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%

Hoven$580/mo

Typical home $88K (Census) · tax rate 1.59% · Housing →

Alpena$320/mo

Typical home $52K (Census) · tax rate 1.18% · or rent about $925/mo · Housing →

The difference: $260 a month, about $3,100 a year, between Hoven and Alpena.

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.

Report cards

Grades and rankings, side by side

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every South Dakota ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Schools

A−HovenBetter than 84% of districts in the state –AlpenaNot graded

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

HovenAlpena

Snow a year33″45″

January low4°F 7°F

July high84°F 84°F

Growing season (days)145d 157d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)55th 61st

Outdoors & history

HovenAlpena

Settled1883 1883

National Register places1 1

Archive photos4 2

Famous people born here2 2

Community

HovenAlpena

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.

Where they are

101 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

HovenSD AlpenaSD

Hoven ↔ Alpena101 miles apart

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

HovenAlpena

People

Population 329Highest 317Lowest

Median age 35.9±11.6Highest 6% below SD 35.3±6.5Lowest 7% below SD

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

Kids under 18 26.4%±6.2Lowest SD: 24.2% 27.8%±5.5Highest SD: 24.2%

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

Age 65+ 25.8%±9.2Highest SD: 18% 15.5%±9.4Lowest SD: 18%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 14.6%Highest SD: 31.9% 5.8%Lowest SD: 31.9%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 0%±4.3Lowest SD: 5% 1.6%±3.7Highest SD: 5%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $60,625±$22kLowest 19% below SD $66,667±$25kHighest 11% below SD

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $88,300±$15kHighest 66% below SD $51,800±$11kLowest 80% below SD

Rentmedian gross, monthly — $925±$212 about the SD average

Property taxmedian, yearly $1,406Highest 48% below SD $611Lowest 78% below SD

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 30.4%±65.5Highest SD: 39.8% 11.5%±68Lowest SD: 39.8%

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

Below poverty line 6.9%Highest SD: 11.9% 6.6%Lowest SD: 11.9%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 79.3%Highest SD: 68.6% 78.5%Lowest SD: 68.6%

Typical home builtmedian year 1971Highest 9 yrs older than SD 1945Lowest 35 yrs older than SD

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 18 minHighest about the SD average 14 minLowest 20% below SD

Work from home 4.1%±3.8Lowest SD: 9.7% 7.6%±6Highest SD: 9.7%

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

Work in townworking residents 5%Lowest 15.9%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 18.3 miHighest 12.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.86Lowest 8.57Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Gettysburg (40%)Wessington Springs (39%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in AlpenaFew work in Hoven

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 0% 0%

Trailsmapped miles 0.0 mi 0.0 mi

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.0 mi 0.0 mi

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 0 0

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 155Highest 19.5Lowest

Schools

School district Hoven School District 53-2—

High school in town Hoven High School - 01—

Students per teacherat that high school 5.6 —

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.

Hoven neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Hoven’s Town Square.

Alpena neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Alpena’s Town Square.

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Towns like Hoven

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Letcher171 people · $102K 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.

Hoven vs Alpena

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $260 more a month in Hoven

Grades and rankings, side by side

What daily life feels like in each

101 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Hoven and Alpena

Towns like Hoven

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