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%

Jefferson$2,520/mo

Typical home $399K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.27% · Housing →

Sverdrup Township$2,250/mo

Typical home $368K (Census) · tax rate 1.05% · Housing →

The difference: $270 a month, about $3,200 a year, between Jefferson and Sverdrup 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.

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

JeffersonSverdrup Township

Snow a year36″40″

January low10°F —

July high85°F —

Growing season (days)159d —

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)82nd 32nd

Outdoors & history

JeffersonSverdrup Township

Trails0 mi 2 mi

Conserved land1.2%0%

Settled1859 —

National Register places1 4

Archive photos2 —

Famous people born here2 —

Community

JeffersonSverdrup 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.

Where they are

77 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

JeffersonSD Sverdrup TownshipMinnehaha County

Jefferson ↔ Sverdrup Township77 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

JeffersonSverdrup Township

People

Population 554Lowest 861Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -13.2%Lowest SD: +8.9% +14.5%Highest SD: +8.9%

Median age 40.6±12Lowest 7% above SD 43.2±12.2Highest 14% above SD

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

Kids under 18 22.6%±8.8Lowest SD: 24.2% 25.7%±3.7Highest SD: 24.2%

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

Age 65+ 18.6%±2.7Highest SD: 18% 15.8%±3.2Lowest SD: 18%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 23.2%Lowest SD: 31.9% 24.9%Highest SD: 31.9%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 1.1%±1.4Highest SD: 5% 0%±1.6Lowest SD: 5%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $82,888±$21kLowest 10% above SD $118,438±$37kHighest 58% above SD

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $179,400±$23kLowest 30% below SD $367,900±$40kHighest 43% above SD

Property taxmedian, yearly $2,284Lowest 16% below SD $3,879Highest 42% above SD

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 13%±77.6Lowest SD: 39.8% 100%±42.9Highest SD: 39.8%

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

Below poverty line 4.9%Highest SD: 11.9% 0%Lowest SD: 11.9%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 91%Highest SD: 68.6% 89.1%Lowest SD: 68.6%

Typical home builtmedian year 1974Lowest 6 yrs older than SD 1996Highest 16 yrs newer than SD

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 22 minHighest 24% above SD 20 minLowest 13% above SD

Work from home 8.1%±9.6Lowest SD: 9.7% 13.7%±7.8Highest SD: 9.7%

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

Work in townworking residents 1%Lowest 4%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 8.8 miLowest 11.8 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.11Lowest 0.97Highest

Top workplaceoutside town North Sioux City (20%)Sioux Falls (53%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in Sverdrup TownshipFew work in Jefferson

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 1.2%Highest 0%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 0.0 miLowest 1.9 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.0 miLowest 0.1 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 1Highest 0Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 57.0Highest 1.9Lowest

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.

Jefferson neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Jefferson’s Town Square.

Sverdrup Township neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Sverdrup Township’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Jefferson and Sverdrup Township

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

Towns like Jefferson

+ Compare

Newell378 people · $141K homes

+ Compare

Sheridan Township445 people · $265K homes

+ Compare

Langford481 people · $125K homes

+ Compare

Hurley394 people · $111K 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.

Jefferson vs Sverdrup Township

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $270 more a month in Jefferson

What daily life feels like in each

77 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Jefferson and Sverdrup Township

Towns like Jefferson

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