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%

Sinai$570/mo

Typical home $89K (Census) · tax rate 1.37% · Housing →

Capitola Township$1,070/mo

Typical home $179K (Census) · tax rate 0.89% · Housing →

The difference: $500 a month, about $6,000 a year, between Capitola Township and Sinai.

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

–SinaiNot graded B+Capitola TownshipBetter than 71% of districts in the state

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

SinaiCapitola Township

Snow a year36″23″

January low4°F —

July high81°F —

Growing season (days)145d —

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)57th 29th

Outdoors & history

SinaiCapitola Township

Trails—5 mi

Conserved land—12.1%

Settled1907 —

Archive photos1 —

Famous people born here1 —

Community

SinaiCapitola 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

60 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

SinaiSD Capitola TownshipSpink County

Sinai ↔ Capitola Township60 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

SinaiCapitola Township

People

Population 215Highest 192Lowest

Median age 24.9±22.6Lowest 34% below SD 28.3±28.1Highest 26% below SD

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

Kids under 18 43.7%±20Highest SD: 24.2% 42.2%±34.3Lowest SD: 24.2%

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

Age 65+ 3.3%±13.4Lowest SD: 18% 17.7%±13.6Highest SD: 18%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 22.6%Lowest SD: 31.9% 27.8%Highest SD: 31.9%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 0%±6.6 SD: 5% 0%±7.4 SD: 5%

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $56,875±$27k 24% below SD —

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $89,300±$19kLowest 65% below SD $178,500±$168kHighest 31% below SD

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

Property taxmedian, yearly $1,222Lowest 55% below SD $1,583Highest 42% below SD

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 32%±80.5Highest SD: 39.8% 0%±100Lowest SD: 39.8%

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

Below poverty line 1.9%Lowest SD: 11.9% 35.4%Highest SD: 11.9%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 66.7%Highest SD: 68.6% 59.7%Lowest SD: 68.6%

Typical home builtmedian year 1938Lowest 42 yrs older than SD 1993Highest 13 yrs newer than SD

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 29 minHighest 65% above SD 9 minLowest 48% below SD

Work from home 0%±11.4Lowest SD: 9.7% 15%±15.6Highest SD: 9.7%

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

Work in townworking residents 2%Highest 0%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 15.8 miLowest 48.3 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.92Highest 0.03Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Brookings (41%)Aberdeen (13%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in Capitola TownshipFew work in Sinai

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 15.2%Highest 12.1%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 0.1 miLowest 5.2 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.3 miHighest 0.1 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 0Lowest 1Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 43.3Highest 0.7Lowest

Schools

School district —Doland School District 56-2

High school in town —Hillside Colony High School - 07

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.

Sinai neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Sinai’s Town Square.

Capitola Township neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Capitola Township’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Sinai and Capitola Township

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Towns like Sinai

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Oslo Township246 people

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Norris Township172 people · $95K homes

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Milltown Township202 people · $166K 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.

Sinai vs Capitola Township

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $500 more a month in Capitola Township

Grades and rankings, side by side

What daily life feels like in each

60 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Sinai and Capitola Township

Towns like Sinai

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