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Compare towns

Vermillion vs Brookings

105 miles apart. The biggest differences: trails (2.3× in Brookings) and household income (+26% in Brookings).

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Vermillion, SDA history townSouth Dakota · 11,878 people
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Brookings, SDA history townSouth Dakota · 23,948 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.

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 $240 more a month in Brookings

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.

Vermillion$1,790/mo
Typical home $276K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.47% · or rent about $764/mo · Housing →
Brookings$2,020/mo
Typical home $325K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.17% · or rent about $889/mo · Housing →

The difference: $240 a month, about $2,800 a year, between Brookings and Vermillion.

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

Brookings places higher on 15 of 25 SD lists

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
VermillionBrookings
Snow a year36″36″
January low—4°F
July high—81°F
Growing season (days)—145d
Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)46th35th
Outdoors & history
VermillionBrookings
Trails3 mi6 mi
Conserved land3%5.7%
Settled1859—
National Register places2629
Archive photos—6
Famous people born here—22
Community
VermillionBrookings
Library hours a week70 hrs66 hrs
Colleges in town11
Posts this month00
Neighbors joined10

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

105 miles apart

And the people who already live in one and work in the other.

Vermillion ↔ Brookings105 miles apart
Who commutes between them
59 Vermillion residents work in Brookings (1.5% of its workers)
Work & commute in Vermillion →
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.

VermillionBrookings
People
Population 11,878Lowest 23,948Highest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +10.6%Highest SD: +8.9% +6%Lowest SD: +8.9%
Median age 23.1±0.6Lowest 39% below SD 24.7±0.5Highest 35% below SD
Kids under 18 14.9%±2.1Lowest SD: 24.2% 18.6%±1.8Highest SD: 24.2%
Brookings and Vermillion are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+ 9.6%±1.7Lowest SD: 18% 12.1%±1.4Highest SD: 18%
Brookings and Vermillion are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 50.6%Highest SD: 31.9% 47.5%Lowest SD: 31.9%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 37.7%±3Highest SD: 5% 28.8%±1.9Lowest SD: 5%
Cost of living
Household incomemedian $50,456±$5kLowest 33% below SD $63,493±$6kHighest 15% below SD
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $219,000±$29kLowest 15% below SD $265,500±$16kHighest 3% above SD
Rentmedian gross, monthly $764±$51Lowest 19% below SD $889±$68Highest 6% below SD
Property taxmedian, yearly $3,214Highest 18% above SD $3,097Lowest 14% above SD
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 50.8%±12.8Highest SD: 39.8% 40.7%±6.9Lowest SD: 39.8%
Vermillion and Brookings are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line 24.4%Highest SD: 11.9% 16.9%Lowest SD: 11.9%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes 42%Lowest SD: 68.6% 47.7%Highest SD: 68.6%
Typical home builtmedian year 1978Lowest 2 yrs older than SD 1986Highest 6 yrs newer than SD
Getting to work
Average commuteone way 17 minHighest 5% below SD 13 minLowest 30% below SD
Work from home 6.4%±2.9Lowest SD: 9.7% 10.4%±2.3Highest SD: 9.7%
Brookings and Vermillion are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Work in townworking residents 47.6%Lowest 62.9%Highest
Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 2.3 mi 2.3 mi
Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.12Lowest 1.50Highest
Top workplaceoutside town Sioux Falls (14%)Sioux Falls (13%)
Between these townsresidents who work in the others 1% work in BrookingsFew work in Vermillion
Outdoors
Conserved landshare of the town 3%Lowest 5.7%Highest
Trailsmapped miles 2.7 miLowest 6.2 miHighest
Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.6 miHighest 0.4 miLowest
Parks & preservesnamed on the map 7Lowest 22Highest
Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 65.0Highest 55.6Lowest
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #9 of 34 in SD#21 of 34 in SD
School district Vermillion School District 13-1Brookings School District 05-1
High school in town Vermillion High School - 01Brookings High School - 01
Students per teacherat that high school 15.0Lowest 16.7Highest
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.

Vermillion neighborsTown Square →
T Weaver · 1w

Vermillion's Hidden Gems

1 neighbor in Vermillion can answer.

Brookings neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Brookings’s Town Square.

Add a town

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Bordering Vermillion

Towns like Vermillion

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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