Map the Block › Places › South Dakota › Lake County
What are the crime rate and median income in Lake County, South Dakota?
FBI reports put Lake County at 1.0 violent crimes per 1,000 people a year over 2021-2025, 71% lower than the rate for South Dakota (3.5). The median household earns $76,808 and the unemployment rate was 1.8% in August 2026. About 10,972 people live in the county.
Last updated . Crime: FBI 2021-2025. Income and housing: Census ACS 2020-2024. Unemployment: BLS August 2026. Road work: October 11, 2026.
Also on the map: income · hazard risk · Superfund · dams
What is the crime rate in Lake County?
From 2021 through 2025, Lake County averaged 12 reported violent crimes a year, along with 61 property crimes. Per 1,000 residents, the violent-crime rate works out to 1.0: 71% lower than the South Dakota rate (3.5), and 72% lower than the national rate (3.7). For property crime the county rate is 5.4 per 1,000 (South Dakota: 15.8; U.S.: 18.1). With this few incidents, one or two cases move the rate a lot from year to year.
| Offense (yearly average, 2021-2025) | Lake County | Per 1,000 | South Dakota per 1,000 | U.S. per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | 12 | 1.0 | 3.5 | 3.7 |
| Murder | 0 | 0.00 | 0.04 | 0.06 |
| Rape | 4 | 0.34 | 0.53 | 0.40 |
| Robbery | 0 | 0.00 | 0.21 | 0.62 |
| Aggravated assault | 7 | 0.60 | 2.7 | 2.6 |
| Property crime | 61 | 5.4 | 15.8 | 18.1 |
| Burglary | 10 | 0.86 | 2.2 | 2.4 |
| Larceny-theft | 47 | 4.0 | 11.5 | 13.0 |
| Motor vehicle theft | 3 | 0.30 | 2.1 | 2.6 |
Most crime never reaches the police, so these are reported crimes, a floor rather than the full count. In 2024 about half of violent crimes (48%) and about 3 in 10 property crimes (31%) were reported to police (U.S. Justice Department, National Crime Victimization Survey). Rates also depend on how completely each agency reports to the FBI. County figures add up the city police and sheriff reports in the county (2 agencies; 100% of residents covered).
What is the median household income in Lake County?
Half of households in Lake County make more than $76,808 and half make less; across South Dakota the midpoint is $75,081. Owner-occupied homes have a median value of $247,600, and the median rent is $947 a month. 5.2% of households received SNAP benefits in the past year (state: 7.9%). The newest monthly figure from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is 1.8% for August 2026 (preliminary), with 117 people out of work and looking.
| Census ACS 2020-2024 | Lake County | South Dakota | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 10,972 | 907,428 | 334,922,499 |
| Median household income | $76,808 | $75,081 | $80,734 |
| Median home value (owner-occupied) | $247,600 | $250,000+ | $332,700 |
| Median gross rent | $947 | $946 | $1,413 |
| Unemployment rate (2020-2024 average) | 3.0% | 2.9% | 5.2% |
| People below the poverty line | 8.4% | 11.9% | 12.5% |
| Households receiving SNAP (food stamps) | 5.2% | 7.9% | 12.1% |
| Adults 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher | 34.6% | 31.9% | 35.7% |
| Homeowner households | 73.8% | 68.6% | 65.2% |
| Median age | 43.8 | 38.0 | 38.9 |
| Households with broadband internet | 86.6% | 89.6% | 91.0% |
| People without health insurance | 4.0% | 9.0% | 8.4% |
What natural hazards and environmental sites are in Lake County?
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Lake County has an overall natural-hazard risk rating of “Very Low”. No single hazard among floods, wildfire, tornadoes, heat waves, earthquakes and hurricanes is rated higher than “Relatively Moderate”. The index compares counties with each other and also weighs how vulnerable and resilient a community is, so it is a long-run estimate, not a forecast.
Superfund sites
EPA lists no Superfund site in Lake County, active or completed (October 2026).
Industrial chemical releases
2 facilities in the county filed Toxics Release Inventory reports for 2024, together reporting 33,675 pounds of listed chemicals released on site. Reported releases are legal permitted amounts in most cases.
Disasters, air and water
Lake County was covered by 4 federal major disaster declarations from 2016 through 2025 (Flood 2, Severe Storm 2), not counting COVID-19. Of 5 community water systems, none had an open health-based drinking-water violation in EPA's records (September 2026). EPA puts the county in radon zone 1 (highest).
Is there road construction in Lake County?
South Dakota does not publish an open highway work-zone feed that we can read yet, so road construction in Lake County is not on our map. Check the state's 511 traveler site for current closures.
See today's work zones on the map →
How many schools, nursing homes and parks are in Lake County?
Federal school lists show 14 public and 2 private schools in the county. 1 nursing home is certified by Medicare or Medicaid here; star ratings for each are on the map and on Medicare's Care Compare. USGS mapping shows 6 fire or EMS stations and 2 police or sheriff stations. 3 state parks or recreation areas: Johnson's Point Recreation Area, Lake Herman State Park and Walker's Point Recreation Area.
Gun shops, liquor stores and Planned Parenthood in Lake County
Gun shops
3 gun shops with a public storefront are on the map in Lake County, plus 8 more licensed dealers without a public storefront (not shown). 2 of them are pawnshops licensed to sell guns. On the ATF list: Pawn Shop (Madison), R & A Pawn, Gun & Repair (Madison) and Runnings (Madison).
Liquor stores
No liquor stores are on the map in Lake County. South Dakota has no complete public liquor licence list we can use, so this count also draws on OpenStreetMap and Overture Maps and may miss some stores or include closed ones.
Planned Parenthood
There is no Planned Parenthood health center in Lake County on the map.
See them on the map: gun shops →
Sources: ATF licensee list (Sept 2026); state liquor licence lists, OpenStreetMap and Overture Maps (non-official; partial in some states); HHS Title X directory and CMS NPPES.
Common questions
What is the crime rate in Lake County?
Lake County averaged 12 reported violent crimes a year in 2021-2025, or 1.0 per 1,000 residents, 71% lower than the South Dakota rate (3.5). The property-crime rate was 5.4 per 1,000 (FBI Uniform Crime Reporting).
What is the median household income in Lake County?
$76,808 (Census American Community Survey, 2020-2024 average), compared with $75,081 for South Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the unemployment rate in Lake County?
The newest monthly figure from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is 1.8% for August 2026 (preliminary), with 117 people out of work and looking.
What natural hazards affect Lake County?
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Lake County has an overall natural-hazard risk rating of “Very Low”. No single hazard among floods, wildfire, tornadoes, heat waves, earthquakes and hurricanes is rated higher than “Relatively Moderate”.
How many nursing homes are in Lake County?
1 Medicare- or Medicaid-certified nursing homes (CMS provider data, September 2026).
How does Lake County compare with neighboring counties?
| County | Population | Violent crimes per 1,000 (2021-25) | Median household income |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brookings County | 35,353 | 1.0 | $70,064 |
| Kingsbury County | 5,244 | 0.48 | $74,000 |
| McCook County | 5,751 | 0.73 | $83,852 |
| Miner County | 2,300 | 0.89 | $76,140 |
| Minnehaha County | 203,289 | 4.3 | $76,880 |
| Moody County | 6,397 | 1.5 | $78,427 |
More: South Dakota statewide numbers · Sex-offender registry search (U.S. Justice Department, NSOPW)
Where do these numbers come from?
- Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting 2021-2025 (agency level, Return A), averaged and summed by county by Map the Block; Census population; state and national rates: FBI estimated crimes 2021-2025.
- Income, housing, education: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year, table B19013 (median household income) and related tables.
- Monthly unemployment: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS), county data, not seasonally adjusted. Public domain.
- Hazards: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), county scores; disasters: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries.
- Superfund: U.S. EPA, Superfund site boundaries and NPL status (October 2026). Dams: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, National Inventory of Dams (public map service, October 2026). Chemical releases: U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory, reporting year 2024 (basic data file).
- Air and water: U.S. EPA AirData, annual AQI by county 2024; EPA Air Quality Design Values 2023-2025 (June 2026); U.S. EPA SDWIS via ECHO drinking-water download (September 30, 2026). Traffic deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2024; Census population.
- Work zones: State departments of transportation, via the U.S. DOT Work Zone Data Exchange (WZDx) and state 511 feeds; refreshed every morning (snapshot October 11, 2026).
- Schools: National Center for Education Statistics, EDGE public school locations 2024-25; budgets: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of School System Finances, fiscal year 2024; National Center for Education Statistics, EDGE Private School geocodes (Private School Survey 2023-24). Nursing homes: U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Nursing Home Provider Information and Penalties (September 2026). Stations: U.S. Geological Survey, National Structures Dataset (Fire Stations/EMS Stations), October 2026 pull.
- Parks: USGS Protected Areas Database of the U.S. (PAD-US 4.1); state park agencies' open data (CA, NY, PA, TN, TX, FL, NJ, KY, HI, UT, MT and others); OpenStreetMap contributors for some hours, phones, fees and camping; U.S. National Park Service: unit boundaries (Land Resources Division), Acreage Report (Sept 30, 2026), park pages on nps.gov (hours, fees), Visitor Use Statistics (2025).
Map the Block shows public statistics about places, not people, and does not rate or rank neighborhoods as places to live. Figures are as published by each source; check the source before relying on a number.
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