Counties / South Dakota / Aurora County

Aurora County, SD

FIPS 46003 · population 2,642 · outside every metro area

$152k
ACS owner-reported value · ACS 2024 5-year
The numbers

What this county costs and earns

Everything here joins on the county FIPS code, so each figure comes from the agency that publishes it with no name matching in between.

ACS owner-reported value
$152k
survey estimate; not a current listing or sale price
Census ACS · surveyed
ACS median gross rent
$747
occupied-unit survey; not current asking rent
Census ACS · surveyed
Gross yield
n/a
gross yield cannot be computed without measured market rent
requires both measured price and measured rent
HUD 2-bed standard
$929
the Section 8 payment standard
HUD Fair Market Rent · direct
Owner-reported value$152k
Surveyed gross rent$747
Rent burden 30%+33.9%
Median year built1962
Housing composition

Who occupies the stock—and what it is

ACS 2024 5-year
15.6%vacant
1,261estimated housing units
Occupied tenure27.3% renter
owner 72.7%renter 27.3%
Structure mix86.9% single-family
Single-family 86.9%20+ units 0.4%Mobile home 6.9%Other 5.8%
ACS estimates describe the standing housing stock and occupied tenure. They do not measure current listings, transaction prices or asking rents.

Survey source: Census ACS 5-year — county housing value, tenure and stock · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30. These values describe different housing universes and are not combined into gross yield.

Annual average covered jobs801▼ 1.4% from the prior annual release
Covered establishments102annual average reporting locations
Average weekly wage$820▲ 1.9% from the prior annual release
Largest private supersectorTrade, transportation, and utilities34.9% of disclosed private covered jobs
Local labor base

Jobs, pay and private-sector concentration

2025
0%COVERED JOBS−1.4%WEEKLY WAGE+1.9%Trade, transportation, and utilities34.9%
Annual QCEW counts cover jobs located at reporting establishments. The industry share uses disclosed private covered employment; it is not a resident-employment measure or a forecast.

Workplace source: BLS QCEW — county employment and wages · annual county employment and wages 2025 vs 2024 · pulled 2026-07-31. QCEW counts covered jobs located in the county, not employed residents or the metro score’s CES/LAUS series.

County brief

What the local evidence says

01Decision frame

Aurora County’s decision tension is a visibly thin MLS market against labor, migration, and inland-flood caution. In Realtor.com’s 2026-06 snapshot, just 3 active listings, an annual asking-price increase, and an inventory decline sit beside 60 median marketing days and no reported price reductions. These are listing-market signals, not sales or proof of buyer demand. Buyers able to verify individual deals should investigate; those needing quick resale, broad comparable evidence, or scalable acquisitions should be cautious.

02Housing economics

Housing economics remain unpriced rather than cheap or expensive. The ACS survey reports a $151,900 owner-reported median value for owner-occupied homes and $747 surveyed gross rent for occupied units; they describe different housing sets and cannot be combined into a yield. HUD FMR of $929 is a payment standard, not asking rent. Because market rent is not published, gross yield cannot be computed. The effective property-tax rate is 1.04%, making parcel assessment, exemptions, and actual tax bills relevant carrying-cost checks.

03Demand & competition

Annual QCEW data show 801 covered jobs at county workplaces, down 1.35% from the prior annual average. Trade, transportation, and utilities is the largest disclosed private supersector, not a description of the whole county economy; QCEW is also not resident employment or unemployment. Tax-return movers produced net migration of negative 5, while incoming movers’ average AGI exceeded outgoing movers’ by $1,712. Purchase-mortgage evidence shows 1 investor purchase among 19 total purchases, a 5.26% investor share; that small base limits conclusions about buyer competition.

04Risk & next checks

Inland flood is the dominant hazard, and modeled annual expected building-value loss is 0.13%; this is not a property-specific insurance quote or a dollar loss estimate. The ACS median structure year built of 1962 supports property-level condition review. No county Zillow observation, FHFA repeat-transaction HPI, current market-rent series, closed-sale prices, insurance costs, or property-condition evidence is published. Those gaps prevent validation of current value, appreciation direction, gross yield, and asset-specific hazard costs.

Cities & communities

Where people live within Aurora County

Census-recognized incorporated places and CDPs that intersect this county. The list does not pretend to include every neighborhood or informal community.

Population scale

Largest Census places

ACS 2024 5-year
Plankinton city603White Lake city469Stickney town284Aurora Center CDP16Storla CDP0
Bars use total place population, not a county-share estimate. An asterisk marks a place that crosses a county line.
Official directory

5 Census places

Population
  1. 01
    Plankinton cityIncorporated place
    603
  2. 02
    White Lake cityIncorporated place
    469
  3. 03
    Stickney townIncorporated place
    284
  4. 04
    Aurora Center CDPCensus-designated place
    16
  5. 05
    Storla CDPCensus-designated place
    0

Population is the total place-wide ACS estimate, not an allocated county share. A place crossing a county line is labelled explicitly. Source: Census ACS 5-year — cities and communities · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30.

Risk, demand and competition

The three things a price does not tell you

01
Risk & carrying costFEMA NRI + Census ACS
Dominant hazardinland flooding

0.134% of building value expected lost per year

Effective property tax1.04%

$1,574 median annual bill

02
DemandIRS SOI household flows
Net migration-5

44 in · 49 out

Arriving vs leaving income+$1,712

$55,773 arriving · $54,061 leaving

03
CompetitionHMDA financed purchases
Purchases by investors5.3%

1 of 19 mortgages

investorother financed
Current listing pressure

What sellers and visible supply are doing

Realtor.com® Economic Research · county inventory 2026-06 · pulled 2026-07-28
Active listings3▼ 37.5% year over year
Median days on market60▼ 48.0% year over year
Listings price-reduced0.0%seller-concession signal
Median listing pricen/a▲ 9.7% year over year

Listing price is an asking price, not a closed sale. Quality-flagged county rows are withheld instead of displayed.

No rent index is published for this county.Zillow’s county rent series does not cover every county, and estimating one from a neighbouring county would be a guess wearing a number’s clothes. Everything above is measured here; no wider market is mapped for it either.
Bear case

What can break the county thesis

  1. The small active-listing and purchase bases may make market indicators unstable.
  2. Flood exposure and property-specific insurance or condition costs may exceed county-level modeled risk.
  3. Absent market-rent and closed-sale evidence may materially change valuation and cash-flow conclusions.
Underwriting questions

Before pricing a property

Can gross yield be calculated from this record?

No. Market rent is not published, and HUD FMR cannot be used as market rent.

Do the Realtor.com figures establish closed-sale pricing or buyer demand?

No. They are MLS listing-market evidence: asking prices, visible inventory, marketing time, and price reductions.

Does the employment figure measure county residents' employment?

No. QCEW measures annual covered jobs located at workplaces in the county.