Sinai, South Dakota

Population

Growing. Up 8.5% since 2020.

102

people, the 227th-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

Nearly every job here goes to someone who lives somewhere else.

98.4%

of 63 jobs located in Sinai are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Rent

Median rent is $1,031 a month.

$1,031

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

Census ACS 5-year, 2015-2019 (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 $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

The median rent is above what local wages can carry.

$406–$609

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $1,031 median

Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2015-2019. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year

Building

Most of the housing here is older than 2000.

• 96% of all homes were built before 2000

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

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0–1% to the 81 homes here.

0–1

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 65% less than South Dakota's.

$89,300

median home value in Sinai.

• $89,300 Sinai
• $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