What is the population of Clear Lake city?

Clear Lake city has 1,333 residents on Census ACS 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, ranking #62 of 485 in South Dakota.

What is the median household income in Clear Lake city?

Median household income in Clear Lake city is $65,398 a year, 16.7% below the national figure of $78,538.

How much does it cost to rent or buy in Clear Lake city?

Median gross rent is $679 a month and the median home value is $144,400, so rent absorbs about 12.5% of median household income.

Is Clear Lake city affordable compared with the rest of the US?

Homes cost about 2.2× the local median income here versus roughly 3.9× nationally, so Clear Lake city is more affordable to buy in than the typical US market, and rent takes 12.5% of median income against the 30% cost-burden line.

Aerial view of a dense city center, illustrating the US cities ZIP code directory

South Dakota · Census place 12540

Clear Lake city, SD population, income and ZIP codes

Quick answer

The population of the city of Clear Lake city, South Dakota (Clear Lake city, SD — Census place “Clear Lake city”) is 1,333 residents, ranking #62 of 485 places in South Dakota. Median household income is $65,398, the median home is worth $144,400 and median gross rent runs $679 a month. Looking for the Clear Lake city South Dakota ZIP code list? 1 ZIP codes serve Clear Lake city, SD: 57226.

Population: 1,333Clear Lake city residents
Median household income: $65,398Past 12 months, inflation adjusted
Median home value: $144,400Owner-occupied units
Median gross rent: $679Rent plus utilities, monthly
Median age: 44.1 yrsAll residents
Homeownership rate: 75.7%Owner-occupied households

Clear Lake city ZIP codes (South Dakota)

Census ZCTAs whose delivery area overlaps Clear Lake city.

The Clear Lake city SD ZIP code list below covers 1 ZIP code. Open any one for its population, income, housing and rent profile.

57226

What the numbers mean in Clear Lake city

Housing cost measured against local earnings.

A household earning the Clear Lake city median would spend about 12.5% of gross income on the median rent. The 30% mark is the federal threshold for cost burden, so anything above it signals a stretched rental market. The median home costs 2.2× the median household income; nationally that ratio sits near 4.5×. Poverty affects 8.2% of residents and 75.7% of households own their home.

Source: US Census Bureau, ACS 2019-2023 5-year estimates · rates as published for 2019-2023 ACS 5-year

Clear Lake city, SD in context

How this area compares with national benchmarks.

Clear Lake city is a small town in South Dakota, with 1,333 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #62 of 485 ranked by population — larger than 87% of them. The median age here is 44.1 years against 39.1 nationally, a slightly older profile than the country as a whole. At this population the ACS sample is small, so the margin of error around every dollar figure below is wide — treat the numbers as a band, not a point, and expect them to move between annual releases without the place itself changing.

Households in Clear Lake city earn a median of $65,398 a year, 16.7% below the national figure of $78,538 and within a couple of points of the $65,500 median for the 79 South Dakota cities we cover. Household income here is measured before tax and pooled across everyone at the address, which is why it reads higher than typical individual earnings in the same area. Poverty reaches 8.2% of residents here, below the 12.4% national rate.

The typical owner-occupied home in Clear Lake city is valued at $144,400, 52.4% below the national figure and 25% below the $192,800 peer median, while median gross rent runs $679 a month, 51.7% below the national figure, or roughly $8,148 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 12.5% of gross pay toward that rent against the federal 30% cost-burden threshold, so renting here is cheap relative to what people here earn. The home-price-to-income ratio works out to 2.2×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so purchase prices are unusually low against local pay, the pattern in places where supply is plentiful and wage growth has been flat. 75.7% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, so the market leans toward owners. Gross rent folds in the utilities a tenant pays separately, so it is closer to the real monthly outlay than a headline rent figure.

All values below were released by the Census for this exact geography, with no gap-filling on our side. Small-area estimates still carry wider margins of error than state or national figures, so check the linked ACS tables before relying on them for lending, appraisal or legal work.

Compare with nearby places

Places of similar size in South Dakota.

More South Dakota coverage.

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about this area.

What is the population of Clear Lake city?: Clear Lake city has 1,333 residents on Census ACS 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, ranking #62 of 485 in South Dakota.
What is the median household income in Clear Lake city?: Median household income in Clear Lake city is $65,398 a year, 16.7% below the national figure of $78,538.
How much does it cost to rent or buy in Clear Lake city?: Median gross rent is $679 a month and the median home value is $144,400, so rent absorbs about 12.5% of median household income.
Is Clear Lake city affordable compared with the rest of the US?: Homes cost about 2.2× the local median income here versus roughly 3.9× nationally, so Clear Lake city is more affordable to buy in than the typical US market, and rent takes 12.5% of median income against the 30% cost-burden line.
How current is this Clear Lake city data?: All figures come from the US Census Bureau American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year five-year estimates. At this population the ACS sample is small, so the margin of error around every dollar figure below is wide — treat the numbers as a band, not a point, and expect them to move between annual releases without the place itself changing.