Real estate · County · South Dakota
Real estate businesses in Hughes County, SD
How Hughes County, SD compares with other counties and the U.S. for real estate businesses: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 49 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #1,144 of 2,229 scored counties
#3 of 17 scored counties in South Dakota
- Listings
- 19
- 0 chain locations (0%)
- Official establishments
- 4
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $103.3M
- On rent and homeowner costs · $14,248 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 126
- 26% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 26.2
- 32% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 17,570
- −0.9% since 2020
See the real estate businesses around any address in Hughes County
The site report maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of Hughes County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
Map listings as of September 2026 show 19 real estate businesses in Hughes County. None of them are chain locations, against 6% across the U.S. That comes to 26.2 for every 10,000 households, 32% below the U.S. rate of 38.5.
At $14,248 per household (14% below the U.S. average), households in Hughes County spend about $103.3M a year on rent and homeowner costs. Housing spending per office is 26% above the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money real estate businesses take in.
In 2023, official counts showed 4 businesses with payroll in Hughes County classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors. That is one for every 1,813 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Official counts also show 69 one-person businesses without payroll.
Population estimates show Hughes County declined 0.9% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for real estate businesses in Hughes County is 49 (lower middle), #1,144 of 2,229 scored counties and #3 of 17 scored counties in South Dakota.
How Hughes County compares
The same measures for South Dakota and the whole U.S. Housing spending per listing divides all rent and homeowner costs by the listings counted: a measure of housing demand for each business, not money any of them take in, so it is shown against the U.S. (100) only. Households per establishment divides households by the official count.
| Measure | Hughes County | South Dakota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 26.2 | 32.7 | 38.5 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 126 | 98 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | 1,813 | 487 | 414 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +29.3% | +15.8% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.9% | +5.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs | $14,248 | $13,945 | $16,661 |
| Median household income | $81,395 | $75,081 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 49 | 43 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 4 → 4
- Employees, 2023
- 6
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $518K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 69Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 190 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 24The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 0
- Amount
- $0
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in Hughes County, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.
Population and households in Hughes County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 17,570−0.9% since 2020
- Households
- 7,253
- Median age
- 40.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 72%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 742 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 24
- Median household income
- $81,395+25.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $99,105
- Median home value
- $242,000
- Jobs located here
- 10,890
- Daytime population
- 19,525Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Hughes County?
These figures cover the whole county. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the real estate businesses on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of Hughes County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardReal estate across South Dakota
Every South Dakota market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in South Dakota for real estate businesses, numbered among those based in South Dakota, with Hughes County marked.
Top counties in South Dakota
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Yankton County, SD | 59 | 16 | 16.5 | 191 | +1.5% | #620 of 2,229 |
| 2Union County, SD | 52 | 15 | 20.5 | 171 | +3.3% | #978 of 2,229 |
| 3Hughes County, SD | 49 | 19 | 26.2 | 126 | −0.9% | #1,144 of 2,229 |
| 4Meade County, SD | 48 | 24 | 20.1 | 162 | +2.7% | #1,171 of 2,229 |
| 5Butte County, SD | 48 | 12 | 27.9 | 115 | +5.5% | #1,191 of 2,229 |
| 6Beadle County, SD | 45 | 15 | 19.9 | 153 | +2.4% | #1,338 of 2,229 |
| 7Minnehaha County, SD | 45 | 249 | 29.4 | 112 | +7.6% | #1,354 of 2,229 |
| 8Roberts County, SD | 44 | 6 | 16.6 | 185 | −0.1% | #1,375 of 2,229 |
| 9Brookings County, SD | 41 | 45 | 32.6 | 96 | +9.6% | #1,577 of 2,229 |
| 10Lake County, SD | 38 | 12 | 25.4 | 128 | −0.2% | #1,726 of 2,229 |
Other business types in Hughes County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many real estate businesses are in Hughes County, SD?
There are 19 real estate businesses on map listings in Hughes County as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 4 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023. Another 69 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in Hughes County, SD spend on rent and homeowner costs?
About $103.3M a year, or $14,248 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 19 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 26% above the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money real estate businesses take in. It is estimated from the incomes of the 7,253 households in Hughes County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Hughes County, SD compare with the U.S. for real estate businesses?
Hughes County has 26.2 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 32% below the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 126, where 100 is the U.S. At the national ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, Hughes County would have about 24, against 19 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,813 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S.
How fast is Hughes County, SD growing?
Population estimates put Hughes County at 17,570 people in 2025, down 0.9% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 7,253 households. The median household income in Hughes County is $81,395 a year, in line with the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 25.6% from the 2015–2019 survey, before inflation.
What is the Groundwork market score?
The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. Hughes County scores 49 for real estate businesses (lower middle), #1,144 of 2,229 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Hughes County. It maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.
How the score works · Top markets for real estate businesses · All 56 business types in Hughes County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Hughes County?
A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.
The button opens the report at the center of Hughes County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.