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Place dossier plate
SheetSD-OACOMA-SD · Oacoma, SD 505 pop · income 50th pct
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 Oacoma
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Oacoma on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Napier Field · lowest
43,393
Napier Field · lowest
43,393 median HH income
22.9% of the leader · rank #1
Oacoma · this city
70,250
Oacoma · this city
70,250 median HH income
37.1% of the leader · rank #2
Monroe City · near
70,250
Monroe City · near
70,250 median HH income
37.1% of the leader · rank #3
Garfield · near
70,250
Garfield · near
70,250 median HH income
37.1% of the leader · rank #4
Meridian · near
70,250
Meridian · near
70,250 median HH income
37.1% of the leader · rank #5
Lyndon Station · near
70,250
Lyndon Station · near
70,250 median HH income
37.1% of the leader · rank #6
Woodland · highest
189,107
Woodland · highest
189,107 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 Oacoma 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: 505.
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Oacoma places in the 50th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
50th
percentile, household income
32nd
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: Oacoma, SD
505 people live in Oacoma, South Dakota - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Households in Oacoma report a median income of $70,250 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 4.0%. Typical homes in Oacoma are valued around $165,800, and the median resident age is 45.8 years. 21.3% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 58.6% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 2 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Stable), up 0% from five years earlier.
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. HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $990 per month. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in South Dakota run around $200, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. Natural-hazard exposure scores 26.8 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Very Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Oacoma'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 population change to work and mobility to housing and income to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Oacoma, city-specific coverage includes local building permits, commute-mode shares, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count, within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Population change
Is Oacoma growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +5 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +1.3% 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.
What does the journey to work look like in Oacoma?
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.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 80.1%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
How far does income reach against housing in Oacoma?
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 2.4 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 4.0%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Oacoma?
Within South Dakota, the closest population matches are Montrose (514 residents, $86,000 income); Prairiewood (496 residents, $118,681 income); Newell (494 residents, $52,277 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Napier Field, AL (505 residents); Silas, AL (505 residents); Humeston, IA (505 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.
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.
Below median income · poverty 4.0% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
88.6 (US=100)
Very affordable · BEA RPP 2024, South Dakota average
C+
City profile score · Oacoma, SD
63/100
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
4.0%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income C-
$70,250
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share F
21.3%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Oacoma profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 91/100 (A+) · 88.6 index
Poverty rate: 72/100 (B) · 4.0%
Household income: 50/100 (C-) · $70,250
Bachelor's+ share: 38/100 (F) · 21.3%
How does Oacoma compare to other US cities?
Here's how Oacoma stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income50% higher than other cities
Home value32% 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 Oacoma 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 Oacoma near the bottom of South Dakota's cities
Among the 303 South Dakota cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Oacoma ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Oacoma only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#95 of 285
67th percentile in South Dakota
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 303
0th percentile in South Dakota
Median Home Value
#90 of 263
66th percentile in South Dakota
Poverty Rate
#186 of 302
38th percentile in South Dakota
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#129 of 303
57th 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
50th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Oacoma's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$165,800Among the most affordablemore affordable than 68% 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
Oacoma's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.4×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#3,281 of 15,516
More affordable than 79% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#3,005 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.4×, Oacoma sits in the affordable band:
national rank #3,281 of 15,516 and #3,005 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
$70,250Oacoma, SD median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Oacoma, 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 Oacoma, SD.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)21.3%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)4.0%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)58.6%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
505
Median Income
$70,250
Median Home Value
$165,800
Median Age
45.8
Poverty Rate
4.0%
Labor force participation
58.6%
Bachelor's Degree+
21.3%
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Oacoma's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
386 residents
2021
390 residents
2022
386 residents
2023
386 residents
2024
388 residents
2025
391 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Stable
Total Permits (2024)
2
housing units authorized
Single-Family
2
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
4
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
2
2
0
$0.3M
2020
1
1
0
$0.1M
2021
1
1
0
$0.4M
2022
2
2
0
$0.5M
2023
0
0
0
-
2024
2
2
0
$0.3M
Permit volume increased 0% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
80.1%
Carpool
9.3%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
1.3%
Work from Home
3.5%
Other
5.8%
Based on 226 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 Oacoma. 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 Oacoma 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 Oacoma sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Oacoma 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, 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.