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Compare towns

Oacoma vs Gayville

127 miles apart. The biggest differences: street grid (10.1× in Gayville) and jobs per worker (5.5× in Oacoma).

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Oacoma, SDA small town of 548South Dakota · 548 people
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Gayville, SDKnown for its schoolsSouth Dakota · 519 people
Where each one shines

Two towns, two different strengths

What each town does better than most of its state (not better than each other). Tap one to see the page behind it.

OacomaA small town of 548
Quiet strengthsOacoma doesn’t stand out on the data we haveNeighbors can tell you what the numbers miss.
All about Oacoma →
The biggest differences

Where they part ways

The rows below where the towns are furthest apart, beyond the Census margin of error. The full table is further down.

★ What stands out · Monthly cost

A typical home costs $400 more a month in Oacoma

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.

Oacoma$1,020/mo
Typical home $172K (Census) · tax rate 0.87% · or rent about $883/mo · Housing →
Gayville$620/mo
Typical home $99K (Census) · tax rate 1.24% · or rent about $602/mo · Housing →

The difference: $400 a month, about $4,800 a year, between Oacoma and Gayville.

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.

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
OacomaGayville
Snow a year43″38″
January low9°F10°F
July high87°F87°F
Growing season (days)156d164d
Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)85th66th
Outdoors & history
OacomaGayville
Settled—1892
Community
OacomaGayville
Posts this month00
Neighbors joined00

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

127 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

Oacoma ↔ Gayville127 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.

OacomaGayville
People
Population 548Highest 519Lowest
Median age 40.2±6.3Lowest 6% above SD 40.8±9.5Highest 7% above SD
Gayville and Oacoma are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18 25.4%±7.7Highest SD: 24.2% 22.9%±3.2Lowest SD: 24.2%
Oacoma and Gayville are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+ 26.6%±5.8Highest SD: 18% 19.7%±5.3Lowest SD: 18%
Oacoma and Gayville are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 18.8%Highest SD: 31.9% 15.5%Lowest SD: 31.9%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 3.5%±3.4 SD: 5% 3.5%±2.3 SD: 5%
Cost of living
Household incomemedian $73,333±$26kLowest about the SD average $79,375±$22kHighest 6% above SD
Gayville and Oacoma are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $171,700±$82kHighest 33% below SD $99,300±$22kLowest 61% below SD
Oacoma and Gayville are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Rentmedian gross, monthly $883±$105Highest 7% below SD $602±$54Lowest 36% below SD
Property taxmedian, yearly $1,494Highest 45% below SD $1,230Lowest 55% below SD
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 23.4%±51.5Lowest SD: 39.8% 42.2%±49.9Highest SD: 39.8%
Gayville and Oacoma are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line 5.5%Highest SD: 11.9% 4%Lowest SD: 11.9%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes 77.7%Lowest SD: 68.6% 80.9%Highest SD: 68.6%
Typical home builtmedian year 1988Highest 8 yrs newer than SD 1969Lowest 11 yrs older than SD
Getting to work
Average commuteone way 15 minLowest 16% below SD 20 minHighest 12% above SD
Work from home 6.1%±7.1Lowest SD: 9.7% 6.4%±3.8Highest SD: 9.7%
Gayville and Oacoma are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Work in townworking residents 7%Highest 1.3%Lowest
Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 34.8 miHighest 15.8 miLowest
Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.49Highest 0.27Lowest
Top workplaceoutside town Presho (10%)Yankton (33%)
Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in GayvilleFew work in Oacoma
Outdoors
Conserved landshare of the town 59.6%Highest 0%Lowest
Trailsmapped miles 0.8 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 11.9Lowest 121Highest
Schools
School district —Gayville-Volin School District 63-1
High school in town —Gayville-Volin High School - 01
Students per teacherat that high school — 15.3
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.

Oacoma neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Oacoma’s Town Square.

Gayville neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Gayville’s Town Square.

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Bordering Oacoma

Towns like Oacoma

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.

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