Living in Salem, SD
Salem is a small town of 1,216 people in McCook County, South Dakota. It's about 35 miles from Sioux Falls, SD and 221 miles from Minneapolis, MN, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 84°F and winter highs 24°F, with about 33 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $167k and rent runs about $965 a month.
1,216people
$167kTypical home
$965/moRent
84° / 24°Summer / winter
33"Snow
248Sunny days
90Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Small town of 1,216
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 973 people per sq mi
- 221 mi to Minneapolis, MN
- 35 mi to Sioux Falls, SD
- 33 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $167k (≈$1,051/mo)
- Median rent $965/mo
- Median household income $75k
- Property tax about 1.1% of value
- 1.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 84°F
- Winter highs around 24°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 59°F)
- 248 sunny days a year (87 totally clear)
- 117 cloudy days a year
- 35 of 90 winter days are gray
- 90 days a year with rain or snow
- 33" of snow a year
- 10 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 57 nights a year below 10°F
- Windier than most places
Safety
- Very low violent crime (52 per 100k), county-wide
- Very low property crime (156 per 100k), county-wide
People
- Median age 40
- 29% of households have kids
- 22% are 65 or older
- 28% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 2% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 26 min
- 4% walk or take transit to work
- 34 mi to FSD airport
- 184 mi to OMA (major hub)
- 186 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 79% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1974
- 91% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Flat, open land
- Elevation 1,513 ft
- 915 mi to the ocean
- 74 mi to a big lake
- 32 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 38 mi to the nearest ski area
- 14 mi to the nearest campground
- 4 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 10 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 7 bars within 25 mi
- 3 coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 4 museums within 25 mi
- No breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 32 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the bottom 18% of South Dakota districts (reading)
- 21 mi to the nearest grocery store
- 21 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 34 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- Vet in town
- 30 mi to the nearest dog park
- 14 congregations per 10k people
- 24 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- McCook County: R+49 in 2024
- South Dakota: R+29 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- High tornado risk
- Very low wildfire risk
- Very low earthquake risk
- Low flood risk
- Low drought risk
- High winter storm risk
- Moderate heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk