Brookings is a medium-sized city located in the state of South Dakota. With a population of 23,993 people and five associated neighborhoods, Brookings is the fourth largest community in South Dakota.

And if you like science, one thing you'll find is that Brookings has lots of scientists living in town - whether they be life scientists, physical scientists (like astronomers), or social scientists (like geographers!). So, if you're scientific-minded, you might like it here too.

Also of interest is that Brookings has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 9.20% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

Brookings is also a major college town with a large number of people who are 18 years or older and attending college. As is often the case in college towns, the many students that live in Brookings have a strong influence on the local culture and entertainment scene, which may seem dormant by comparison in the summer months when much of the student population is away. In the fall, the return of students has a reinvigorating effect on the community. Because colleges are lasting institutions, they have a stabilizing effect on the economy by providing direct local benefits such as jobs for faculty and staff and spending by students. Brookings’s economy is one such example of this.

Brookings, while not large, also appears to be attractive to some younger, educated professionals, who help shape the character of the city.

Compared to the rest of the country, citizens of Brookings spend much less time in their cars: on average, their commute to work is only 13.47 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the city are less than they would otherwise be.

Brookings is one of the most well-educated cities in the nation. 48.98% of adults in Brookings have at least a bachelor's degree. Compare that to the average community in America, which has just 21.84% with a bachelor's degree or higher.

The per capita income in Brookings in 2022 was $29,284, which is lower middle income relative to South Dakota and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $117,136 for a family of four. However, Brookings contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Brookings is a somewhat ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Brookings home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Brookings residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Brookings include German, Norwegian, Irish, English, and Dutch.

The most common language spoken in Brookings is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and German/Yiddish.