A college town that is also a farm town
Brookings is home to South Dakota State University, and the campus gives the city a younger energy than many prairie towns its size: concerts, lectures, ballgames and McCrory Gardens. But just outside town, the county is farm country, with small places like Volga, Aurora, Elkton, Arlington and White. Many families looking here are trying to bring a parent in from one of those towns, or from a farm, closer to doctors and to an adult child who works in Brookings.
That combination gives you options. A parent who loves lectures, music and walking a campus may enjoy being near the university. A parent who has never lived in a city of any size may want something quieter on the edge of town. Talk honestly about what kind of days your parent wants, then look for a community that can give them those days. Most families search within Brookings County, close to the medical campus and the stores along U.S. 14 and I-29.
Hospitals for Brookings families
The hospital in town is Brookings Health System, listed in the federal hospital registry kept by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. South of Brookings, Avera Flandreau Hospital in Flandreau is a critical access hospital that families in the southern part of the area sometimes use. Many residents also travel to Sioux Falls for specialists, so ask each community how it handles trips down I-29, who rides along, and how it coordinates care after a hospital stay.
The Big Sioux and the open prairie
The Big Sioux River runs along the west side of Brookings, and it can rise fast with spring melt or heavy rain. Flood stage on the Big Sioux River near Brookings is 9 feet; the river crested at 14.77 feet in April 1969 and 14.34 feet in September 2019. The 2019 crest came in late summer, a reminder that flooding is not only a spring problem here. Ask where a building sits relative to the river and the low ground along Six Mile Creek and the other drainages around town.
Spring and summer storms deserve a question as well. Ask whether the building has a storm shelter area residents can reach quickly, including those who use wheelchairs, and how staff account for everyone afterward.
Winter on the open prairie brings ground blizzards that can shut I-29 and U.S. 14 and leave residents without visitors for days.
Brookings river and blizzard checklist
- Is the building near the Big Sioux River or Six Mile Creek, and did water affect its Brookings neighborhood in September 2019?
- If a blizzard closes I-29, how will residents get to Brookings Health System and to specialists in Sioux Falls?
- How do aides and nurses reach work during a Brookings County ground blizzard, and does anyone stay overnight?
- Can residents get to meals, worship and activities indoors when the Brookings wind chill drops far below zero?
- Where do residents board the van, and is that entrance covered and cleared on icy Brookings mornings?
- What heats the building if the power goes out on a subzero night out on the prairie east of the Big Sioux, and for how long?
- Does the community take residents to campus concerts, ballgames or McCrory Gardens so a Brookings parent stays part of town life?
Dakota at Home: South Dakota's single front door
South Dakota has no regional Area Agencies on Aging. Brookings families start with Dakota at Home, the statewide intake line connected to the state's long-term services and supports program. Call Dakota at Home at (833) 663-9673, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central, Monday through Friday, for information, intake and referral; it also takes elder abuse and ombudsman reports during business hours. Ask about in-home services, home-delivered meals and caregiver support. Sometimes those services let a parent stay home a while longer, which gives your family time to compare communities without pressure.
Getting around Brookings County
The Brookings Area Transit Authority, at 1313 Western Avenue, offers door-to-door rides for everyone in Brookings County, weekdays from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m.; riders schedule at least one day ahead at (605) 692-2222. Door-to-door service can matter a great deal for a parent who uses a walker, and BATA's county-wide reach means a resident can still get back to a hometown church or a friend's kitchen table in Volga or Elkton. Ask each community how residents book these rides, and whether it runs its own van for evenings and weekends.
Veterans in the Brookings area
If your parent served, ask the Brookings County veteran service office which VA clinic is closest and how rides to appointments in Sioux Falls or elsewhere can be arranged. Also ask about Aid and Attendance, a VA pension benefit for qualified veterans and surviving spouses who need help with daily activities. A community that already helps residents with VA visits can take a lot off your plate.
Advocacy and state oversight
South Dakota's long-term care ombudsman program protects the rights of residents of nursing and assisted living facilities, and its services cost nothing for the resident or the facility. If a concern comes up after move-in, reports go through Dakota at Home.
South Dakota calls these settings assisted living centers. South Dakota's health department publishes survey reports for assisted living centers and nursing facilities. Ask each Brookings community about its most recent survey and what it changed, then read the record yourself through the directory disclaimer at the bottom of this page.
What care costs in South Dakota
The table below shows South Dakota's statewide medians from the CareScout Cost of Care Survey 2025. Prices in Brookings vary by community, apartment and care level, and a local quote may land above or below the statewide figure. Ask for the full rate sheet in writing and a history of recent increases.
Questions Brookings families ask
Should Mom move into Brookings from her small town?
If she is already driving into Brookings for doctors and errands, and her house is becoming too much, moving closer may make life simpler and less isolated. Let her visit more than once and talk with residents before deciding.
Who helps with aging services in Brookings County?
Dakota at Home is the statewide starting point. One call can connect your family with in-home help, caregiver support and information about paying for care.
Does the Big Sioux flood in Brookings?
It can. Flood stage near Brookings is 9 feet, and the river reached 14.34 feet in September 2019. Ask each community about its location and history, and look at the neighborhood yourself.
Can Dad get around without driving?
BATA offers door-to-door rides throughout Brookings County on weekdays when booked a day ahead. Ask each community how residents use it.
Next steps
Read our guides to assisted living and memory care, call Dakota at Home, and take the Brookings checklist on every tour. When you want to talk it over, ask for a callback below. One local advisor will call you back, at no cost.