Real estate · County · South Dakota
Real estate businesses in Lake County, SD
How Lake 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 38 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #1,726 of 2,229 scored counties
#10 of 17 scored counties in South Dakota
- Listings
- 12
- 0 chain locations (0%)
- Official establishments
- n/a
- Fewer than 3, or not published
- Household spending a year
- $66.5M
- On rent and homeowner costs · $14,093 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 128
- 28% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 25.4
- 34% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 10,993
- −0.2% since 2020
See the real estate businesses around any address in Lake 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 Lake 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
Lake County scores 38 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for real estate businesses, ranking #1,726 of 2,229 scored counties and #10 of 17 scored counties in South Dakota. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.
Household spending on rent and homeowner costs in Lake County comes to about $66.5M a year: $14,093 per household, 15% below the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is 28% 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.
Lake County has 12 real estate businesses on map listings as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations, against 6% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 25.4, 34% below the U.S. rate of 38.5.
Official counts don’t publish a figure for real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in Lake County, since they leave out counts under 3. Population estimates show Lake County declined 0.2% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How Lake 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 | Lake County | South Dakota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 25.4 | 32.7 | 38.5 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 128 | 98 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | n/a | 487 | 414 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +29.3% | +15.8% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.2% | +5.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs | $14,093 | $13,945 | $16,661 |
| Median household income | $76,808 | $75,081 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 38 | 43 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- n/a
- Employees, 2023
- n/a
- Annual payroll, 2023
- n/a
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 35Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 120 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 15The 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 Lake 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 Lake County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 10,993−0.2% since 2020
- Households
- 4,716
- Median age
- 44.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 74%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.3
- Land area
- 563 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 19
- Median household income
- $76,808+24.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $104,754
- Median home value
- $247,600
- Jobs located here
- 5,183
- Daytime population
- 10,346Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Lake 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 Lake 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 Lake 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 Lake 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 Lake County, SD?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 12 real estate businesses in Lake County. None of them are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. No official count is published for real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in Lake County: counts under 3 are left out. Official counts also show 35 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Lake County, SD spend on rent and homeowner costs?
About $66.5M a year, or $14,093 per household. That is 15% below the U.S. average (an index of 85, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 12 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 28% 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. It is estimated from the incomes of the 4,716 households in Lake County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Lake County, SD compare with the U.S. for real estate businesses?
Lake County has 25.4 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 34% below the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 128, where 100 is the U.S. At the U.S. ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, Lake County would have about 15, against 12 on map listings.
How fast is Lake County, SD growing?
Population estimates put Lake County at 10,993 people in 2025, down 0.2% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 4,716 households. Median household income in Lake County is $76,808, 5% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.2%, 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. Lake County scores 38 for real estate businesses (lower middle), #1,726 of 2,229 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Lake 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 Lake County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Lake 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 Lake 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.