Codington County, SD

County Profile

28,767 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Codington County, SD.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

69out of 100
Area Score
Top 17% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
OpportunityTop 29% of 1,463 counties measured66
SchoolsTop 14% of 1,377 counties measured79
GrowthTop 3% of 1,453 counties measured81
Housing affordabilityTop 7% of 1,462 counties measured86
Climate1,405th of 1,463 counties measured51
Physical resilienceTop 47% of 1,463 counties measured62
Access1,409th of 1,463 counties measured34
Economic stabilityTop 6% of 1,463 counties measured92
The quick read

Unemployment is 1.7% and median household income $72,727, putting employment conditions in the middle range of counties measured.

Public schools test above most of the state: 54% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 14% of published profiles for schools.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 287 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 97% on the prior year. That follows a longer stretch moving the other way, through 2025.

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
28,767
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$72,727
Top 31% nationally
Density
42/sq mi
687.6 sq mi of land
Median age
40.4
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Codington County
South Dakota
Micro area
Nearest major airport
FSD
98 mi · Joe Foss Fld
Median home value
$237,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 1.7%, lower than in 99% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment fell 1.0% over the past year, to 16,358 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$65,92466th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$56,60946th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$4,7782024 ACS 5-Year$72,727Top 31%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,5862024 ACS 5-Year$39,825Top 26%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$69,475Top 18%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year7.5%Top 10%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.9 min2024 ACS 5-Year15.4 minTop 3%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year21.4%Bottom 45%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year83.7%89th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202616,358Bottom 23%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−0.4%Bottom 44%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−1.0%Bottom 42%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202616,64823rd percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year87.2%Top 2%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year0.5%73rd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 20260.0%Bottom 40%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20261.7%Top 1%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year5.6%22nd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/072.61.3
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 1.7% in July 2026. It has been falling, 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.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202473k61k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $72,727 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

54% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 63% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.0 students for every full-time teacher across 16 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
16
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.0
across all schools here
Math proficiency
53.8%
Top 7% in South Dakota
Reading proficiency
63.4%
Top 21% in South Dakota
The 12 largest of 16 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Watertown High School - 01Watertown School District 14-41,22217.056%79%
Watertown Middle School - 02Watertown School District 14-457515.150%67%
Watertown Intermediate School - 13Watertown School District 14-453214.453%61%
Lincoln Elementary - 05Watertown School District 14-436115.077%67%
Jefferson Elementary - 09Watertown School District 14-433314.562%57%
McKinley Early Childhood Center - 06Watertown School District 14-429614.152%52%
Mellette Elementary - 07Watertown School District 14-426714.157%57%
Florence Elementary - 02Florence School District 14-117916.342%47%
Waverly-South Shore Elementary - 02Waverly School District 14-512811.625%35%
Florence High School - 01Florence School District 14-110211.3——
Henry Elementary - 02Henry School District 14-29310.370%50%
Waverly-South Shore High School - 01Waverly School District 14-58612.330%30%

35.4% 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.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of South Dakota is up 47% over five years, and up 3.1% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,308 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.97% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,083, some 15% above the $938 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,083 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $43,300 a year, about 60% of the median household income here of $72,727.

The typical renter household here spends 24% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $938 a month.

A median home at $237,700 costs 2.7 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $87,411, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
24.0%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.7×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,083
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$938
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$237,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Codington County’s median household income of $72,727, 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 change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of South Dakota’s figure2026 Q2+3.1%38th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of South Dakota’s figure2026 Q2+47.1%61st percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of South Dakota’s figure2026 Q2+89.6%43rd percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.7Bottom 39%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year69.8%28th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±632024 ACS 5-Year13,53352nd percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$825Top 30%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,319Top 28%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,083Top 38%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$462024 ACS 5-Year$938Bottom 39%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$15,3232024 ACS 5-Year$237,70069th percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1222024 ACS 5-Year$2,30872nd percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$3,8652024 ACS 5-Year$87,411Top 28%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.08%2024 ACS 5-Year0.97%63rd percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year24.0%Top 19%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1642024 ACS 5-Year35550th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year2.6%49th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year4.8%14th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2642024 ACS 5-Year1,00731st percentileof 3,2222024 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

81/ 100
Top 3% of 1,453 published county profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2022 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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 grown 3% since 2020, reaching 29,278 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 142 units authorized in 2025, 11% below the prior year.

70% of the 287 units permitted over the past twelve months are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses.

Federal tax returns show Codington County gained about 0.5% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $65,924, above the $56,609 of households that moved out.

At 10.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
287
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
10.0
Top 7% nationally
Year over year
+97%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
69.7%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202429k28k
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 rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.5%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
43%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$65,924
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$56,609
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Hamlin County, SD 77 people · 6.5% of arrivals
  2. Minnehaha County, SD 75 people · 6.4% of arrivals
  3. Brown County, SD 59 people · 5.0% of arrivals
  4. Grant County, SD 52 people · 4.4% of arrivals
  5. Deuel County, SD 45 people · 3.8% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Minnehaha County, SD 132 people · 12% of departures
  2. Brookings County, SD 67 people · 6.3% of departures
  3. Hamlin County, SD 61 people · 5.7% of departures
  4. Lincoln County, SD 50 people · 4.7% of departures
  5. Deuel County, SD 46 people · 4.3% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2022202320242025160133
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was close to 2022 (0%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 82°F and January a low of 3°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 22.7 inches, including 41.1 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 37, in the Good band, and one day a year passes 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

-10°10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station WATERTOWN RGNL AP, 4.9 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND3.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year582024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals22.7"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals41.1"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals3°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals82°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year12024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year372024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals59°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
37
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
58
90th percentile index
Days above 100
1
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

62 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 48% of it. Cold wave is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

TornadoElevated
HailModerate
Inland floodingElevated
Strong windModerate
Heat waveModerate
LightningModerate

Low or minimal exposure: ice storm, winter weather, cold wave, wildfire, drought, landslide, 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). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Codington County records 0.0 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at about 10.3 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at about 8.4 per 100,000 residents in Codington County.

Homicide
0.0
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
10.3
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
8.4
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
17.0
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe Codington County as a whole. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

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.
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

1 major airport lies within 100 miles, the nearest Joe Foss Fld at 98 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year87.6%Top 44%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle98 miBottom 4%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle1Bottom 3%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year10.2%Top 50%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Joe Foss FldFSD98 mi9,000 ft
Hector IntlFAR136 mi9,001 ft
Sioux Gateway/Brig General Bud Day FldSUX182 mi9,002 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.

Customize your score

What matters to you?

Choose what you weight most heavily. Nothing is saved to an account — your preferences stay in this browser, and the Area Score never changes.

Area Score
69
Your Score
—

Select one or more priorities to see how this location scores against them.

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)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
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
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
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.

Cities in Codington County, SD