Madison makes South Dakota’s top 10 on 10 lists
Madison is ranked on 38 lists against the 37 South Dakota towns with 2,500+ residents. It makes the top 10 on 10 and the top quarter on 6.
Madison is on South Dakota’s podium 2 times
Each list ranks every SD town with 2,500+ residents. Tap one to see the whole list with Madison marked.
1 spot from the top 3 for graduation rate
Lists where Madison sits just outside a milestone, and what it would take to get in.
Madison lands in the top half on 16 of 25 lists
Each dot is Madison’s spot on one list: the left end is #1 in SD, the right end is last. Areas where Madison does best come first.
Cooler summers than 89% of South Dakota
Not better or worse, just Madison’s character, from the lists where neither end is the “good” one. The most distinctive come first.
Every SD list, and where Madison lands
39 lists from Census, school, health, library, crime, climate and land data. Tap any list to see every town on it.
Getting around
Shortest commute#1 Milbank · 9.1 min
#2 Health
D Healthiest#1 Dakota Dunes · 94 / 100 #15 D Lowest obesity#1 Dakota Dunes · 29% #7
Fewest smokers#1 Colonial Pine Hills · 10%
#11
Most active#1 Harrisburg · 15%
#20
Fewest uninsured#1 Colonial Pine Hills · 5%
#20
D
Lowest depression#1 Dakota Dunes · 19%
#3
Closest to a top hospital#1 Sisseton · 0.4 mi
#17 Cost of living
Most affordable#1 Winner · 1.4 yrs
#9
Cheapest rent#1 Milbank · $548/mo
#21
Lowest property tax#1 Winner · $1,236/yr
#11 
Outdoors
Most conserved land#1 Chamberlain · 22.4%
#21
D
Most trails#1 Dakota Dunes · 2.8 mi / sq mi
#15
Most walkable#1 Mobridge · 144 / sq mi
#8 People
D Most educated#1 Dakota Dunes · 59.8% #16
Youngest#1 Vermillion · 23.1
#22
Oldest#1 Colonial Pine Hills · 59.5
#16
Most residents 65+#1 Hot Springs · 37.7%
#7
Most kids#1 Tea · 36.3%
#29 Libraries
Most-used libraries#1 Canton · 9.7 per resident
#4
Most library borrowing#1 Canton · 20.7 per resident
#9
Best libraries for kids#1 North Sioux City · 45.3 per child
#9 
The number on the right is Madison’s spot. All of South Dakota’s rankings, with the map → · National lists and other states: all rankings.
Do the numbers ring true?
The lists count what can be counted. Neighbors know the rest.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
- 2,500+ residents. Census estimates for smaller towns carry margins of error too wide to rank fairly, so they sit out every SD list.
- One town, one row. A city that is both a city and a town in Census data, or a village inside a town, is counted once.
- Ties share a rank. Towns on one weather station, one school district or one CDC estimate share a figure, so they share a spot (T).
- No “worst” lists. Lists rank toward the good end, and share cards are made only for the top half. Age, snow and the like are character, not grades.
U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey 5-year, 2010 and 2020 censuses, Building Permits Survey), U.S. Department of Education, FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, CDC PLACES, Medicare Care Compare, IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FHFA House Price Index, NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. Each list explains its own method.