Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US metro and micro areas.

Safety75#235/924
Economy78#200/925
Housing98#17/925
Health86#132/925
Healthcare98#18/923
Environment71#269/917
Education77#210/925
Infrastructure54#428/925
Community73#248/925
Leisure & amenities60#373/925

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Yankton, SD micropolitan area ranks highest and lowest among US metro and micro areas (score = percentile, 100 = best).

Strengths

Unemployment rate · low1.9%
100/100South Dakota 2.1%United States 4.3%2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPartial year
Flu vaccinations · high60.0%
99/100South Dakota 45.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties
Severe housing problems · low8.5%
98/100South Dakota 11.4%United States 16.8%2017-2021University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties
Average commute time · low15.3 min
98/100South Dakota 17.8 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Mental health providers · high817 /100k
97/100South Dakota 260 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties
Rent-burdened households · low33.9%
97/100South Dakota 39.8%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070

Weaknesses

Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
1/100South Dakota 3.6 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyAggregated from counties
Drought exposure · high98%
4/100South Dakota 38%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAAggregated from counties
Distance to an Amtrak station · high137 mi
9/100South Dakota 185 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauAggregated from counties
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.4 /10k
11/100South Dakota 1.2 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsAggregated from counties
Comfortable days · low23.2%
11/100South Dakota 22.8%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationAggregated from counties
Job growth · low-1.9%
16/100South Dakota 0.2%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional data

Trends

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

Grocery storesImproving
0.4 /10k (2020) → 1.3 /10k (2025)
+196%5 yearsUS 1.7 /10k → 1.7 /10k
Drought exposureWorsening
86% (2021) → 98% (Oct 2025–Sep 2026)
+11 pts5 yearsUS 40% → 43%
Property crime rateImproving
2,460 /100k (2020) → 1,094 /100k (2025)
−56%5 yearsUS 1,929 /100k → 1,535 /100k
Violent crime rateImproving
407 /100k (2020) → 187 /100k (2025)
−54%5 yearsUS 389 /100k → 328 /100k
Gyms and fitness centersWorsening
0.9 /10k (2020) → 0.4 /10k (2025)
−51%5 yearsUS 1.2 /10k → 1.3 /10k
Income adjusted for local pricesImproving
$57,031 (2019) → $85,675 (2024)
+50%5 yearsUS $55,567 → $73,204

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, Yankton, SD micropolitan area improved on 13 of 28 measures with a comparison and declined on 3. 9 moved within the margin of error and 3 barely changed.

Earlier period
Latest period
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among metro and micro areas: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts. Periods differ by measure (most compare 2015-2019 with 2020-2024); each row names its own in its tooltip and in the table.

Improved13

Grocery stores+196%0.4 /10k → 1.3 /10k
Real income+50%$57,031 → $85,675
Traffic deaths−50%22.0 /100k → 11.1 /100k
Bachelor's++5.8 points25.7% → 31.4%
Violent crime−54%407 /100k → 187 /100k

Declined3

Restaurants−26%13.7 /10k → 10.2 /10k
Gyms−51%0.9 /10k → 0.4 /10k
Price / income+0.6×2.5× → 3.1×

All 28 measures

Change of every measure of Yankton, SD micropolitan area between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Arts, entertainment and recreation	6.9 /10k2020	8.0 /10k2025	+17%	Improved	69%
Average commute time	15.6 min2015-2019	15.3 min2020-2024	−0.3 min	Within the margin of error	72%
Average weekly wage	$9172020	$1,1052025	+21%	Improved	25%
Bachelor's degree or higher	25.7%2015-2019	31.4%2020-2024	+5.8 points	Improved	96%
Broadband subscriptions	78.0%2015-2019	86.1%2020-2024	+8.1 points	Improved	40%
Child poverty rate	11.5%2015-2019	16.5%2020-2024	+5.1 points	Within the margin of error	4%
Distance to an airport	57 mi2020	57 mi2025	−0 mi	Little change	76%
Drug overdose deaths	8.0 /100k2020	5.8 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026	−28%	Improved	54%
Effective property tax rate	1.04%2015-2019	0.99%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	23%
Grocery stores	0.4 /10k2020	1.3 /10k2025	+196%	Improved	100%
Gyms and fitness centers	0.9 /10k2020	0.4 /10k2025	−51%	Declined	4%
High school diploma or higher	90.9%2015-2019	93.6%2020-2024	+2.8 points	Within the margin of error	76%
Home price to income ratio	2.5×2015-2019	3.1×2020-2024	+0.6×	Declined	37%
Income adjusted for local prices	$57,0312019	$85,6752024	+50%	Improved	98%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4572015-2019	0.4442020-2024	−0.013	Within the margin of error	82%
Median household income	$58,3422015-2019	$72,8212020-2024	+25%	Improved	38%
New business applications	6.6 /1k2020	8.9 /1k2025	+34%	Improved	33%
Pharmacies	1.7 /10k2020	1.7 /10k2025	−1.5%	Little change	67%
Poverty rate	11.1%2015-2019	11.9%2020-2024	+0.8 points	Within the margin of error	14%
Property crime rate	2,460 /100k2020	1,094 /100k2025	−56%	Improved	91%
Public libraries	0.4 /10k2019	0.4 /10k2024	−3.1%	Little change	37%
Rent as share of income	24.0%2015-2019	23.4%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	70%
Rent-burdened households	30.3%2015-2019	33.9%2020-2024	+3.6 points	Within the margin of error	27%
Restaurants and bars	13.7 /10k2020	10.2 /10k2025	−26%	Declined	1%
Traffic deaths	22.0 /100k2015-2019	11.1 /100k2020-2024	−50%	Improved	99%
Unemployment rate	4.0%2020	1.9%2025	−2.1 points	Improved	25%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	8.4%2015-2019	7.1%2020-2024	−1.2 points	Within the margin of error	74%
Violent crime rate	407 /100k2020	187 /100k2025	−54%	Improved	95%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 708 metro and micro areas that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: Regional Economic Accounts; Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages; Mapping Injury, Overdose, and Violence; American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates; Business Formation Statistics; Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Return A master files; Public Libraries Survey; Fatality Analysis Reporting System; Distance to airports and intercity rail. 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 925 metro and micro areas 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.

Metro and micro areas like Yankton, SD micropolitan area five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Yankton, SD micropolitan area 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, Yankton, SD micropolitan area itself moved −0.3 points in standing on average over the same 29 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

23,414 residents

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

9,695 households (±258)

Yankton, SD micropolitan area
United States share

Under $25k13%1,269
$25k–50k19%1,812
$50k–75k20%1,892

Homes

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

Owners and renters

9,695 households (±258)

Yankton, SD micropolitan area
United States share

Own73%7,046
Rent27%2,649

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+7.5 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

11,387 workers (±369)

Yankton, SD micropolitan area
United States share

Drive alone78%8,937
Carpool9.4%1,067
Public transit1.7%†199

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes no occupation wages for Yankton, SD micropolitan area.

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.

Yankton, SD has 707 employer establishments, 301 for every 10,000 residents (1.21× the US rate of 248), with 11,776 paid employees at an average annual pay of $50,043. The Census Bureau also counts 1,868 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 707; 1,868 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 301; US 248
Paid employees: 11,776
Average annual pay: $50,043; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	51	21.7	1.40×More than typical	208	$50,188	134
Restaurants and other eating places	47	20	1.09×About typical	828	$18,132	7
Ambulatory health care services	45	19.1	0.92×About typical	820	$77,412	75
Lessors of real estate	27	11.5	0.93×About typical	52	$38,462	242
Truck transportation	26	11.1	2.19×More than typical	97	$52,619	60
Religious organizations	24	10.2	1.84×More than typical	261	$25,594	—
Building equipment contractors	22	9.4	1.56×More than typical	108	$54,056	20
Construction of buildings	22	9.4	1.24×About typical	89	$50,303	65
Full-service restaurants	22	9.4	1.22×About typical	373	$17,850	5
Insurance agencies and brokerages	20	8.5	1.94×More than typical	63	$92,476	45
Automotive repair and maintenance	19	8.1	1.61×More than typical	66	$45,394	40
Limited-service restaurants	19	8.1	1.01×About typical	424	$18,752	—

Rank places for an industry

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 23,505 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.
A metro area's figures are the exact sums of its counties.
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 contract spending

In FY2026, federal agencies obligated $2.6M on contracts performed in Yankton, SD micropolitan area: $111 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $2.6M; −68% vs FY2025
Per resident: $111; US $1,994
Sole-source: 14%; 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

Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons$1.3M49%
Department of Veterans Affairs$817.8K

Federal grants & assistance

Grants, loans (counted at their subsidy cost), direct payments and insurance, by fiscal year of the action (USAspending.gov, FABS). Reported apart from contracts and never added to them.

In FY2026, federal agencies obligated $163.7M in grants, loans, direct payments and insurance for Yankton, SD micropolitan area: $6,927 per resident (US $12,955).

Assistance · FY2026: $163.7M; −8.3% vs FY2025
Per resident: $6,927; US $12,955
Loan face value: $7.6M; lent or guaranteed
To individuals: 4.7%; counted, never named

Top programs

96.002 · Social Security Retirement Insurance$106.3M65%
64.109 · Veterans Compensation for Service-Connected Disability$11.1M6.8%
96.001 · Social Security Disability Insurance$10.2M6.2%
96.004 · Social Security Survivors Insurance$7.4M4.5%
10.988 · Supplemental Disaster Relief Program$5.9M3.6%
20.263 · Bridge Formula Program$4.1M2.5%
96.006 · Supplemental Security Income$3M1.8%
20.287 · Surface Transportation Block Grant Program$2.2M1.3%

Top recipients (organizations)

STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA$10.2M6.2%
PIERRE, SD
MOUNT MARTY UNIVERSITY$1.5M0.9%
YANKTON, SD
CITY OF YANKTON$1.5M0.9%
YANKTON, SD
YANKTON HOUSING & REDEV COMM$1.2M0.7%
YANKTON, SD
SACRED HEART HEALTH SERVICES$398.6K

Organizations only: awards to individuals and county aggregate records count in the totals but are never listed. Grants to state governments recorded at the agency's own address are counted statewide, not in the capital's county.

Top agencies

Social Security Administration$126.9M77%
Under Secretary for Benefits/Veterans Benefits Administration$12.7M7.8%
Department of Veterans Affairs
Federal Highway Administration$10.2M6.2%
Department of Transportation
Farm Service Agency$6.4M3.9%
Department of Agriculture
Department of Education$1.6M

Assistance by fiscal year

133.8MFY2021
170.8MFY2022
139.7MFY2023
154.7MFY2024
178.5MFY2025
163.7MFY2026

County aggregates

86%

Share of obligations reported only as county totals of many small awards (for example Social Security or Medicare payments), with no recipient named.

Source: Federal financial assistance transactions (Financial Assistance Broker Submission) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026 · FY2021–FY2026.

Counties in Yankton, SD

Whole counties, as the U.S. Office of Management and Budget delineates the area. Federal spending below is the exact sum of these counties.

Yankton CountyCentral county9223,635

Principal cities

The cities the area is named for.

YanktonPrincipal city15,540

Largest cities and towns

By population, for places with most of their residents in the area.

Other metro and micro areas in South Dakota

Areas based in South Dakota, best score first.

Neighboring metro and micro areas

Places that share a border, best score first.

Similar metro and micro areas

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.

Mapping Injury, Overdose, and ViolenceCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2026-10-01
PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Daily county PM2.5 and ozone (EPA downscaler model)Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · release 2022
Care Compare: Hospital General Information and Timely and Effective CareCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Services · release 2026-07-22
Distance to airports and intercity railFederal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census Bureau · release 2025+amtrak-2026-04-23
Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Return A master filesFederal Bureau of Investigation · release 2025
Public Libraries SurveyInstitute of Museum and Library Services · release FY2024
U.S. Drought Monitor county statisticsNational Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAA · release 2026-09-29
Fatality Analysis Reporting SystemNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration · release 2024
nClimGrid-Daily county averagesNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · release 2025
Regional Economic AccountsU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis · release 2024
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
Quarterly Census of Employment and WagesU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2026 Q1
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Business Formation StatisticsU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-10-01
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
Alternative Fuels Data Center station locatorU.S. Department of Energy · release 2026-10
Election Administration and Voting SurveyU.S. Election Assistance Commission · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/M49460

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends

What changed in five years

Improved13

Declined3

Metro and micro areas like Yankton, SD micropolitan area five years ago that improved

Who lives here

Age and sex

Income

Household income

Homes

Owners and renters

Getting to work

How people get to work

Jobs and pay

Local businesses

Federal contract spending

Top buying agencies

Federal grants & assistance

Top programs

Top recipients (organizations)

Top agencies

Assistance by fiscal year

County aggregates

Counties in Yankton, SD

Principal cities

Largest cities and towns

Other metro and micro areas in South Dakota

Neighboring metro and micro areas

Similar metro and micro areas

Data and sources

Improved13

Declined3

Age and sex

Household income

Owners and renters

How people get to work

Race and Hispanic origin

Education

Rent paid

Home values

Age of homes

Size of homes

Time to get to work

Top programs

Top recipients (organizations)

Top agencies

Assistance by fiscal year

County aggregates

Top buying agencies

By type

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

What was bought

Top industries (NAICS)

Largest awards