Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,105, settled in 1883. 2.8 times the library visits per person than the typical South Dakota town.
Trash & recyclingBeresford’s best subject grade is an A+ for civic life. 30% of residents are under 18 in Beresford, where South Dakota’s towns sit at 22% and U.S. towns at 22%. Beresford’s trail density is 1.6 miles per square mile, above both the South Dakota town median (0.6) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). No town in South Dakota scores higher than Beresford on civic life. Beresford has 4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Governor William J. Bulow House and J. W. Reedy House. Beresford has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Beresford beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within South Dakota), ordered by how far Beresford is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1895.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Beresford, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Beresford.
Beresford beats the South Dakota average on 0 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 15% of Beresford adults report frequent mental distress.
| Beresford | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 15% | 17% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 30% | 36% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 22% | 23% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 19% | 16% |
| What stands out | Beresford | SD |
|---|---|---|
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.2% | 9.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Beresford School District 61-2. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beresford Elementary - 02Largest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 273 | C+ |
| Beresford High School - 01Largest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 222 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within SD on state tests and graduation
Beresford has cold, snowy winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 10° and about 31 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Beresford for work: only 15% work in town. 5.2% of residents live below the poverty line in Beresford. The top destinations are Sioux Falls (27%), Alcester (8%) and Vermillion (3%).
| Beresford | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 15% | 29% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 5.2% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 17 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Children under 18 are 30% of residents (24% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 31% of residents (36% statewide). Beresford’s median age is 35.5 years. Beresford has lost 3.2% of its people since 2020, down to 2,105 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Beresford | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 35.5 years | 39.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 28% | 33% | 29% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±5 points. Across South Dakota, 49.2% of residents are women.
| Beresford | SD | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 18.2% | 13.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12.2% | 11.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.1% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.5% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.2% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.2% | 10.7% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.4% | 11% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.2% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.9% | 6.8% | 10.4% |
| High school | 27.4% | 29% | 26% |
| Some college | 24.5% | 19.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.3% | 12.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.8% | 21.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.3% | 10% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,100, single groups can be off by several points
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 59% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The typical Beresford home is worth about $324,000, up 3.1% in a year, close to the South Dakota typical home. The median rent in Beresford is $914 a month.
| Beresford | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 80% | 68% | 73% |
| Median rent | $914 a month | $962 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
2.9 miles of trail in 0 parks and preserves.
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Beresford; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Beresford residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across South Dakota.
4 places in Beresford on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Beresford.
City in South Dakota, United States
Beresford (; BEERZ-fərd) is a city in Lincoln and Union counties in the U.S. state of South Dakota. The population was 2,180 as of the 2020 census. The southern two-thirds is part of the Sioux City metropolitan area, while the northern one-third is part of the Sioux Falls metropolitan area. The Beresford Republic is the weekly newspaper.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Beresford.
| Town | SD rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beresford | — | — | B+ | B− | B− | A− |
| Pleasant Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Prairie Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Beresford has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Pleasant Township and Prairie Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Beresford with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
2.8 times the library visits per person than the typical South Dakota town.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
4 notable people were born here, including Don Fedderson and Howard Lloyd Kennedy.
