The 10 Best Small Towns In South Dakota For 2026

You’ve seen these lists before. Best places to live in South Dakota. Best sururbs in South Dakota. Best counties in South Dakota.

Etc., etc., etc.

But they all focus on major cities and towns in the Mount Rushmore State, and no one pays attention to the little guy.

Well, that’s all about to change as we put together a list of the superb small towns in South Dakota based on numbers–not opinions or hearsay.

We’ll dive right into our methodology in the next section, but first, we thought you might want to know which places in South Dakota ranked the best based on Saturday Night Science.

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Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table

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The 15 Best Small Towns To Live In South Dakota For 2026

1. Dakota Dunes
2. Volga
3. Crooks
4. Dell Rapids
5. Hartford
6. Baltic
7. Aurora
8. Groton
9. Miller
10. Platte
11. Worthing
12. Milbank
13. Summerset
14. Lead
15. North Spearfish

What’s the best small town in South Dakota? Dakota Dunes is the best small town in South Dakota based on the most recent Census data. If you live in one of these small towns like Dakota Dunes, chances are, you’re not surprised. After all, you know how great you have it.

But for the rest of you–keep reading, and we’ll get to just why these small towns made our list.

For more reading on the Mount Rushmore State check out:

• Best Places To Live In South Dakota
• Cheapest Places To Live In South Dakota
• Most Dangerous Cities In South Dakota

The 15 Best Small Towns In South Dakota For 2026

1. Dakota Dunes

Overall SnackAbility

7.5
/10

Population: 3,936
Median Income: $136,125 (1st Best)
Median Home Value: $696,888 (1st Best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.4%

2. Volga

Source: Wikipedia User Jake DeGroot | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 2,408
Median Income: $78,828 (16th Best)
Median Home Value: $331,303 (18th Best)
Unemployment Rate: 1.4%

3. Crooks

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 1,268
Median Income: $98,984 (6th Best)
Median Home Value: $362,304 (11th Best)
Unemployment Rate: 1.4%

4. Dell Rapids

Source: Wikipedia User AlexiusHoratius | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 3,905
Median Income: $100,170 (4th Best)
Median Home Value: $362,131 (12th Best)
Unemployment Rate: 0.3%

5. Hartford

Source: Wikipedia User Jon Platek | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 3,478
Median Income: $99,893 (5th Best)
Median Home Value: $398,159 (8th Best)
Unemployment Rate: 0.9%

6. Baltic

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,502
Median Income: $107,768 (3rd Best)
Median Home Value: $362,919 (10th Best)
Unemployment Rate: 2.7%

7. Aurora

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,444
Median Income: $95,952 (8th Best)
Median Home Value: $293,469 (24th Best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.3%

8. Groton

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 1,691
Median Income: $89,861 (11th Best)
Median Home Value: $243,091 (30th Best)
Unemployment Rate: 1.1%

9. Miller

Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 1,363
Median Income: $57,500 (36th Best)
Median Home Value: $184,473 (42nd Best)
Unemployment Rate: 0.0%

10. Platte

Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 1,161
Median Income: $72,700 (24th Best)
Median Home Value: $334,625 (16th Best)
Unemployment Rate: 1.0%

11. Worthing

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,036
Median Income: $93,162 (9th Best)
Median Home Value: $302,916 (22nd Best)
Unemployment Rate: 1.0%

12. Milbank

Source: Wikipedia User Joel Bradshaw | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 3,525
Median Income: $56,011 (39th Best)
Median Home Value: $228,296 (33rd Best)
Unemployment Rate: 1.4%

13. Summerset

Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 3,022
Median Income: $119,271 (2nd Best)
Median Home Value: $424,113 (6th Best)
Unemployment Rate: 2.2%

14. Lead

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 3,006
Median Income: $73,047 (23rd Best)
Median Home Value: $380,311 (9th Best)
Unemployment Rate: 0.0%

15. North Spearfish

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 1,858
Median Income: $76,809 (19th Best)
Median Home Value: $438,881 (5th Best)
Unemployment Rate: 0.0%

Next 10 Cities

Methodology: How We Determined The Coolest Towns In South Dakota

We threw a lot of criteria at this report to get the best, most complete results of the best small towns in South Dakota possible.

Using the most recent data from the Census’s 2020-2024 American Community Survey, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Saturday Night Science, this is the criteria we used:

• Population Density (Higher is better)
• Lowest Unemployment Rates
• Housing costs (Higher is better. More demand.)
• Adjusted Median Income (Higher is better)
• Highly Educated Adults (Higher is better)
• Insurance Rates (Higher is better)
• Commute Times (Lower is better)

We looked at places with populations lower than 5,000 people and greater than 1,000, of which there were many – 55 to be exact.

We then ranked each place in each category with scores from 1 to 55, averaged them out, and the lowest scores went to our Best Small Towns in South Dakota. Top of that list — Dakota Dunes.

This is our eleventh time ranking the best small places to live in South Dakota.

Summary: Science Can Tackle Any Issue, Even Small Ones

We said it once, and we’ll say it again — this list: it’s just science. We did the research, crunched the numbers, and it turns out these 15 small towns in South Dakota are the best in which to live.

And who can argue with that?

The best small towns in South Dakota are Dakota Dunes, Volga, Crooks, Dell Rapids, Hartford, Baltic, Aurora, Groton, Miller, and Platte.

If you’re curious, here are the worst small towns in South Dakota:

1. Oglala
2. North Eagle Butte
3. Fort Thompson

For more South Dakota reading, check out:

• Best Places To Raise A Family In South Dakota
• Safest Places In South Dakota
• Worst Places To Live In South Dakota

Best Small Towns In South Dakota