City · Brule County, South Dakota

Chamberlain, South Dakota

Chamberlain is a city in Brule County, South Dakota. It has 2,588 residents. Chamberlain, South Dakota has a quality-of-life score of 67 out of 100 (high), ranking #5,186 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within South Dakota it ranks #51 of 75 cities and towns. It ranks best on fine particulate matter (PM2.5) (low), time spent in the emergency room (low) and drug overdose deaths (low). It ranks worst on average weekly wage (low), distance to an Amtrak station (high) and broadband subscriptions (low).

67High

Quality-of-life score: #5,186 of 15,651 cities and towns
South Dakota: #51 of 75 in SD
Population: 2,588 (2020-2024)
Land area: 4 mi²
Density: 577.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 4611220

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 70 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety40#9,310/15,637
Economy51#7,736/15,631
Housing92#1,250/14,977
Health55#6,966/15,609
Healthcare42#9,121/15,650
Environment83#2,595/15,453
Education94#901/15,649
Infrastructure18#12,868/15,650
Community41#9,210/15,651
Leisure & amenities88#1,873/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Chamberlain, South Dakota ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Brule County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low4.0 µg/m³
99/100South Dakota 5.1 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyBrule County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low80 min
99/100South Dakota 115 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesBrule County value
Drug overdose deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100South Dakota 8.0 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100k2024Centers for Disease Control and PreventionBrule County value
Average commute time · low13.9 min
99/100South Dakota 17.8 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Restaurants and bars · high19.0 /10k
98/100South Dakota 10.6 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBrule County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · high15.2 /10k
98/100South Dakota 8.1 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBrule County value

Weaknesses

Average weekly wage · low$820
1/100South Dakota $1,165United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBrule County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · high224 mi
2/100South Dakota 185 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauBrule County value
Broadband subscriptions · low77.7%
4/100South Dakota 89.6%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Mental health care shortage · high19.0
4/100South Dakota 18.0United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationBrule County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100South Dakota 1.2 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBrule County value
Comfortable days · low22.5%
5/100South Dakota 22.8%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationBrule County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Child poverty rateImproving
18.5% (2015-2019) → 3.1% (2020-2024)
−15 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
New homes permittedWorsening
3.8 /1k (2021) → 1.2 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−69%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
23.2% (2015-2019) → 34.7% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Average commute timeWorsening
9.6 min (2015-2019) → 13.9 min (2020-2024)
+45%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Median household incomeImproving
$54,833 (2015-2019) → $76,761 (2020-2024)
+40%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
High school diploma or higherWorsening
94.4% (2015-2019) → 88.5% (2020-2024)
−5.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Chamberlain, South Dakota improved on 1 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 11 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Household income+40%$54,833 → $76,761

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Chamberlain, South Dakota between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	9.6 min2015-2019	13.9 min2020-2024	+4.3 min	Within the margin of error	12%
Bachelor's degree or higher	29.9%2015-2019	33.3%2020-2024	+3.4 points	Within the margin of error	55%
Broadband subscriptions	75.9%2015-2019	77.7%2020-2024	+1.8 points	Within the margin of error	14%
Effective property tax rate	1.37%2015-2019	1.07%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	75%
High school diploma or higher	94.4%2015-2019	88.5%2020-2024	−5.9 points	Within the margin of error	4%
Home price to income ratio	2.9×2015-2019	2.9×2020-2024	+0.1×	Within the margin of error	76%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4992015-2019	0.5012020-2024	+0.002	Within the margin of error	49%
Median household income	$54,8332015-2019	$76,7612020-2024	+40%	Improved	74%
Poverty rate	16.6%2015-2019	12.1%2020-2024	−4.5 points	Within the margin of error	78%
Rent as share of income	19.0%2015-2019	23.4%2020-2024	+4.4 points	Within the margin of error	25%
Rent-burdened households	23.2%2015-2019	34.7%2020-2024	+12 points	Within the margin of error	20%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	7.3%2015-2019	11.3%2020-2024	+3.9 points	Within the margin of error	14%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Chamberlain, South Dakota five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Chamberlain, South Dakota in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Chamberlain, South Dakota itself moved −6.7 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

2,588 residents (±218)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

925 households (±126)

Chamberlain, South Dakota
South Dakota share

Under $25k22%†208
$25k–50k18%†165
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

925 households (±126)

Chamberlain, South Dakota
South Dakota share

Own68%631
Rent32%294

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

1,094 workers (±161)

Chamberlain, South Dakota
South Dakota share

Drive alone77%842
Carpool12%†131
Public transit0.0%0

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Brule County, the county holding most of Chamberlain's residents.

Brule County has 222 employer establishments, 417 for every 10,000 residents (1.68× the US rate of 248; 1.32× South Dakota's), with 1,999 paid employees at an average annual pay of $40,237. The Census Bureau also counts 497 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 222; 497 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 417; US 248 · South Dakota 317
Paid employees: 1,999
Average annual pay: $40,237; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Brule County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	16	30.1	1.94×More than typical	49	$39,408	35
Restaurants and other eating places	13	24.4	1.33×More than typical	169	$20,728	—
Gasoline stations	10	18.8	5.79×More than typical	126	$26,127	—
Insurance agencies and brokerages	9	16.9	3.85×Too few to compare	21	$45,095	12
Ambulatory health care services	8	15	0.72×Too few to compare	46	$48,826	16
Construction of buildings	8	15	1.99×Too few to compare	22	$38,818	9
Traveler accommodation	8	15	8.33×Too few to compare	91	$20,275	5
Automotive repair and maintenance	7	13.2	2.61×Too few to compare	41	$44,780	9
Building equipment contractors	7	13.2	2.19×Too few to compare	17	$38,529	10
Religious organizations	7	13.2	2.37×Too few to compare	41	$16,537	—
Amusement, gambling and recreation industries	6	11.3	4.24×Too few to compare	17	$40,000	8
Foundation, structure and building exterior contractors	6	11.3	3.58×Too few to compare	16	$40,125	4

Rank places for an industry Open Brule County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 5,323 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $4,623 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Chamberlain, South Dakota: $1.79 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $4,623; −93% vs FY2025
Per resident: $1.79; US $1,995
Sole-source: 23%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

5.6KFY2017
51.7KFY2018
15.1KFY2019
6.3KFY2020
16.4KFY2021
33.4KFY2022
42.6KFY2023
21.7K

Top industries (NAICS)

Waste collection · 5621$2,43253%
Utility system construction · 2371$2,19247%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 6, 2026, loaded Oct 6, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Chamberlain, South Dakota, so they do not add up across cities.

Chamberlain, South Dakota's figures are part of those of Brule County, SD ($274K in FY2026), never added to them: 1.7% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Chamberlain is mostly in Brule County.

See federal money in Brule County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Chamberlain, South Dakota is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Dusty JohnsonR-SD · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 4.7%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Brule County79100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Brule County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/4611220

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends