, we’re here to help you identify the best counties to live in the Mount Rushmore State based on the most recently available data from the Census. And this isn’t our first rodeo — we’ve been helping people find the best places to live in America for years.

So, the question becomes, if you wanted to relocate to the best part of South Dakota, where would you go? To answer that we looked at crime, cost of living, and demographic data for all 64 counties in the state.

After the analytic dust settled, we identified the 10 best counties to live in Mount Rushmore State for 2022.

Stanley County is the county to be when it comes to living the good life in South Dakota. And you might want to avoid Todd County if you can — at least according to the data.

So if you’re thinking of making the move South Dakota, we’ve got you covered. Keep on reading for a detailed methodology.

Or, check out the best places to live in South Dakota and the cheapest places to live in South Dakota.

The Best Counties To Live In South Dakota For 2022

1. Stanley County

Fort Pierre, SD

Biggest Place: Fort Pierre

Population: 3,058
Median Income: $71,602.0 (3rd best)
Median Home Price: $154,900.0 (16th best)
Unemployment Rate: 0.0% (best)
More on Stanley County: PhotosData

2. Union County

Beresford, SD

Biggest Place: Dakota Dunes

Population: 15,659
Median Income: $74,006.0 (2nd best)
Median Home Price: $206,300.0 (5th best)
Unemployment Rate: 2.3% (27th best)
More on Union County: PhotosData

3. Hand County

Biggest Place: Miller

Population: 3,064
Median Income: $58,333.0 (29th best)
Median Home Price: $120,100.0 (3best)
Unemployment Rate: 0.0% (best)
More on Hand County: Data

4. Lincoln County

Beresford, SD

Biggest Place: Sioux Falls

Population: 58,887
Median Income: $84,260.0 (best)
Median Home Price: $240,200.0 (best)
Unemployment Rate: 2.7% (4best)
More on Lincoln County: PhotosData

5. Sully County

Biggest Place: Onida

Population: 1,278
Median Income: $60,508.0 (27th best)
Median Home Price: $130,800.0 (26th best)
Unemployment Rate: 0.6% (7th best)
More on Sully County: Data

6. Minnehaha County

Brandon, SD

Biggest Place: Sioux Falls

Population: 191,682
Median Income: $63,699.0 (14th best)
Median Home Price: $201,500.0 (6th best)
Unemployment Rate: 2.6% (38th best)
More on Minnehaha County: PhotosData

7. Potter County

Gettysburg, SD

Biggest Place: Gettysburg

Population: 2,311
Median Income: $57,120.0 (34th best)
Median Home Price: $106,000.0 (4best)
Unemployment Rate: 1.0% (10th best)
More on Potter County: Data

8. Hughes County

Pierre, SD

Biggest Place: Pierre

Population: 17,560
Median Income: $69,575.0 (4th best)
Median Home Price: $181,400.0 (10th best)
Unemployment Rate: 1.8% (2best)
More on Hughes County: PhotosData

9. Hyde County

Biggest Place: Highmore

Population: 1,446
Median Income: $59,844.0 (28th best)
Median Home Price: $104,300.0 (42nd best)
Unemployment Rate: 0.5% (5th best)
More on Hyde County: Data

10. Deuel County

Clear Lake, SD

Biggest Place: Clear Lake

Population: 4,309
Median Income: $67,396.0 (7th best)
Median Home Price: $120,300.0 (30th best)
Unemployment Rate: 1.3% (13th best)
More on Deuel County: Data

Methodology: How do you determine which South Dakota county is the best?

To give you the best county in South Dakota, we have to look at a handful of metrics that signal the quality of a place. To do that, we need to make some assumptions about what’s a “best county” and what isn’t. And, for reference, we are trying to make the kind of argument you’d make at a bar using facts, don’t take this analysis to court.

With that in mind, we went to two of the best sources of data on the internet; the American Community Survey data and FBI Crime data for the most recent time period.

We paid particular attention to:

  • Violent Crime Rates
  • Property Crime Rates
  • Median Home Values
  • Median Income
  • Unemployment Rates
  • Adult Education Levels
  • Health Insurance Coverage
  • Poverty Rates

We then ranked each county in South Dakota across each of the criteria from one to 64, with one being the best.

Taking the average rank across all criteria, we created a quality of life score with the county posting the lowest overall score being the “Best County To Live In South Dakota”.

The result is some of the safest, quiet, and best counties to raise a family in the Mount Rushmore State.

Read on to see why Stanley County is the best county, while Todd County is probably in contention for being the worst county in South Dakota.

Summary: The Best Counties In South Dakota To Call Home For 2018

It turns out living in South Dakota can vary from one part of the state to the next — who woulda thought?

But now you the know the really good parts and the parts to avoid and that’s why you came here to learn at the end of the day. And for that, you are welcome.

Here’s a look at the worst counties in South Dakota according to the data:

  1. Todd County
  2. Oglala Lakota County
  3. Jackson County

For more South Dakota reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Best Counties In South Dakota

County Rank Population Median Income Median Home Price
Stanley County 1 3,058 $71,602.0 $154,900.0
Union County 2 15,659 $74,006.0 $206,300.0
Hand County 3 3,064 $58,333.0 $120,100.0
Lincoln County 4 58,887 $84,260.0 $240,200.0
Sully County 5 1,278 $60,508.0 $130,800.0
Minnehaha County 6 191,682 $63,699.0 $201,500.0
Potter County 7 2,311 $57,120.0 $106,000.0
Hughes County 8 17,560 $69,575.0 $181,400.0
Hyde County 9 1,446 $59,844.0 $104,300.0
Deuel County 10 4,309 $67,396.0 $120,300.0
Edmunds County 11 3,876 $64,896.0 $110,600.0
Custer County 12 8,826 $64,556.0 $232,000.0
Brown County 13 38,988 $61,816.0 $171,200.0
Harding County 14 1,178 $61,111.0 $97,400.0
Marshall County 15 4,881 $68,056.0 $126,300.0
Hamlin County 16 6,104 $67,626.0 $161,400.0
Lake County 17 12,747 $63,165.0 $170,300.0
Turner County 18 8,325 $63,062.0 $137,500.0
Brookings County 19 35,115 $57,471.0 $187,100.0
Meade County 20 28,149 $62,275.0 $207,700.0
Kingsbury County 21 4,936 $61,316.0 $118,700.0
Hanson County 22 3,423 $63,750.0 $139,900.0
Grant County 23 7,125 $65,327.0 $136,200.0
Moody County 24 6,508 $61,894.0 $152,700.0
Codington County 25 28,133 $57,885.0 $182,400.0
Clark County 26 3,715 $50,709.0 $108,500.0
Hutchinson County 27 7,308 $61,290.0 $111,600.0
Campbell County 28 1,458 $54,228.0 $63,500.0
Mccook County 29 5,543 $66,208.0 $152,300.0
Aurora County 30 2,757 $65,132.0 $86,600.0
Yankton County 31 22,746 $61,878.0 $152,800.0
Spink County 32 6,438 $62,125.0 $89,500.0
Brule County 33 5,233 $57,181.0 $157,500.0
Haakon County 34 1,935 $40,673.0 $116,200.0
Sanborn County 35 2,372 $55,398.0 $106,700.0
Clay County 36 14,076 $51,447.0 $168,100.0
Lawrence County 37 25,806 $52,146.0 $224,200.0
Jerauld County 38 2,009 $49,265.0 $74,200.0
Miner County 39 2,213 $53,135.0 $87,000.0
Perkins County 40 2,996 $61,815.0 $100,700.0
Pennington County 41 112,504 $58,278.0 $197,200.0
Douglas County 42 2,913 $61,793.0 $84,100.0
Butte County 43 10,295 $49,353.0 $153,000.0
Davison County 44 19,890 $48,267.0 $153,600.0
Bon Homme County 45 6,914 $50,195.0 $89,000.0
Fall River County 46 6,721 $51,383.0 $136,800.0
Jones County 47 873 $46,688.0 $84,700.0
Beadle County 48 18,338 $53,461.0 $120,900.0
Walworth County 49 5,431 $51,481.0 $96,700.0
Roberts County 50 10,310 $50,877.0 $107,000.0
Tripp County 51 5,448 $54,054.0 $100,800.0
Charles Mix County 52 9,324 $52,348.0 $127,900.0
Mcpherson County 53 2,316 $51,379.0 $62,600.0
Day County 54 5,452 $46,753.0 $110,600.0
Faulk County 55 2,315 $49,423.0 $88,200.0
Gregory County 56 4,193 $44,706.0 $97,300.0
Dewey County 57 5,841 $45,859.0 $65,900.0
Lyman County 58 3,831 $54,484.0 $109,600.0
Bennett County 59 3,430 $41,887.0 $100,000.0
Ziebach County 60 2,767 $36,615.0 $68,800.0
Corson County 61 4,106 $36,705.0 $55,600.0
Jackson County 62 3,296 $24,549.0 $58,600.0
Oglala Lakota County 65 14,277 $31,423.0 $35,000.0
Todd County 66 10,308 $24,102.0 $26,600.0
Editor’s Note: We updated this article for 2022. This is our ninth time ranking the best counties to live in South Dakota.

About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.