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Place dossier plate
SheetSD-CLEAR-LAKE-SD · Clear Lake, SD 1,333 pop · income 43rd pct · 2 tracts
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Clear Lake
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Clear Lake on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Mission · lowest
34,000
Mission · lowest
34,000 median HH income
35.3% of the leader · rank #1
Mehlville · near
65,395
Mehlville · near
65,395 median HH income
67.9% of the leader · rank #2
Port Lavaca · near
65,395
Port Lavaca · near
65,395 median HH income
67.9% of the leader · rank #3
Puget Island · near
65,395
Puget Island · near
65,395 median HH income
67.9% of the leader · rank #4
Clear Lake · this city
65,398
Clear Lake · this city
65,398 median HH income
67.9% of the leader · rank #5
Dasher · near
65,404
Dasher · near
65,404 median HH income
68.0% of the leader · rank #6
Liberty · highest
96,250
Liberty · highest
96,250 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Clear Lake on ACS population and median household income
. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 1,333.
Nationally, Clear Lake sits in the 43rd percentile for household income among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS.
43rd
percentile, household income
25th
percentile, home value
13th
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Clear Lake, SD
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 1,333 residents in Clear Lake, a small town within South Dakota. The typical household in Clear Lake brings in $65,398 a year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 3.7%. Typical homes in Clear Lake are valued around $144,400, and the median resident age is 44.1 years. Educational attainment runs 26.8% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 53.8% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 2 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Low Activity). NOAA puts Clear Lake's yearly average temperature at 42.4°F with 27.5 inches of precipitation per year and 60.7 inches of snowfall.
Living costs in South Dakota run below the national norm: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, South Dakota scores 88.6 (Well Below Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $990 per month statewide. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in South Dakota run around $200, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 26.8 out of 100 (Very Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Clear Lake's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from housing and income to within-city variation to work and mobility to comparison shortlist to climate and hazard context to schools and households to population change; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Clear Lake, city-specific coverage includes local building permits, within-city Census tract profiles, commute-mode shares, matched public-school count, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Clear Lake?
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. The ratio makes housing the clearest place to start this profile, but a low multiple can coexist with slow demand, older stock, or household-level hardship. Compare the home-value distribution and same-state peer table before treating it as an advantage.
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 2.2 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 3.7%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
What can 2 Census tracts reveal inside Clear Lake?
PlainCities matches 2 Census tracts to this city.
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
What does the journey to work look like in Clear Lake?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 79.6%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Which cities make useful reference points for Clear Lake?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.
Within South Dakota, the closest population matches are Gregory (1,330 residents, $47,629 income); Gettysburg (1,344 residents, $59,667 income); Miller (1,346 residents, $51,774 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Harlan, IN (1,333 residents); Oxford, IN (1,333 residents); Bellevue, MI (1,333 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Climate and hazard context
What physical conditions frame life in Clear Lake?
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 42.4°F, with 27.5 inches of precipitation and 60.7 inches of annual snowfall. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for South Dakota is 26.8 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
FEMA risk index (state avg)
26.8
Annual precipitation
27.5 in
Mean temperature
42.4°F
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
What does the education layer cover for Clear Lake?
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
The NCES join finds 3 public schools within the city match. 26.8% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
Poverty estimate
3.7%
Bachelor's degree+
26.8%
Matched public schools
3
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Is Clear Lake growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -1 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -0.1% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 2 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
The recent population line is broadly flat. That makes the composition of change more important than the headline count: housing turnover, household size, and age structure can shift even when the total barely moves.
2020 estimate
1,221
2025 estimate
1,220
Period change
-0.1%
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
Below median income · poverty 3.7% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
88.6 (US=100)
Very affordable · BEA RPP 2024, South Dakota average
C+
City profile score · Clear Lake, SD
64/100
4 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Cost of living A+
88.6 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Poverty rate B
3.7%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share C-
26.8%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income D
$65,398
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Clear Lake profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 91/100 (A+) · 88.6 index
Poverty rate: 74/100 (B) · 3.7%
Bachelor's+ share: 52/100 (C-) · 26.8%
Household income: 43/100 (D) · $65,398
How does Clear Lake compare to other US cities?
Where Clear Lake sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income43% higher than other cities
Home value25% pricier than other cities
Median rent13% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Clear Lake against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to South Dakota only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
South Dakota-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Clear Lake near the bottom of South Dakota's cities
Among the 303 South Dakota cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Clear Lake ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Clear Lake only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#119 of 285
58th percentile in South Dakota
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 303
0th percentile in South Dakota
Median Home Value
#108 of 263
59th percentile in South Dakota
Poverty Rate
#192 of 302
35th percentile in South Dakota
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#79 of 303
73rd percentile in South Dakota
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within South Dakota only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
43rd percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Clear Lake's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$144,400Among the most affordablemore affordable than 75% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Clear Lake's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.2×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#2,498 of 15,516
More affordable than 84% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#2,342 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.2×, Clear Lake sits in the affordable band:
national rank #2,498 of 15,516 and #2,342 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$65,398Clear Lake, SD median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Clear Lake, SD median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Clear Lake, SD.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)26.8%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)3.7%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)53.8%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
1,333
Median Income
$65,398
Median Home Value
$144,400
Median Age
44.1
Poverty Rate
3.7%
Labor force participation
53.8%
Bachelor's Degree+
26.8%
Climate
Avg Temperature
42.4°F
Annual Precipitation
27.5"
Annual Snowfall
60.7"
Schools
Total Schools
3
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Clear Lake's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
1,221 residents
2021
1,216 residents
2022
1,229 residents
2023
1,224 residents
2024
1,217 residents
2025
1,220 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Low Activity
Total Permits (2024)
2
housing units authorized
Single-Family
2
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
1.5
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
0
0
0
-
2020
1
1
0
$0.2M
2021
0
0
0
-
2022
1
1
0
$0.4M
2023
2
2
0
$0.7M
2024
2
2
0
$0.7M
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
79.6%
Carpool
12.5%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
3.3%
Work from Home
2.5%
Other
2.1%
Based on 569 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
South Dakota statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $200
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across South Dakota at $200 (electricity about $95 , water and sewer about $40 ).
These are South Dakota statewide averages, not a meter reading for Clear Lake. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
South Dakota's BEA cost-of-living index is 88.6 (Well Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Clear Lake is $990/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to South Dakota statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 26.8 / 100 (Very Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a South Dakota statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Clear Lake sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Clear Lake compares to similar-size South Dakota cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.