Best Cities for Young Professionals in South Dakota

High incomes, educated peers, transit access and an under-35 demographic.

Retirees Remote Workers Families Young Professionals Affordability All Rankings →
All United States  ·  South Dakota

How We Score

Each metric is normalized 0-100 across U.S. cities, then weighted and summed. Cities missing any metric are excluded.

Income · 20% Educated Peers · 15% Young Demographic · 15% Jobs · 15% Transit · 10% Safety · 10% Broadband · 15%

Top 12 Young Professionals Cities in South Dakota

Ranked by composite score across 7 weighted metrics.

#1
Score 75.5
Tea, SD
6,339 residents
Income $104,643
Educated Peers 41.4%
Young Demographic 30 yrs
#2
Score 75.4
Summerset, SD
2,978 residents
Income $115,197
Educated Peers 41.1%
Young Demographic 34 yrs
#3
Score 73.5
Brandon, SD
10,996 residents
Income $104,806
Educated Peers 40.6%
Young Demographic 38 yrs
#4
Score 67.8
Brookings, SD
23,710 residents
Income $61,979
Educated Peers 49.7%
Young Demographic 25 yrs
#5
Score 63.8
Elk Point, SD
2,391 residents
Income $83,250
Educated Peers 32.8%
Young Demographic 34 yrs
#6
Score 62.9
Vermillion, SD
11,800 residents
Income $52,815
Educated Peers 50.6%
Young Demographic 23 yrs
#7
Score 62.6
Box Elder, SD
12,457 residents
Income $73,698
Educated Peers 29.8%
Young Demographic 29 yrs
#8
Score 61.8
Spearfish, SD
12,551 residents
Income $59,731
Educated Peers 43.6%
Young Demographic 37 yrs
#9
Score 60.9
Sioux Falls, SD
197,642 residents
Income $74,714
Educated Peers 37.4%
Young Demographic 35 yrs
#10
Score 60.3
Madison, SD
6,158 residents
Income $62,180
Educated Peers 35.7%
Young Demographic 40 yrs
#11
Score 59.1
Pierre, SD
14,008 residents
Income $74,053
Educated Peers 34.8%
Young Demographic 40 yrs
#12
Score 58.8
Platte, SD
1,310 residents
Income $71,641
Educated Peers 29.7%
Young Demographic 33 yrs

Full Ranking, South Dakota

Top 33 cities. Click any city to see its full profile.

1 Tea SD 75.5
2 Summerset SD 75.4
3 Brandon SD 73.5
4 Brookings SD 67.8
5 Elk Point SD 63.8
6 Vermillion SD 62.9
7 Box Elder SD 62.6
8 Spearfish SD 61.8
9 Sioux Falls SD 60.9
10 Madison SD 60.3
11 Pierre SD 59.1
12 Platte SD 58.8
13 Lennox SD 58.5
14 Aberdeen SD 57.4
15 Parkston SD 57.3
16 Yankton SD 57.1
17 Flandreau SD 56.3
18 Canton SD 56.1
19 Beresford SD 54.9
20 Chamberlain SD 54
21 Mitchell SD 53.6
22 Mobridge SD 52.9
23 Watertown SD 52.8
24 Huron SD 52.6
25 Belle Fourche SD 51.7
26 Lead SD 51.5
27 Sisseton SD 50.3
28 Sturgis SD 49.5
29 Winner SD 49.1
30 Hot Springs SD 39.4
31 Wagner SD 39.1
32 Clark SD 36.3
33 Deadwood SD 34.9

Tea, SD tops the list with a composite score of 75.5 out of 100, followed by Summerset and Brandon. SD dominates the top 12 with 12 cities, reflecting strong performance across the weighted metrics for young professionals.

Rankings combine 7 independent metrics: Income, Educated Peers, Young Demographic, Jobs, Transit, Safety, Broadband. Cities are weighted to reflect what matters most to young professionals, and any city missing one or more metrics is excluded to avoid artificially inflated rankings.

Explore Other Best Cities Rankings

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Related Single-Metric Rankings

Highest Income → Most Educated → Youngest Cities →