City · Perkins County, South Dakota

Lemmon, South Dakota

Lemmon is a city in Perkins County, South Dakota. It has 1,208 residents. Lemmon, South Dakota has a quality-of-life score of 69 out of 100 (high), ranking #4,817 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within South Dakota it ranks #47 of 75 cities and towns. It ranks best on violent crime rate (low), grocery stores (high) and public libraries (high). It ranks worst on mental health care shortage (high), dentists (low) and flu vaccinations (low).

69High

Quality-of-life score: #4,817 of 15,651 cities and towns
South Dakota: #47 of 75 in SD
Population: 1,208 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 1,100.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 4636340

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 68 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.

Safety90#1,527/15,637
Economy16#13,184/15,631
Housing89#1,578/14,977
Health66#5,366/15,609
Healthcare9#14,234/15,650
Environment89#1,667/15,453
Education88#1,948/15,649
Infrastructure14#13,503/15,650
Community71#4,481/15,651
Leisure & amenities84#2,479/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Lemmon, South Dakota ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Perkins 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

Violent crime rate · low0 /100k
100/100South Dakota 308 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationPerkins County value
Grocery stores · high7.0 /10k
100/100South Dakota 2.0 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPerkins County value
Public libraries · high7.1 /10k
100/100South Dakota 1.4 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesPerkins County value
Average commute time · low9.2 min
100/100South Dakota 17.8 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Social associations · high21.2 /10k
99/100South Dakota 15.4 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePerkins County value
Drug overdose deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100South Dakota 8.0 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataPerkins County value

Weaknesses

Mental health care shortage · high22.0
0/100South Dakota 18.0United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationPerkins County value
Dentists · low0 /100k
0/100South Dakota 65 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePerkins County value
Flu vaccinations · low14.0%
0/100South Dakota 45.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePerkins County value
Distance to an airport · high276 mi
0/100South Dakota 114 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauPerkins County value
Distance to an emergency room · high29.1 mi
1/100South Dakota 6.9 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesPerkins County value
Average weekly wage · low$838
2/100South Dakota $1,165United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPerkins County value

Trends

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

Child poverty rateWorsening
6.9% (2015-2019) → 32.1% (2020-2024)
+25 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
73.6% (2015-2019) → 84.2% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
16.2% (2015-2019) → 22.9% (2020-2024)
+6.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Poverty rateWorsening
15.3% (2015-2019) → 22.0% (2020-2024)
+6.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
44.2% (2015-2019) → 37.6% (2020-2024)
−6.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
1.4× (2015-2019) → 1.7× (2020-2024)
+21%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×

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, Lemmon, 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

Broadband+11 points73.6% → 84.2%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Lemmon, South Dakota between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	8.4 min2015-2019	9.2 min2020-2024	+0.8 min	Within the margin of error	38%
Bachelor's degree or higher	16.2%2015-2019	22.9%2020-2024	+6.7 points	Within the margin of error	78%
Broadband subscriptions	73.6%2015-2019	84.2%2020-2024	+11 points	Improved	63%
Effective property tax rate	1.23%2015-2019	1.49%2020-2024	+0.3 points	Within the margin of error	2%
High school diploma or higher	89.1%2015-2019	92.5%2020-2024	+3.4 points	Within the margin of error	71%
Home price to income ratio	1.4×2015-2019	1.7×2020-2024	+0.3×	Within the margin of error	61%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4162015-2019	0.4502020-2024	+0.034	Within the margin of error	24%
Median household income	$46,9642015-2019	$50,1472020-2024	+6.8%	Within the margin of error	13%
Poverty rate	15.3%2015-2019	22.0%2020-2024	+6.7 points	Within the margin of error	9%
Rent as share of income	27.2%2015-2019	23.4%2020-2024	−3.8 points	Within the margin of error	78%
Rent-burdened households	44.2%2015-2019	37.6%2020-2024	−6.6 points	Within the margin of error	75%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	16.3%2015-2019	15.8%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Within the margin of error	53%

“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 Lemmon, South Dakota five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Lemmon, 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, Lemmon, South Dakota itself moved −0.4 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

1,208 residents (±164)

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

544 households (±69)

Lemmon, South Dakota
South Dakota share

Under $25k29%†156
$25k–50k21%†115
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

544 households (±69)

Lemmon, South Dakota
South Dakota share

Own73%397
Rent27%†147

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

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

544 workers (±90)

Lemmon, South Dakota
South Dakota share

Drive alone77%418
Carpool9.2%†50
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 Perkins County, the county holding most of Lemmon's residents.

Perkins County has 113 employer establishments, 402 for every 10,000 residents (1.62× the US rate of 248; 1.27× South Dakota's), with 734 paid employees at an average annual pay of $41,192. The Census Bureau also counts 298 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 113; 298 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 402; US 248 · South Dakota 317
Paid employees: 734
Average annual pay: $41,192; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	7	24.9	1.19×Too few to compare	62	$36,000	12
Automotive repair and maintenance	6	21.3	4.24×Too few to compare	16	$37,750	5
Religious organizations	6	21.3	3.85×Too few to compare	9	$19,222	—
Specialty trade contractors	6	21.3	1.38×Too few to compare	35	$42,514	28
Truck transportation	6	21.3	4.22×Too few to compare	13	$40,615	16
Insurance agencies and brokerages	5	17.8	4.05×Too few to compare	8	$52,250	8
Restaurants and other eating places	5	17.8	0.97×Too few to compare	34	$12,676	—
Banks and credit unions	4	14.2	4.40×Too few to compare	33	$58,576	—
Full-service restaurants	4	14.2	1.85×Too few to compare	29	$12,862	—
Building equipment contractors	3	10.7	1.77×Too few to compare	17	$53,294	—
Gasoline stations	3	10.7	3.29×Too few to compare	32	$15,281	—
Grocery and convenience stores	3	10.7	3.59×Too few to compare	22	$31,500	—

Rank places for an industry Open Perkins County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 2,813 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

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

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

See federal money in Perkins 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.

Lemmon, 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.

Perkins County85100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Perkins 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/4636340

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends