Milbank, South Dakota

Population

Steady. Within 1% of 2020, every year since.

3,512

people, the 22nd-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.

64.0%

of 2,581 jobs located in Milbank are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Rent

Median rent is up 1% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$548

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

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

The seam

Cross one tract line and median rent jumps $562.

A $562 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Grant County.

• $745 Tract 9531
• $1,307 Tract 9533

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.

$1,137–$1,706

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $548 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

Most of the housing here is older than 2000.

• 32 homes permitted, 2022–2025
• 9% of those were in multifamily buildings
• 88% of all homes were built before 2000

Census Building Permits Survey, 2022–2025; Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census Building Permits Survey, Census ACS 5-year

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0.2–1.5% to the 1,738 homes here.

3–26

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 40% less than South Dakota's.

$155,000

median home value in Milbank.

• $155,000 Milbank
• $257,400 South Dakota
• $332,700 U.S.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year