Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Yankton gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $277K for a typical one, or 3.8 years of the Yankton area’s $73K median household income. It grades B+ overall, 16th of 35 graded towns in South Dakota. On the plus side, it is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns. 61% of working residents work locally in Yankton, above both South Dakota’s towns (29%) and U.S. towns (8%). Its National Register listings include Bishop Marty Rectory and Bruce-Donaldson House. Yankton's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 81% of U.S. towns.
Where Yankton beats most towns.
Bishop Marty Rectory
Its founding year, 1858, comes before those of 97% of the South Dakota towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 3,431 in 1880, 15,411 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1871 and a map from 1985 on.
24 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within South Dakota), ordered by how far Yankton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Yankton, 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 Yankton.
Yankton is healthier than towns with similar incomes, has seen reported crime fall by a third or more and has colder winter nights than most of the country, though not than most of South Dakota.
8.4 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves. The trail density in Yankton is 0.9 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is Riverside Park, at 43 acres.
| Yankton | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.9 miles per square mile | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.4% | 3.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Riverside Park | 0.5 mi | 43 |
| 2. Westside Park | — | 7 |
| 3. Fox Run Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Yankton School District 63-3. Two of its 9 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yankton Middle School - 02Largest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 608 | B+ |
| Yankton High School - 01Largest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 923 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within SD on state tests and graduation
Reported crimes fell from 431 to 259 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Yankton’s property crime rate is 14.6 per 1,000 residents.
| Yankton | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 14.6 per 1,000 residents | 9.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.9 per 1,000 residents | 2 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
January nights average 10.3°: colder than most of the country, but milder than 82% of South Dakota places with climate records; July afternoons average 85.8°.
Yankton has cold, snowy winters and warm summers. About 38 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Yankton | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 10°F | 9°F | 22°F |
| July high | 86°F | 85°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 10,313 U.S. towns with household incomes like Yankton’s, it is healthier than 84%, so its B isn’t only a matter of income. Within South Dakota it is less healthy than 65% of the 35 graded towns: South Dakota sets a high bar.
Yankton tracks South Dakota closely on all 26 CDC measures. 39% of Yankton adults have obesity.
| Yankton | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 35% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 15% | 17% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 19% | 16% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 22% | 23% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
14% of residents live below the poverty line in Yankton. Jobs based in Yankton grew to 9,866 in 2023, 776 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Sioux Falls (9%), Sioux City (2%) and Vermillion (1%).
| Yankton | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 13 minutes | 17 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 5.5% | 6.8% | 11% |
| Median household income | $68,000 | $72,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical Yankton home is worth about $277,000, up 1.8% in a year, 13% below the South Dakota typical home.
| Yankton | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $790 a month | $963 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 66% | 68% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
People 65 and older are 22% of residents (18% statewide). Yankton has grown 2.4% since 2020, to 15,816 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 33% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across South Dakota.
| Yankton | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 22% | 19% | 18% |
| Median age | 41.4 years | 39.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 21% | 22% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 33% | 33% | 29% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1 point. Across South Dakota, 49.2% of residents are women. Median age: women 42.4, men 40.3.
| Yankton | SD | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.4% | 13.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.7% | 11.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 10.5% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.5% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.6% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.2% | 10.7% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.1% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.1% | 11% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.1% | 6.8% | 10.4% |
| High school | 32.7% | 29% | 26% |
| Some college | 17.4% | 19.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.7% | 12.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 21.7% | 21.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.5% | 10% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 55% of U.S. communities. Since 1984, 15 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Yankton.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Yankton
About 6 of every 100 Yankton residents are enrolled in college, about the same as South Dakota.
24 places in Yankton on the National Register of Historic Places.
19 notable people were born in Yankton.
City in South Dakota, United States
Yankton is a city in and the county seat of Yankton County, South Dakota, United States. It became a city in 1889. The population was 15,411 at the 2020 census, making it the 7th most populous city in South Dakota, and it is the principal city of the Yankton Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes the entirety of Yankton County and which had an estimated population of 23,297 as of July 1, 2021. As the first capital of Dakota Territory, it was named after the Yankton tribe of Western Dakota people; Yankton is derived from the Dakota word I-hank-ton-wan ("the end village"). Yankton is located on the Missouri River just downstream of the Gavins Point Dam and Lewis and Clark Lake, and jus…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Yankton.
| Town | SD rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yankton | #16 | B+ | B+ | C | B+ | B |
| Utica Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Mission Hill Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Utica Township and Mission Hill Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Yankton with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Yankton grades B+ overall, better than 66% of U.S. towns and #16 of 35 in South Dakota. It grades B for health, C for safety and B+ for schools.
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+.
19 notable people were born here, including Charles D. Gemar and Adam Vinatieri.
