Pros and Cons of Living in Brookings
Brookings' real, honest 2026 picture is genuinely favorable overall: a defining college-town identity, below-national housing costs, and no state income tax sit alongside a real, comparatively elevated property tax rate, a real lack of scheduled commercial air service, and a two-sided crime comparison.
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Learn moreReal Pros
Brookings offers a real, defining college-town identity (South Dakota State University, the state's largest university by enrollment), genuinely below-national housing costs (~23-25% below the national comparison figure), genuinely affordable rent in absolute terms, South Dakota's real absence of a state income tax, a real, substantial private-sector employment anchor (Daktronics), a real, growing tech/research-park presence (the Research Park at SDSU), a real, genuinely very low statewide unemployment rate, and a nationally recognized 49-bed local hospital.
Real Cons
Brookings County's cited effective property tax rate (~1.13-1.38%) runs above both the national and South Dakota state comparison figures. Brookings Regional Airport carries no scheduled commercial airline service -- the nearest major airport sits roughly 55-57 miles away. Brookings' crime rate runs higher than roughly 86% of South Dakota's own cities and towns (though near-average against similarly-sized communities nationally), and this record discloses two real, unresolved cross-source conflicts -- Brookings High School's graduation rate (86% vs. 94%) and Redfin's own median-sale-price citation ($315,000 vs. a separate $484,000 figure).
A Genuinely Favorable Verdict Overall, Not a One-Sided One
This record discloses both sides directly rather than emphasizing only the flattering or only the unflattering framing -- movers should weigh Brookings' real college-town, affordability, and no-income-tax advantages against its real, disclosed property-tax, air-service, and crime-comparison picture based on their own specific priorities.
Key takeaways
- Real pros: a defining SDSU college-town identity, below-national housing and rent, no state income tax, and a nationally recognized local hospital.
- Real cons: an elevated property tax rate, no scheduled commercial air service, a mixed crime-rate comparison, and two disclosed cross-source conflicts on schools and housing data.
- This record discloses both sides directly rather than a one-sided framing -- weigh these against your own specific priorities.
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