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%

Bruce$2,390/mo

Typical home $366K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.53% · or rent about $692/mo · Housing →

Sterling Township$3,270/mo

Typical home $559K (Census) · tax rate 0.74% · Housing →

The difference: $890 a month, about $10,700 a year, between Sterling Township and Bruce.

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

Bruce and Sterling Township share a border

Straight-line miles between town centers.

BruceSterling Township

Bruce ↔ Sterling Township4.2 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

BruceSterling Township

Snow a year36″36″

January low4°F 4°F

July high81°F 81°F

Growing season (days)145d 145d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)57th 57th

Outdoors & history

BruceSterling Township

Trails—2 mi

Conserved land—1.3%

National Register places1 2

Archive photos2 —

Community

BruceSterling 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

BruceSterling Township

People

Population 290Lowest 345Highest

Median age 38.7±6.9Lowest about the SD average 51.5±6.5Highest 36% above SD

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

Kids under 18 31.4%±9.5Highest SD: 24.2% 20.3%±21.6Lowest SD: 24.2%

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

Age 65+ 17.2%±8Highest SD: 18% 9.6%±12.5Lowest SD: 18%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 25.4%Highest SD: 31.9% 23.5%Lowest SD: 31.9%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 2.1%±4.1Lowest SD: 5% 2.6%±5.5Highest SD: 5%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $55,000±$28kLowest 27% below SD $144,318±$8kHighest 92% above SD

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $114,100±$53kLowest 56% below SD $558,800±$186kHighest 117% above SD

Rentmedian gross, monthly $692±$258 27% below SD —

Property taxmedian, yearly $1,750Lowest 36% below SD $4,133Highest 52% above SD

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 44%±69.6 SD: 39.8% —

Below poverty line 6.2%Highest SD: 11.9% 0%Lowest SD: 11.9%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 77.3%Lowest SD: 68.6% 100%Highest SD: 68.6%

Typical home builtmedian year 1940Lowest 40 yrs older than SD 2011Highest 31 yrs newer than SD

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 20 minHighest 13% above SD 16 minLowest 10% below SD

Work from home 11.6%±10Highest SD: 9.7% 5.1%±7.6Lowest SD: 9.7%

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

Work in townworking residents 3%Highest 0.5%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 11.3 miHighest 9.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.41Highest 0.04Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Brookings (45%)Brookings (46%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in Sterling TownshipFew work in Bruce

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 0%Lowest 1.3%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 0.2 miLowest 1.7 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.5 miHighest 0.0 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 0 0

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 112Highest 1.3Lowest

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.

Bruce neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Bruce’s Town Square.

Sterling Township neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Sterling Township’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Bruce and Sterling Township

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

Bordering Bruce

+ Compare

Oakwood Township246 people · $281K homes

Towns like Bruce

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Stickney284 people · $132K homes

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Mission Hill200 people · $104K homes

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Langford481 people · $125K homes

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Kennebec296 people · $156K 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.

Bruce vs Sterling Township

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $890 more a month in Sterling Township

Bruce and Sterling 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 Bruce and Sterling Township

Bordering Bruce

Towns like Bruce

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