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Place dossier plate
SheetSD-WHITEWOOD-SD · Whitewood, SD 746 pop · income 46th 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 Whitewood
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Whitewood on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Glenwood · lowest
31,250
Glenwood · lowest
31,250 median HH income
35.6% of the leader · rank #1
DeMotte · near
67,244
DeMotte · near
67,244 median HH income
76.6% of the leader · rank #2
Whitewood · this city
67,250
Whitewood · this city
67,250 median HH income
76.6% of the leader · rank #3
Bliss · near
67,250
Bliss · near
67,250 median HH income
76.6% of the leader · rank #4
Lockhart · near
67,252
Lockhart · near
67,252 median HH income
76.6% of the leader · rank #5
Monroe · near
67,265
Monroe · near
67,265 median HH income
76.6% of the leader · rank #6
Castlewood · highest
87,768
Castlewood · highest
87,768 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, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Whitewood on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. 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: 746.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Whitewood - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Whitewood lands in the 46th percentile for household income and the 89th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
46th
percentile, household income
47th
percentile, home value
13th
percentile, median rent
89th
percentile, safety
📝 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: Whitewood, SD
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 746 residents in Whitewood, a small town within South Dakota. The typical household in Whitewood brings in $67,250 a year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 4.7%. Typical homes in Whitewood are valued around $214,200, and the median resident age is 43.9 years. About 18.0% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 62.8% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 5 residential building permits were authorized in Whitewood (Construction Slowdown), down 29% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data. Whitewood reports a comparatively low crime rate: per-100,000 total crime stands at 415.8 in FBI UCR data, below the national average (a voluntary reporting program, read this as reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
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. 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 Whitewood'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 work and mobility to population change to schools and households to comparison shortlist to reported crime; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Whitewood, city-specific coverage includes local building permits, annual population history, FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
How far does income reach against housing in Whitewood?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.2 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 4.7%, 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. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
What does the journey to work look like in Whitewood?
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 73.1%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Is Whitewood 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 +84 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +9.4% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 5 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Which cities make useful reference points for Whitewood?
Within South Dakota, the closest population matches are Wessington Springs (747 residents, $46,750 income); Wanblee (744 residents); Woonsocket (753 residents, $52,283 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Marco Shores-Hammock Bay, FL (746 residents); Glenwood, GA (746 residents); Oldenburg, IN (746 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. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
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.
Schools and households
What does the education layer cover for Whitewood?
The NCES join finds 1 public school within the city match. 18.0% 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.
The matched institution count is small, so district boundaries and schools outside the city line may matter more than the municipal count suggests. Use the number as a coverage cue, then verify attendance zones with the district before making a household decision.
Matched public schools
1
Bachelor's degree+
18.0%
Poverty estimate
4.7%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Whitewood?
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 415.8 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 82% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
207.9
Violent rate
207.9
Total reported rate
415.8
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
Below median income · poverty 4.7% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
88.6 (US=100)
Very affordable · BEA RPP 2024, South Dakota average
C
City profile score · Whitewood, SD
56/100
5 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-
4.7%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime D
208 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Household income D
$67,250
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share F
18.0%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Whitewood profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 91/100 (A+) · 88.6 index
Poverty rate: 67/100 (B-) · 4.7%
Violent crime: 46/100 (D) · 208 /100k
Household income: 45/100 (D) · $67,250
Bachelor's+ share: 28/100 (F) · 18.0%
Where Whitewood sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Whitewood's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Whitewood highlighted among 21 peers.Read the chart values
Whitewood, SD (this city): home $214,200, crime 416/100k
New York, NY : home $751,700, crime 3,039/100k
Los Angeles, CA : home $879,500, crime 2,212/100k
Chicago, IL : home $315,200, crime 4,012/100k
Houston, TX : home $253,400, crime 5,442/100k
Phoenix, AZ : home $381,900, crime 3,125/100k
Philadelphia, PA : home $232,400, crime 5,457/100k
San Antonio, TX : home $219,700, crime 5,218/100k
San Diego, CA : home $848,500, crime 2,082/100k
Dallas, TX : home $295,300, crime 4,010/100k
San Jose, CA : home $1,187,800, crime 3,195/100k
Austin, TX : home $512,700, crime 3,709/100k
Fort Worth, TX : home $277,300, crime 3,158/100k
Columbus, OH : home $234,500, crime 3,088/100k
Indianapolis, IN : home $207,000, crime 4,214/100k
San Francisco, CA : home $1,380,500, crime 4,526/100k
Seattle, WA : home $912,100, crime 5,783/100k
Denver, CO : home $586,700, crime 5,755/100k
Oklahoma City, OK : home $215,100, crime 3,570/100k
El Paso, TX : home $171,700, crime 1,772/100k
Washington, DC : home $724,600, crime 4,514/100k
How does Whitewood compare to other US cities?
Here's how Whitewood stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income46% higher than other cities
Home value47% pricier than other cities
Median rent13% pricier than other cities
Safety89% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
Zoom in to just South Dakota and the picture shifts: Whitewood ranks #5 of 34 South Dakota cities by lowest crime rate, a different read than the national percentile above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Whitewood 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 Whitewood near the bottom of South Dakota's cities
Among the 303 South Dakota cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Whitewood ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Whitewood only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#108 of 285
62nd percentile in South Dakota
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 303
0th percentile in South Dakota
Median Home Value
#52 of 263
80th percentile in South Dakota
Poverty Rate
#177 of 302
41st percentile in South Dakota
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#176 of 303
41st 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
46th percentile nationally for median household income · 89th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Whitewood's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Whitewood's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Whitewood's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$214,200Among the most affordablemore affordable than 53% 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
Whitewood's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.2×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#7,621 of 15,516
More affordable than 51% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#6,307 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 3.2×, Whitewood sits in the moderate band:
national rank #7,621 of 15,516 and #6,307 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
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
$67,250Whitewood, SD median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Whitewood, 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 Whitewood, SD.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)18.0%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)4.7%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)62.8%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
746
Median Income
$67,250
Median Home Value
$214,200
Median Age
43.9
Poverty Rate
4.7%
Labor force participation
62.8%
Bachelor's Degree+
18.0%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
415.8
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
207.9
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
207.9
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Schools
Total Schools
1
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Whitewood's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
897 residents
2021
902 residents
2022
935 residents
2023
946 residents
2024
958 residents
2025
981 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
5
housing units authorized
Single-Family
2
detached homes
Multifamily
3
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
6.7
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
7
7
0
$1.1M
2020
5
5
0
$0.8M
2021
8
8
0
$1.6M
2022
2
2
0
$0.4M
2023
7
7
0
$1.4M
2024
5
2
3
$0.9M
Permit volume decreased 29% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
73.1%
Carpool
13.8%
Public Transit
0.5%
Walk
7.9%
Work from Home
4.1%
Other
0.6%
Based on 390 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 Whitewood. 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 Whitewood 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 Whitewood sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Whitewood 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, FBI UCR, 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.