Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,635, settled in 1878.
Hartford is one of the best-graded places in America: an A+, 4th of 35 graded towns in South Dakota. The median household earns $100K, residents are healthier than 84% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates, and natural-hazard risk is low. Its lowest mark, a B+, is in schools. Hartford’s trail density is 1.2 miles per square mile, above both the South Dakota town median (0.6) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). Only 3 of the 30 South Dakota towns we compare have a higher typical home value than Hartford. John Mundt Building is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Hartford beats most towns.
2,534 counted in 2010 and 3,354 in 2020; an estimated 3,635 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 8.6% since 2020, after 32.4% 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 Hartford is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 423 in 1900, 3,354 in 2020. The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 1902 and 2 maps from 1962 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Hartford, 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 Hartford.
Hartford has less tooth loss than most of South Dakota and has added a third more jobs in ten years.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Turtle Creek Park | — | 19 |
| 2. Hartford City Park | 0.1 mi | 13 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the West Central School District 49-7. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is West Central High School - 01, with 408 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Central Hartford Elementary - 05Largest public elementary schoolGrades K–3 | Grades K–3 | 368 | – |
| West Central High School - 01Largest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 408 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within SD on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with South Dakota is tooth loss: 5.6% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 12.7% statewide.
22% of Hartford adults binge drink, above both South Dakota’s towns (19%) and U.S. towns (16%). 27% of Hartford adults sleep under 7 hours. Hartford beats the South Dakota average on 12 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 2.
| Hartford | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 19% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 30% | 36% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.9% | 12% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 32% | 35% |
| What stands out | Hartford | SD |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.6% | 12.7% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 4.6% | 6.8% |
| More binge drinkers | 22.1% | 18.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Jobs based here grew from 555 in 2013 to 815.
Most working residents leave Hartford for work: only 9% work in town. Since 2013, Hartford has added 260 jobs, to 815 in 2023. 5.5% of residents live below the poverty line in Hartford.
| Hartford | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 9.1% | 31% | 8% |
| Median household income | $100,000 | $71,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 5.5% | 9.6% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 17 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Hartford’s FEMA risk score is 26 of 100.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical Hartford home is worth about $405,000, up 3.1% in a year, 28% above the South Dakota typical home.
| Hartford | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 77% | 68% | 73% |
| Median rent | $938 a month | $963 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Hartford has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 8° and about 40 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Adults 18 to 34 are 16% of residents (22% statewide). Hartford has grown 8.6% since 2020, to 3,635 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 34% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across South Dakota.
| Hartford | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 34% | 32% | 29% |
| Median age | 39.5 years | 39.6 years | 40.5 years |
46% women, 54% men
About 119 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±3.9 points). Across South Dakota, 49.2% of residents are women.
| Hartford | SD | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.2% | 13.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 14.3% | 11.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4.5% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.8% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.7% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 16.4% | 10.7% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.4% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11% | 11% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.7% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 1.2% | 6.8% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24.9% | 29% | 26% |
| Some college | 26.5% | 19.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 13.1% | 12.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 27.1% | 21.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7.2% | 10% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,600, single groups can be off by several points
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Hartford. Close and well known come first.
10 mi Zoo & aquariumGreat Plains Zoo
12 mi MuseumWashington Pavilion of Arts and Science
11 mi MuseumPettigrew Home & Museum13 mi MuseumPorter Sculpture Park
31 mi MuseumJasper Museum
36 mi MuseumHinkly House 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 · Jasper Museum: Heritage Preservation Department - MNHS, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Hinkly House Museum: McGhiever, CC BY-SA 3.0
4 within 15 miles of the center of Hartford
About 2 of every 100 Hartford residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across South Dakota.
Where Hartford’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
City in South Dakota, United States
Hartford is a suburban American city in Minnehaha County, South Dakota, a few miles northwest of Sioux Falls. Hartford is home to West Central High School with 408 students from the consolidated school district of Hartford, Humboldt, the Wall Lake area, and Ellis. Its population was 3,354 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Hartford.
| Town | SD rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hartford · Hartford Township | #4 | A+ | B+ | — | B+ | A− |
Hartford reports no FBI crime data of its own. Hartford Township and Hartford are one community, graded once. Compare Hartford with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Hartford grades A+ overall, better than 97% of U.S. towns and #4 of 35 in South Dakota. It grades A− for health and B+ for schools.
Not for the area. That is 4.9 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 B+.
