2026 Compare Cities Economy:
Brookings, SD vs Meridian, ID

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Highlights
- Household income in Meridian, is 56% more than it is in Brookings and is 19% above the National Average.
- Brookings unemployment rate is 3.1%.
- Meridian unemployment rate is 3.4%.
 Brookings, SDMeridian, IDUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock3.4%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock3.6%1.6%
 Future Job Growth29.6%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes6.5%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock6.9%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$27,244  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$85,201$69,021
 Family Median Income$89,214  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Brookings, SDMeridian, IDUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock5.3%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K4.7%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock3.8%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K7.1%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock6.6%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K9.0%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock11.0%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K12.8%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock21.6%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K4.6%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock10.1%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Brookings, SDMeridian, IDUnited States
 Management, business, finance10.8%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock8.0%6.5%
 Community, social services1.2%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock0.7%1.2%
 Education, library10.6%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock2.2%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology4.1%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock2.9%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement1.4%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock4.4%5.4%
 Building maintenance2.4%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock2.0%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support19.2%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.2%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair4.7%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock7.3%13.1%
Reviews for Brookings    5 Reviews

The 165-foot tall Coughlin Campanile in Brookings, SD, can be seen from miles away, marking Brookings, South Dakota, home of South Dakota State University. The  More

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Over 17 years ago

Nice Midwestern  More

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i am originally from arizona, abandoned here by my ex husband. being a minority in the area is not the best idea as this city is slow to accept new comers to the area.  More

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Reviews for Meridian    18 Reviews

Over 7 years ago

New to the area and so far we think it's a great place to live compared to Denver, where we moved from. Quality of life is so much better here! A lot less traffic than  More

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I have been here since 2013 and have watched child after child be diagnosed with Cancer. Many of the children have been diagnosed with "rare" Cancers. It has been  More

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Over 8 years ago

It has changed a lot over the years... Crime rates are still low and people are overall still nice HOWEVER way too many people are moving to my wonderful town! All the  More

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