Medary TownshipSD
A town of 1,579, settled in 1872.
Is Medary Township a good place to live?
Medary Township’s best subject grade is an A− for health. Of the 36 South Dakota towns we compare, none has a lower share of working residents who work in town than Medary Township. Medary Township is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns. Among 36 South Dakota towns, just 3 have a lower July high than Medary Township. 13% of the land in Medary Township is conserved, against 3.3% in South Dakota’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. Only 6 of South Dakota’s 73 towns score lower on civic life. Medary Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Medary Township stand out
Where Medary Township beats most towns.
99% of working residents leave Medary Township for work
Where Medary Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Medary Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within South Dakota), ordered by how far Medary Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Medary Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Medary Township, 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Medary Township.
On CDC estimates, Medary Township is healthier than 84% of U.S. towns
Medary Township beats the South Dakota average on 13 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 21% of adults binge drink in Medary Township, where South Dakota’s towns sit at 19% and U.S. towns at 16%. 27% of adults have high blood pressure in Medary Township.
| Medary Township | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 19% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 31% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 12% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8.9% | 10% | 12% |
| What stands out | Medary Township | SD |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer smokers | 11.4% | 15.2% |
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 8.9% | 11.7% |
| Fewer adults treating high blood pressure | 73% | 75.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
More than half of Medary Township’s working residents commute to Brookings
Most working residents leave Medary Township for work: only 1% work in town. The median household income in Medary Township is $108,000. Jobs based in Medary Township fell to 108 in 2023, 92 fewer than in 2013.
| Medary Township | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $108,000 | $72,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 17 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 6.7% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
In Medary Township, expect four seasons and pleasant summers
Medary Township has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Medary Township’s January low is 5°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Joe Huffman Park | — | 8 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Medary Township faces a high natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 62% of U.S. communities. Since 2010, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Medary Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Younger than South Dakota overall
People 65 and older are 13% of residents (18% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 27% of residents (22% statewide). Medary Township has grown 10% since 2020, to 1,579 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 38% of Medary Township adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more.
| Medary Township | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 33.6 years | 39.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 38% | 33% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.9 points. Across South Dakota, 49.2% of residents are women.
| Medary Township | SD | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.6% | 13.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 13.8% | 11.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 14.2% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.3% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 2.8% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 17.8% | 10.7% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.3% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.8% | 11% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 2.3% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 0% | 6.8% | 10.4% |
| High school | 29.6% | 29% | 26% |
| Some college | 27.6% | 19.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 5% | 12.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 27.2% | 21.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.6% | 10% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,600, single groups can be off by several points
Everything we know about Medary Township
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of Medary Township
About 10 of every 100 Medary Township residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across South Dakota.
About Medary Township
Unincorporated community in South Dakota, United States
Medary is an unincorporated community in Brookings County, South Dakota, United States. Founded in 1857 by the Dakota Land Company, it was one of the first towns in South Dakota. It is not tracked by the U.S. Census Bureau.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Elevation
- 1,575 ft
Medary Township’s neighbors
4 towns share a border with Medary Township.
| Town | SD rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medary Township | — | — | B− | — | C+ | A− |
| Brookings | #17 | B+ | C+ | B | C+ | A− |
| Trenton Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Fremont Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oslo Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Medary Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Medary Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. Trenton Township, Fremont Township and Oslo Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Medary Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Medary Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Medary Township, SD expensive?
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.