A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Baker Township$930/mo

Typical home $138K (Census) · tax rate est. 1.8% · Housing →

Aurora Township$2,360/mo

Typical home $425K (Census) · tax rate 0.38% · Housing →

The difference: $1,440 a month, about $17,200 a year, between Aurora Township and Baker Township.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Where they are

Baker Township and Aurora Township share a border

Straight-line miles between town centers.

Baker TownshipAurora Township

Baker Township ↔ Aurora Township5.9 miles apart · They share a border

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

Baker TownshipAurora Township

Snow a year41″38″

January low9°F 8°F

July high87°F 86°F

Growing season (days)167d 153d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)49th 48th

Outdoors & history

Baker TownshipAurora Township

Trails6 mi —

Conserved land3.9%—

Archive photos—4

Community

Baker TownshipAurora Township

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs South Dakota average

Baker TownshipAurora Township

People

Population 56Lowest 124Highest

Median age 31.5±28.3Highest 17% below SD 8.5±20.5Lowest 78% below SD

Baker Township and Aurora Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 32.1%±38.2Lowest SD: 24.2% 54%±29.8Highest SD: 24.2%

Aurora Township and Baker Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 10.7%±47.4Highest SD: 18% 6.5%±26.3Lowest SD: 18%

Baker Township and Aurora Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 3.3%Lowest SD: 31.9% 35.1%Highest SD: 31.9%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 14.3%±22.2Highest SD: 5% 0%±11.4Lowest SD: 5%

Baker Township and Aurora Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $85,893±$42kLowest 14% above SD $93,636±$5kHighest 25% above SD

Aurora Township and Baker Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $137,500±$30kLowest 47% below SD $425,000±$192kHighest 65% above SD

Property taxmedian, yearly — $1,614 41% below SD

Below poverty line 0%Lowest SD: 11.9% 2.4%Highest SD: 11.9%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 100%Highest SD: 68.6% 90%Lowest SD: 68.6%

Typical home builtmedian year 2012Highest 32 yrs newer than SD 1953Lowest 27 yrs older than SD

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 16 min 11% below SD —

Work from home 10.7%±10.3Highest SD: 9.7% 5.7%±5.1Lowest SD: 9.7%

Baker Township and Aurora Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 0% 0%

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 17.8 miLowest 20.8 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.79Highest 0.29Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Mitchell (38%)Plankinton (17%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in Aurora TownshipFew work in Baker Township

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 3.9%Lowest 26.2%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 5.6 miHighest 0.0 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.2 miHighest 0.0 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 0 0

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 1.0Lowest 1.1Highest

South Dakota average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Baker Township neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Baker Township’s Town Square.

Aurora Township neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Aurora Township’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Baker Township and Aurora Township

One tap adds it. Up to 4 towns at once.

Bordering Baker Township

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Union Township18 people

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Tobin Township75 people · $236K homes

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Garfield Township66 people

Towns like Baker Township

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Strandburg58 people · $104K homes

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Lebanon76 people

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Eagle Township53 people

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York Township54 people · $269K homes

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Baker Township vs Aurora Township

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $1,440 more a month in Aurora Township

Baker Township and Aurora Township share a border

What daily life feels like in each

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Baker Township and Aurora Township

Bordering Baker Township

Towns like Baker Township

Post to Baker Township

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