Its two schools are below. The public schools here belong to the Summit School District 54-6. Also worth knowing: 2 public schools serve Summit, with 182 students in all.

School	Level	Students	Letter
Summit Elementary - 02Largest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8	Grades PK–8	132	D
Summit High School - 01Largest public high schoolGrades 9–12	Grades 9–12	50	B⁻

Full pageSummit’s schools pageOpen the page

The districtsSummit School District 54-6 Vs. the neighbors1 bordering town Every schoolSummit Elementary - 02 Questions“Are Summit’s schools good?”

NCES · EDFacts

Climate

Summit stands out in South Dakota and nationally: a typical July afternoon there is cooler

Summers in Summit are pleasant, and winters cold, snowy. July afternoons reach 80°, January nights drop to 3° and about 59 inches of snow falls in a winter.

59″snow a winter

Typical low → high °F

Winter6–22°

Spring31–51°

Summer57–78°

Fall35–54°

Sep 28

typical first frost

May 14

typical last frost

+1.1°

vs. the 20th-century average

Full pageSummit’s climate pageOpen the page

A year of weatherJuly highs 80°, January lows 3°Rain & snow59″ of snow a winter · 26 inches of rain and snow a year Heating & coolingMostly a heating bill Then and now+1.1° vs. the 20th century · Warmer than the 20th-century average

NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020

Work & commute

Summit has 1.3 jobs for every working resident, and 108 people commute in

No town among the 36 in South Dakota we compare has a higher average trip to work than Summit. Only 13% of working residents stay in Summit for work; the rest commute out. The share of residents in Summit who live below the poverty line is 15%, where South Dakota’s towns sit at 9.5% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. For half of commuters, work is under 25 miles away.

13%work in town

	Summit	South Dakota towns	U.S. towns
Average trip to work	26 minutes	17 minutes	25 minutes
Working residents who work in town	13%	29%	8%
Below the poverty line	15%	9.5%	9.6%
Median household income	$60,000	$72,000	$80,000

Where working residents work

In Summit13%

Sisseton27%

Watertown5%

Sioux Falls4%

Wheaton3%

25 mi

median commute distance

120

jobs based in Summit

Balanced

jobs vs. working residents

Full pageSummit’s work & commute pageOpen the page

The jobs here120 jobs based here · Balanced Where people work13% work in Summit Commute times26 minutes · The average commute How far they goHalf commute less than 25 miles

Census LEHD 2023 · ACS

Health

A larger share of adults have obesity in Summit than in most of South Dakota or the rest of the country

For adults in Summit, the share who report frequent mental distress is 20%. Among 36 South Dakota towns, just 2 have a higher share of adults who have diabetes than Summit. The share of adults in Summit who smoke cigarettes is 24%, above both South Dakota’s towns (14%) and U.S. towns (14%). No town among the 36 in South Dakota we compare has a higher share of adults who sleep under 7 hours than Summit.

	Summit	South Dakota towns	U.S. towns
Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES)	24%	14%	14%
Obesity (CDC PLACES)	45%	35%	35%
Get no exercise (CDC PLACES)	34%	22%	25%
Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES)	16%	12%	14%

26 measures vs. South Dakota

1 better8 too close to call17 worse

What stands out	Summit	SD
Fewer adults who have had cancer	7.6%	9.2%
More smokers	23.9%	15.2%

Milbank Area Hospital/Avera Health

22 mi away · emergency room

3 of 3

care shortages: primary care, dental, mental health

Full pageSummit’s health reportOpen the page

Everyday habitsMore smokers Hospitals & doctors nearby22 miles to an ER · Milbank Area Hospital/Avera Health How adults are doingMore adults in fair or poor health Every CDC estimateBetter than SD on 1 of 26

CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA

Outdoors

In Summit, 1.7% of the land is conserved

Summit has 2 parks and preserves, 10 acres in all.

1.7%conserved

1.7%

conserved · 6 of 351 acres

0.0 mi

of trails · 0 per sq mi

Biggest places to walk	Trails	Acres
1. Dunn Game Production Area	—	6
2. Summit City Park	—	4

Full pageSummit’s outdoors pageOpen the page

Trail map0.0 miles of trail, mapped Pick a walk6 acres · Dunn Game Production Area Conserved land1.7% conserved · 6 acres protected Questions“Where can I hike in Summit?”

Natural hazards

Top of a moderate hazard risk in Summit: cold waves

Compared with 51% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage in Summit is higher. Of the losses FEMA expects in the town, 37% come from cold waves and 28% from inland flooding.

51risk score of 100

FEMA risk score

Cold wavesInland floodingTornadoes

Full pageSummit’s hazards pageOpen the page

What it facesModerate risk Flood claims0 paid flood claims · No paid flood claims on record Past disasters22 disaster declarations · Declared for the county Get ready14 events a year, on average · Ready for cold waves

FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA

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