Living in Lemmon, SD
Perkins County
Lemmon is a real, genuine former railroad town in far-northwestern South Dakota, founded in 1906-07 by cattleman Ed Lemmon along the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, and today the largest city in Perkins County (though the real county seat is Bison, not Lemmon). Lemmon's own population ran approximately 1,157 as of a 2026 projection -- essentially FLAT versus 1,154 at the 2020 Census, a genuinely near-zero net change this record does not force into a directional growth or decline claim. Perkins County's own economy centers on genuine, real cattle ranching -- approximately 37 cattle for every human resident countywide -- giving Lemmon its own distinct 'Cowboy Capital' identity, alongside the real, still-operating, free-admission Lemmon Petrified Wood Park & Museum, open seasonally between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Perkins County's own effective property tax rate ran approximately 1.327%, described by one dedicated source as leading all 66 South Dakota counties -- a real, disclosed, genuinely elevated local exception this record does not soften. South Dakota's statewide tax structure -- no state income tax, a time-limited 4.2% state sales tax -- applies here as it does statewide.
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Learn moreHousing
Perkins County's own median home value ran approximately $105,900 -- county-level, since no confidently-sourced Lemmon-city-specific figure and no dedicated Ownwell trends page were found this pass.
Taxes
Not independently sourced at the Perkins County level this session. South Dakota carries no income tax statewide. See the South Dakota hub page for the statewide property tax context -- do not treat that figure as Lemmon-specific.
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Get local guidanceThe tradeoffs
Pros
A real, distinct 'Cowboy Capital' identity and genuine cattle-ranching heritage; the real, still-operating, free-admission Lemmon Petrified Wood Park & Museum; South Dakota's real lack of a state income tax; an essentially stable, rather than sharply declining, population versus several of this project's other South Dakota Tier C markets; genuinely low area home values relative to South Dakota's statewide average.
Cons
Perkins County's own effective property tax rate (approximately 1.327%) runs genuinely, substantially above both the national and South Dakota statewide medians -- described by one dedicated source as the highest of any South Dakota county; a real, disclosed cross-source spread on Lemmon's own median household income figure; no confidently-sourced, Lemmon-city-specific median home value or confirmed, current named-employer list was found this pass; the Petrified Wood Park's own museum and visitor-services hours run seasonally (Memorial Day-Labor Day) rather than year-round.
Who this fits
Best for: Best fits movers drawn to a genuine ranching and cattle-country identity, interested in the real Petrified Wood Park and Lemmon's 'Cowboy Capital' heritage, comfortable with a small, car-dependent, far-northwestern South Dakota town and a genuinely elevated local property tax rate, and needing to confirm current employer and job-market data directly.
Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for movers prioritizing a low property tax RATE specifically -- Perkins County's own rate runs genuinely, substantially above both national and South Dakota statewide medians, described by one source as the state's highest -- or for those expecting year-round access to the Petrified Wood Park's museum and visitor services, which run on a seasonal Memorial Day-Labor Day schedule.
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