Brookings, South Dakota

Population

Growing. Up 8.5% since 2020.

25,355

people, the 4th-largest of South Dakota's cities and towns.

Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among South Dakota's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates

The workday

6 in 10 jobs here go to people who live somewhere else.

58.3%

of 16,488 jobs located in Brookings are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Rent

Median rent is up 56% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$889

a month. South Dakota's median is $946.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

The seam

Cross one tract line and median rent jumps $625.

A $625 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Brookings County.

• $803 Tract 9590
• $1,428 Tract 9588.03

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Room to build

Local wages can carry more rent than the median charged today.

$1,124–$1,686

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $889 median

Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year

Building

65% of the housing here was built before 2000.

• 1,381 homes permitted in ten years, 2016–2025
• 47% of those were in multifamily buildings
• 65% of all homes were built before 2000

Census Building Permits Survey, 2016–2025; Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census Building Permits Survey, Census ACS 5-year

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 1–2% to the 9,984 homes here.

55–165

is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.

Range computed by the Almanac from 2023 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac

Home value

A median home costs 3% more than South Dakota's.

$265,500

median home value in Brookings.

• $265,500 Brookings
• $257,400 South Dakota
• $332,700 U.S.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census ACS 5-year