Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 10,405, settled in 1892.
Harrisburg's standout: the median household earns $109K. Overall it grades A−, 8th of 35 graded towns in South Dakota. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 92% of the country. 34% of residents are under 18 in Harrisburg, above both South Dakota’s towns (22%) and U.S. towns (22%). On civic life, just 4 of South Dakota’s 73 towns do worse. The biggest park or preserve is Central Park, at 45 acres.
Where Harrisburg beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Harrisburg | SD |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 2.7% | 6.8% |
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Liberty Elementary - 02 | PK–5 | 559 |
| Freedom Elementary - 06 | K–5 | 442 |
| Adventure Elementary - 10 | K–5 | 440 |
4,089 counted in 2010 and 6,732 in 2020; an estimated 10,405 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 54.5% since 2020, after 64.6% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within South Dakota), ordered by how far Harrisburg is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 164 in 1910, 6,732 in 2020. The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 4 maps from 1897 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Harrisburg, 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 Harrisburg.
Harrisburg is among the three healthiest towns in South Dakota and has more than doubled its jobs in ten years.
It ranks #3 of the 35 South Dakota towns we grade on the CDC estimates behind the Health Grade. Its widest gap with South Dakota is heart disease: 2.7% of its 4,275 adults have heart disease, against 6.8% statewide.
21% of Harrisburg adults have high blood pressure. No town among the 35 in South Dakota we compare has a lower share of adults who have diabetes than Harrisburg. 25% of Harrisburg adults binge drink.
| Harrisburg | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 19% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 32% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 5.4% | 10% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 8.1% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Harrisburg | SD |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 2.7% | 6.8% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.4% | 12.7% |
| More binge drinkers | 25.1% | 18.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Harrisburg School District 41-2. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Harrisburg High School - 01, with 1,806 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty Elementary - 02Largest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 559 | A− |
| Harrisburg High School - 01Largest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,806 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within SD on state tests and graduation
Jobs based here grew from 1,123 in 2013 to 2,315.
0.5% of residents live below the poverty line in Harrisburg. Since 2013, Harrisburg has added 1,192 jobs, to 2,315 in 2023. 10% of working residents work locally in Harrisburg.
| Harrisburg | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 0.5% | 9.6% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $109,000 | $71,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 10% | 31% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 17 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Harrisburg has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 8° and about 49 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical Harrisburg home is worth about $364,000, about the same as a year ago, 15% above the South Dakota typical home. Harrisburg’s median rent is $1,362 a month.
| Harrisburg | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,362 a month | $958 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 78% | 68% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 52% of U.S. communities. Since 2013, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Harrisburg.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
0.6 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. Only 2 of the 32 South Dakota towns we compare have a lower share of conserved land than Harrisburg. The trail density in Harrisburg is 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Harrisburg | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.2% | 3.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Central Park | 0.2 mi | 45 |
| 2. Lions Park | — | 5 |
| 3. Heartland Park | 0.1 mi | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Harrisburg. Close and well known come first.
8 mi Zoo & aquariumGreat Plains Zoo
8 mi MuseumWashington Pavilion of Arts and Science
8 mi MuseumPettigrew Home & Museum28 mi MuseumPorter Sculpture Park
30 mi MuseumHinkly House Museum
33 mi MuseumJasper MuseumGreat Plains Zoo: Jake DeGroot, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science: Jon Platek, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Pettigrew Home & Museum: Jerry from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Hinkly House Museum: McGhiever, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Jasper Museum: Heritage Preservation Department - MNHS, CC BY-SA 2.0
4 within 15 miles of the center of Harrisburg
About 2 of every 100 Harrisburg residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across South Dakota.
Where Harrisburg’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
City in South Dakota, United States
Harrisburg is a city in Lincoln County, South Dakota, United States and is a suburb of Sioux Falls. The population was 6,732 at the 2020 census. Rapid growth in Lincoln County has led city officials to estimate Harrisburg’s population at approximately 12,000 as recent as February 2026.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Harrisburg.
| Town | SD rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harrisburg | #8 | A− | C | — | B+ | A |
| Springdale Township | — | — | C− | — | A− | A |
| Delapre Township | — | — | C | — | A− | A |
| La Valley Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Dayton Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Springdale Township and Delapre Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Harrisburg, Springdale Township and Delapre Township report no FBI crime data of their own. La Valley Township and Dayton Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Harrisburg with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Harrisburg grades A− overall, better than 83% of U.S. towns and #8 of 35 in South Dakota. It grades A for health and B+ for schools.
That is 4.4 years of the area's median household income ($82,754 across the Sioux Falls, SD-MN metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
