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%

Yankton$1,710/mo

Typical home $276K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.13% · or rent about $790/mo · Housing →

Sturgis$2,350/mo

Typical home $377K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.19% · or rent about $780/mo · Housing →

The difference: $640 a month, about $7,700 a year, between Sturgis and Yankton.

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

Yankton places higher on 15 of 22 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.

Safety

CYanktonSafer than 28% of U.S. towns C−SturgisSafer than 23% of U.S. towns

Schools

B+YanktonBetter than 70% of districts in the state B−SturgisBetter than 51% of districts in the state

Health

B+YanktonHealthier than 65% of U.S. towns BSturgisHealthier than 61% of U.S. towns

15Yankton

5Sturgis

Lists won, of 22 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Lowest obesityHealth · 37 towns #35#4 Highest graduation rateSchools · 33 towns #3#24 Lowest depressionHealth · 37 towns #8#31 Most trailsOutdoors · 27 towns #8#22 Closest to a top hospitalHealth · 37 towns #28#15 Highest incomeIncome · 37 towns #22#34 Most remote workersWork · 37 towns #22#34 Shortest commuteGetting around · 37 towns #12#23

Left end = #1 in South Dakota. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Yankton’s rankings →

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

YanktonSturgis

Snow a year38″48″

January low10°F 15°F

July high87°F 86°F

Growing season (days)164d 147d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)55th 78th

Outdoors & history

YanktonSturgis

Trails8 mi 3 mi

Conserved land4.4%5.6%

Settled1858 1878

National Register places24 8

Community

YanktonSturgis

Library hours a week60 hrs 57 hrs

Colleges in town1 —

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

323 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

YanktonSD SturgisSD

Yankton ↔ Sturgis323 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

YanktonSturgis

People

Population 15,540Highest 7,086Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +6.6%Highest SD: +8.9% +5.9%Lowest SD: +8.9%

Median age 41.4±1.7Highest 9% above SD 40.3±3.3Lowest 6% above SD

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

Kids under 18 21.2%±2.2Lowest SD: 24.2% 22%±4Highest SD: 24.2%

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

Age 65+ 22%±2.7Highest SD: 18% 19.4%±3.3Lowest SD: 18%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 33.2%Highest SD: 31.9% 24.4%Lowest SD: 31.9%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 5.5%±1.2Highest SD: 5% 1.8%±1.5Lowest SD: 5%

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $67,804±$10kHighest 10% below SD $54,404±$9kLowest 28% below SD

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $222,700±$17kLowest 13% below SD $271,200±$30kHighest 5% above SD

Rentmedian gross, monthly $790±$61Highest 16% below SD $780±$214Lowest 18% below SD

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

Property taxmedian, yearly $2,507Lowest 8% below SD $3,222Highest 18% above SD

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 36%±8.3Lowest SD: 39.8% 41%±17.3Highest SD: 39.8%

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

Below poverty line 14.1%Highest SD: 11.9% 9.2%Lowest SD: 11.9%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 66.3%Lowest SD: 68.6% 66.9%Highest SD: 68.6%

Typical home builtmedian year 1976 4 yrs older than SD 1976 4 yrs older than SD

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 13 minLowest 25% below SD 18 minHighest about the SD average

Work from home 5.5%±2.7Highest SD: 9.7% 2%±1.4Lowest SD: 9.7%

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

Work in townworking residents 61.2%Highest 32.5%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 1.8 miLowest 12.3 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.32Highest 0.84Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Sioux Falls (9%)Rapid City (20%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in SturgisFew work in Yankton

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 4.4%Lowest 5.6%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 8.4 miHighest 2.5 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.9 miHighest 0.4 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 6Highest 3Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 66.6Highest 58.3Lowest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #12 of 34 in SD #10 of 34 in SD

School district Yankton School District 63-3Meade School District 46-1

High school in town Yankton High School - 01Sturgis Brown High School - 01

Students per teacherat that high school 18.0Highest 17.6Lowest

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.

Yankton neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Yankton’s Town Square.

Sturgis neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Sturgis’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Yankton and Sturgis

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

Bordering Yankton

+ Compare

Utica Township831 people · $234K homes

+ Compare

Mission Hill Township111 people · $240K homes

Towns like Yankton

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Pierre13,948 people · $231K homes

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Huron14,385 people · $159K homes

+ Compare

Watertown23,044 people · $229K homes

+ Compare

Aberdeen28,189 people · $217K 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.

Yankton vs Sturgis

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $640 more a month in Sturgis

Yankton places higher on 15 of 22 SD lists

What daily life feels like in each

323 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Yankton and Sturgis

Bordering Yankton

Towns like Yankton

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