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Brookings, South Dakota is a small prairie city built around South Dakota State University, the state's largest school, whose students dominate the town's roughly 24,000 residents. SDSU's campus and Jackrabbit athletics set the rhythm here, and life is refreshingly walkable and bikeable thanks to flat terrain and a compact layout. Downtown Brookings offers a tidy Main Avenue strip with shops, markets, and seasonal festivals, while green space is easy to find at Pioneer Park, the Larson Nature Area, and the trails along the city's bike-path network. The South Dakota Art Museum and the McCrory Gardens, a botanical garden and arboretum tied to the university, give you cultural and outdoor stops without leaving town.
The most popular student zone, packed with apartments and townhomes a short walk or bike from class.
Residential streets and houses close to the university, good for groups who want a yard.
Along Main Avenue, it suits students who want walkable shops and markets at their doorstep.
Here's what you need to know about getting around Brookings.
Brookings Area Transit runs local bus and on-demand service if you'd rather not bike in a South Dakota winter, which is the main reason it earns its keep here. The on-demand option helps cover trips when the weather turns. Service is modest compared with bigger cities, so it works best as a cold-weather backup. Most students pair it with walking and biking the rest of the year.
Brookings is small and flat, so walking and biking handle a lot of student life, especially in the neighborhoods ringing campus. The city maintains a solid network of bike paths and trails, and many students live close enough to pedal to class in minutes. Most off-campus housing sits east, south, or west of campus within a short ride or walk. The flat terrain makes biking practical most of the year.
A car is genuinely useful for cold-weather months, grocery runs, and trips out of town. Plenty of students manage on foot and bike most of the year, but winter is the season a vehicle pays off. Daily commutes from nearby housing are short whether you drive or pedal. Keep parking in mind near campus if you bring a car.
Common questions from students searching for housing.
Off-campus rooms commonly run about $500 to $900 per month depending on location and amenities. Citywide, studios average near $849 and one-bedrooms around $1,032, so sharing a multi-bedroom unit keeps per-person costs lowest.
Browse student housing near each Brookings-area university.