Is Letcher, SD a Good Place to Live?
Letcher is a small town of 147 in South Dakota, with a median household income of $59,250 and a 4.4% unemployment rate. Its cost of living index is 88 (US average = 100), which is 12% below the national average.
Strengths: Letcher stands out for an affordable cost of living, below-average home prices, short average commutes.
Trade-offs: No major red flags stand out in the available data. Whether Letcher is right for you depends on your priorities — the full breakdown is below.
All Letcher city data on this page comes from official government sources — the US Census Bureau, FBI, NCES, BEA, and NOAA — updated annually.
Cost of Living
Index: 87.7Letcher's overall cost of living index is 87.7, where 100 represents the US national average. Living in Letcher costs roughly 12% less than the average American city.
| Metric | Letcher, SD | National Avg |
|---|---|---|
| Median Home Value | $97,500 | $244,900 |
| Median Monthly Rent | $700 | $1,163 |
| Homeownership Rate | 81.5% | 65.9% |
| Median Household Income | $59,250 | $74,755 |
Crime & Safety
Crime data for Letcher is not currently available from the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program. Not all local agencies report to the UCR each year.
Schools & Education
| Metric | Letcher, SD | National Avg |
|---|---|---|
| School District | N/A | — |
| Elementary Schools | N/A | — |
| Middle Schools | N/A | — |
| High Schools | N/A | — |
| Student/Teacher Ratio | N/A | 16:1 |
| Bachelor's Degree or Higher | 12.2% | 35.4% |
| High School Diploma or Higher | 93.3% | 91.1% |
Weather & Climate
Letcher sees average highs of 27.3°F in January and 87.0°F in July, with 25.8 inches of annual precipitation and 40.6 inches of snow per year.
| Metric | Letcher, SD |
|---|---|
| Average High — January | 27.3°F |
| Average High — July | 87.0°F |
| Annual Precipitation | 25.8" |
| Annual Snowfall | 40.6" |
Demographics
| Metric | Letcher, SD | National Avg |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 147 | — |
| Median Age | 32.5 | 38.9 |
| Unemployment Rate | 4.4% | 3.7% |
| Avg Commute Time | 23.4 min | 26 min |
| White (non-Hispanic) | 85.7% | 59.3% |
| Black or African American | 0.0% | 13.6% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 0.0% | 18.9% |
| Asian | 0.0% | 6.3% |
| Under 18 | 29.9% | 22.2% |
| 65 and over | 12.9% | 16.8% |
Nearby Cities
ZIP Codes in Letcher
Letcher, SD is covered by 1 ZIP code: