South Dakota cities

The best places to live in South Dakota

South Dakota's largest cities ranked on cost, safety, schools, jobs and quality of life. Aberdeen leads the list.

We scored South Dakota's cities on the same factors as our state rankings, then ranked them. Below are the 7 largest by population. Two scores per city: value (what you get for the cost) and overall livability (everything combined). Tap any city for its full profile.

#CityMedian homeRentValueOverall
1 Aberdeen $167,200 $704 67 69
2 Watertown $174,900 $822 68 58
3 Brookings $198,000 $806 30 55
4 Sioux Falls $218,600 $892 47 51
5 Yankton $166,000 $662 78 51
6 Mitchell $149,200 $732 39 37
7 Rapid City $208,400 $898 22 29

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Sources: Home prices and rent from Zillow; income and jobs from the U.S. Census; schools from state education data; crime from the FBI; air quality from the EPA. Rankings are within South Dakota. Updated 2026.