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%

Wasta$680/mo

Typical home $109K (Census) · tax rate 1.23% · or rent about $775/mo · Housing →

Akaska$620/mo

Typical home $92K (Census) · tax rate est. 1.8% · Housing →

The difference: $60 a month, about $800 a year, between Wasta and Akaska.

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

WastaAkaska

Snow a year30″33″

January low9°F 4°F

July high89°F 84°F

Growing season (days)141d 145d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)74th 89th

Outdoors & history

WastaAkaska

Settled—1907

National Register places1 —

Archive photos—1

Community

WastaAkaska

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

144 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

WastaSD AkaskaSD

Wasta ↔ Akaska144 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

WastaAkaska

People

Population 70Lowest 104Highest

Median age 62.6±2.4Lowest 65% above SD 63.8±72.6Highest 68% above SD

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

Kids under 18 10%±25.5Highest SD: 24.2% 1.9%±23.7Lowest SD: 24.2%

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

Age 65+ 35.7%±37.7Lowest SD: 18% 46.2%±19.3Highest SD: 18%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 36.5%Highest SD: 31.9% 36.1%Lowest SD: 31.9%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 0%±20.2Lowest SD: 5% 17.3%±23.8Highest SD: 5%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $34,375±$17kLowest 54% below SD $40,625±$21kHighest 46% below SD

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $108,800±$20kHighest 58% below SD $91,700±$30kLowest 64% below SD

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

Rentmedian gross, monthly $775±$118 18% below SD —

Property taxmedian, yearly $1,341 51% below SD —

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 100%±100 SD: 39.8% 100%±74.2 SD: 39.8%

Below poverty line 8.6%Lowest SD: 11.9% 31.7%Highest SD: 11.9%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 84.6%Highest SD: 68.6% 65.3%Lowest SD: 68.6%

Typical home builtmedian year 1970Lowest 10 yrs older than SD 1986Highest 6 yrs newer than SD

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 22 minLowest 23% above SD 26 minHighest 43% above SD

Work from home 4.8%±6.4Highest SD: 9.7% 1.8%±3.3Lowest SD: 9.7%

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

Work in townworking residents 0% 0%

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 38.8 miHighest 26.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.07Lowest 0.20Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Rapid City (47%)Mobridge (20%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in AkaskaFew work in Wasta

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 0% 0%

Trailsmapped miles 0.2 miHighest 0.0 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 1.0 miHighest 0.0 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 0 0

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 84.8Highest 50.9Lowest

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.

Wasta neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Wasta’s Town Square.

Akaska neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Akaska’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Wasta and Akaska

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

Towns like Wasta

+ Compare

Le Sueur Township109 people

+ Compare

Oldham75 people

+ Compare

Taylor Township77 people

+ Compare

Riverside Township93 people

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.

Wasta vs Akaska

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs about the same each month

What daily life feels like in each

144 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Wasta and Akaska

Towns like Wasta

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