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%

Pukwana$620/mo

Typical home $100K (Census) · tax rate 1.18% · or rent about $1,063/mo · Housing →

Wakonda$1,710/mo

Typical home $261K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.57% · or rent about $807/mo · Housing →

The difference: $1,090 a month, about $13,000 a year, between Wakonda and Pukwana.

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

PukwanaWakonda

Snow a year43″31″

January low9°F 7°F

July high87°F 84°F

Growing season (days)156d 151d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)65th 66th

Outdoors & history

PukwanaWakonda

Trails0 mi —

Conserved land21.3%—

Settled1881 1888

National Register places1 2

Community

PukwanaWakonda

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

117 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

PukwanaSD WakondaSD

Pukwana ↔ Wakonda117 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

PukwanaWakonda

People

Population 300Lowest 399Highest

Median age 52.3±14.7Lowest 38% above SD 54.4±16.3Highest 43% above SD

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

Kids under 18 17.3%±9.4Lowest SD: 24.2% 21.8%±7.8Highest SD: 24.2%

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

Age 65+ 19.7%±9.7Lowest SD: 18% 36.1%±6.9Highest SD: 18%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 13.4%Lowest SD: 31.9% 20.5%Highest SD: 31.9%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 0%±4.7Lowest SD: 5% 0.5%±2.6Highest SD: 5%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $63,750±$28kHighest 15% below SD $61,250±$10kLowest 18% below SD

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $100,000±$71kLowest 61% below SD $107,100±$15kHighest 58% below SD

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

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,063±$126Highest 12% above SD $807±$275Lowest 15% below SD

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

Property taxmedian, yearly $1,175Lowest 57% below SD $1,680Highest 38% below SD

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 52.2%±65.4Lowest SD: 39.8% 73.3%±78.5Highest SD: 39.8%

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

Below poverty line 2.3%Lowest SD: 11.9% 20.1%Highest SD: 11.9%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 81.9%Lowest SD: 68.6% 82.8%Highest SD: 68.6%

Typical home builtmedian year 1968Highest 12 yrs older than SD 1944Lowest 36 yrs older than SD

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 15 minLowest 16% below SD 23 minHighest 31% above SD

Work from home 5.8%±6.6Lowest SD: 9.7% 9.4%±7.3Highest SD: 9.7%

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

Work in townworking residents 1.8%Lowest 3.2%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 11.8 miLowest 18.3 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.13Lowest 0.68Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Kimball (23%)Vermillion (21%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in WakondaFew work in Pukwana

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 21.3%Highest 0%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 0.4 miHighest 0.0 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.5 miHighest 0.0 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 1Highest 0Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 33.9Lowest 102Highest

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.

Pukwana neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Pukwana’s Town Square.

Wakonda neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Wakonda’s Town Square.

Add a town

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Towns like Pukwana

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Florence317 people · $159K homes

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South Shore183 people · $87K homes

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Buffalo278 people · $114K homes

Not sure which town to add? Find your place ranks South Dakota towns on what matters to you.Find your place →

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.

Pukwana vs Wakonda

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $1,090 more a month in Wakonda

What daily life feels like in each

117 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Pukwana and Wakonda

Towns like Pukwana

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