Aberdeen, SD

Micro Area Profile

41,925 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Aberdeen, SD micropolitan area.

56out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 43% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 9 sources
OpportunityTop 35% of 835 metro and micro areas measured58
Growth777th of 834 metro and micro areas measured20
Housing affordabilityTop 20% of 835 metro and micro areas measured80
Climate811th of 835 metro and micro areas measured50
Physical resilienceTop 15% of 835 metro and micro areas measured80
Access821st of 835 metro and micro areas measured0
Economic stabilityTop 29% of 835 metro and micro areas measured69
The quick read

Unemployment is 1.9% and median household income $71,488, putting employment conditions in the middle range of metro and micro areas measured.

Residential permitting has slowed: 80 units authorized over the past twelve months, 50% below the prior year. That follows a longer stretch moving the other way, through 2025.

Rent takes 27% of renter income here, below the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 2.4 times what its owners earn.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
41,925
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$71,488
Top 37% nationally
Density
15/sq mi
2,839 sq mi of land
Median age
38.3
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Micropolitan area
South Dakota
Nearest major airport
FAR
132 mi · Hector Intl
Median home value
$215,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 1.9%, lower than in 99% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment fell 3.3% over the past year, to 21,218 employed residents.

33% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 77% of measured US metro and micro areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$2,8492024 ACS 5-Year$71,488Top 37%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,9212024 ACS 5-Year$41,173Top 24%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year10.7%Top 29%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.7 min2024 ACS 5-Year15.3 minTop 1%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year33.2%Top 23%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year78.3%58th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202621,218Bottom 27%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−3.8%Bottom 13%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−3.3%Bottom 9%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202621,62426th percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year83.2%Top 9%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year0.5%61st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+0.1%Bottom 31%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20261.9%Top 1%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year7.0%32nd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/072.41.5
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 1.9% in July 2026. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

51% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 65% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.6 students for every full-time teacher across 31 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
34
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.6
across 31 of them
Math proficiency
51.1%
2018-19 school year
Reading proficiency
64.5%
2018-19 school year
The 12 largest of 34 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Central High School - 01Aberdeen School District 06-11,38417.341%69%
Holgate Middle School - 02Aberdeen School District 06-149714.662%65%
Simmons Middle School - 03Aberdeen School District 06-146415.054%56%
Simmons Elementary - 10Aberdeen School District 06-138612.932%52%
C C Lee Elementary - 05Aberdeen School District 06-135614.867%67%
May Overby Elementary - 09Aberdeen School District 06-132711.747%52%
O M Tiffany Elementary - 11Aberdeen School District 06-130413.242%52%
Mike Miller Elementary - 07Aberdeen School District 06-128214.152%62%
Groton Area Elementary - 02Groton Area School District 06-627813.962%77%
Lincoln Elementary - 08Aberdeen School District 06-12338.337%47%
Ipswich Elementary - 02Ipswich Public School District 22-618212.172%72%
Groton Area High School - 01Groton Area School District 06-616812.965%85%

34.5% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against South Dakota’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,494 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.16% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $929, some 19% above the $783 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $929 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $37,200 a year, about 52% of the median household income here of $71,488.

The typical renter household here spends 27% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $783 a month.

A median home at $215,100 costs 2.4 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $87,822, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
26.9%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.4×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$929
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$783
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$215,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Aberdeen’s median household income of $71,488, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.4Top 39%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year68.9%43rd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±772024 ACS 5-Year19,98827th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$708Top 7%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,168Top 9%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$929Top 12%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$362024 ACS 5-Year$783Top 10%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$12,5382024 ACS 5-Year$215,10051st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1162024 ACS 5-Year$2,49466th percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$4,9022024 ACS 5-Year$87,822Top 36%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.09%2024 ACS 5-Year1.16%72nd percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year26.9%Top 23%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±882024 ACS 5-Year20916th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.0%28th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year9.3%67th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3402024 ACS 5-Year2,07321st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.

Development Momentum

20/ 100
Ranks 777 of 834 published metro profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2024 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has fallen 2% since 2020, to 41,522 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 80 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

At 1.9 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
80
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.9
Bottom 38% nationally
Year over year
−50%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202442k42k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been falling for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 85°F and January a low of 2°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 21.8 inches, including 42.7 inches of snow.

-10°10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station ABERDEEN, 14.6 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND3.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals21.8"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals42.7"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals2°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals85°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals60°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

80 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are cold wave, inland flooding and tornado, with cold wave alone responsible for 43% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 85% of measured US metro and micro areas.

Winter weatherModerate
Cold waveModerate
HailModerate
Ice stormModerate
Strong windElevated
WildfireModerate
TornadoElevated
Heat waveModerate
LightningModerate

Low or minimal exposure: inland flooding, landslide, drought, earthquake, coastal flooding, avalanche, tsunami, volcanic activity, hurricane.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Death-certificate rates
The CDC publishes these rates by county, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it do.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index by county, and only where a monitor sits, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it show it where one exists.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

No airport meeting the AreaProfile major-airport definition lies within 100 miles; the nearest is 132 miles away.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year88.0%Bottom 45%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle132 miBottom 1%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle0Bottom 1%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year8.6%Bottom 48%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Hector IntlFAR132 mi9,001 ft
Joe Foss FldFSD165 mi9,000 ft
Rapid City RgnlRAP237 mi8,701 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
56
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

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