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Place dossier plate
SheetSD-WESSINGTON-SD · Wessington, SD 192 pop · income 43rd 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 Wessington
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Wessington on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Rockholds · lowest
28,158
Rockholds · lowest
28,158 median HH income
19.2% of the leader · rank #1
Wessington · this city
65,250
Wessington · this city
65,250 median HH income
44.4% of the leader · rank #2
New Meadows · near
65,250
New Meadows · near
65,250 median HH income
44.4% of the leader · rank #3
Fairview · near
65,250
Fairview · near
65,250 median HH income
44.4% of the leader · rank #4
Rippey · near
65,250
Rippey · near
65,250 median HH income
44.4% of the leader · rank #5
Dover · near
65,250
Dover · near
65,250 median HH income
44.4% of the leader · rank #6
Glenview Manor · highest
146,875
Glenview Manor · highest
146,875 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 Wessington 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: 192.
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Wessington places in the 43rd percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
43rd
percentile, household income
8th
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: Wessington, SD
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 192 residents in Wessington, a small town within South Dakota. Wessington households earn a median of $65,250 annually, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 18.0%. Typical homes in Wessington are valued around $95,000, and the median resident age is 33.0 years. Educational attainment runs 22.6% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 70.8% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Living costs in South Dakota run below the national norm: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts South Dakota at 88.6 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Well Below Average). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $990 per month. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts South Dakota's average monthly utility costs around $200 (state average). 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 Wessington'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 comparison shortlist to population change to housing and income to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Wessington, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for matched public-school count, local building permits, within-city Census tract profiles, FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Comparison shortlist
Which cities make useful reference points for Wessington?
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 Wentworth (189 residents, $91,875 income); Delmont (196 residents, $43,542 income); Reliance (196 residents, $53,594 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Tomales, CA (192 residents); Rockfield, IN (192 residents); Wilsey, KS (192 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.
Is Wessington growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +5 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +2.6% change. No comparable local building-permit series is available here, so population change should not be read as a housing-supply measure. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
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.
How far does income reach against housing in Wessington?
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 1.5 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 18.0%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
What does the journey to work look like in Wessington?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 92.8%. 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. The profile is strongly car-oriented, so a relocation comparison should put trip distance, vehicle access, and household fuel costs ahead of a citywide commute average. The same-state peer links offer a more relevant benchmark than a national label.
Below median income · poverty 18.0% (High poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
88.6 (US=100)
Very affordable · BEA RPP 2024, South Dakota average
D
City profile score · Wessington, SD
48/100
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.
Household income D
$65,250
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share D
22.6%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate F
18.0%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Wessington profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 91/100 (A+) · 88.6 index
Household income: 42/100 (D) · $65,250
Bachelor's+ share: 42/100 (D) · 22.6%
Poverty rate: 17/100 (F) · 18.0%
How does Wessington compare to other US cities?
Where Wessington 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 value8% 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 Wessington 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 Wessington near the bottom of South Dakota's cities
Among the 303 South Dakota cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Wessington ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Wessington only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#120 of 285
58th percentile in South Dakota
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 303
0th percentile in South Dakota
Median Home Value
#180 of 263
31st percentile in South Dakota
Poverty Rate
#62 of 302
79th percentile in South Dakota
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#120 of 303
60th 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 Wessington's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$95,000Among the most affordablemore affordable than 92% 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
Wessington's home-value-to-income ratio: 1.5×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#331 of 15,516
More affordable than 98% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#325 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 1.5×, Wessington sits in the affordable band:
national rank #331 of 15,516 and #325 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
$65,250Wessington, SD median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Wessington, 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 Wessington, SD.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)22.6%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)18.0%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)70.8%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
192
Median Income
$65,250
Median Home Value
$95,000
Median Age
33.0
Poverty Rate
18.0%
Labor force participation
70.8%
Bachelor's Degree+
22.6%
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Wessington's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
196 residents
2021
196 residents
2022
196 residents
2023
196 residents
2024
198 residents
2025
201 residents
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
92.8%
Carpool
3.1%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
1.0%
Work from Home
3.1%
Based on 97 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 Wessington. 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 Wessington 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 Wessington sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Wessington 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 ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.