Summerset is South Dakota's newest city. Incorporated in June, 2005, the city is located at the northern edge of Rapid City in Meade County. At the time of the 2010 U.S. Census, Summerset had a population of 1,814. For more information on the community's demographics, click here.

Located just north of Rapid City, Summerset residents participate in the civic life of the metropolitan region. As a new city, the community has yet to develop its own library or other cultural institutions. As residents of Meade County, Summerset's citizens have full access to the Sturgis Library.

The population of Summerset was 1,814 at the time of the 2010 U.S. Census. The median age was 31.6 years. Whites accounted for the 93 percent of the total population. Significant minority groups included American Indian (2.5 percent), Hispanics (2.4 percent), and African Americans (1.0 percent). 

Most students in Summerset are enrolled in the Meade District 46-1 which encompasses about 3,100 of Meade County’s 3,482 square miles. That makes it South Dakota’s largest school district geographically. With an enrollment of 2,462 students in grades K-12, the district ranked 12th in the state during the 2011-12 school year. More than 1,800 of the district’s students attended school in Sturgis at Brown High School, Williams Middle School, and Sturgis Elementary. The remainder attended Piedmont Valley Elementary, one of six rural schools spread across the county, or Whitewood Elementary. 

Academics

Students in the Meade County School District take the annual Dakota STEP test to ensure that the district is making adequate yearly progress (AYP) in reading and math. According the State of South Dakota's report card, Meade County students achieved AYP in all categories in all grades tested in elementary, middle and high schools in the spring of 2011. Brown High School’s graduation rate was 75.1 percent in 2011, down from the 85.9 percent rate posted in 2010 and lower than the statewide average of 83.3 percent.

During the 2010-2011 academic year, the Meade County School District's fall enrollment was 2443 in grades K-12. With a 2.8 percent dropout rate, the district graduated 146 students. One hundred and two students took the ACT exam. The average composite score was 21.6. To view a statistical profile of funding, student and staff data, see the South Dakota Department of Education's 2010-2011 Profile of Meade School District.

Governance and Budget

The Meade County Board of Education is composed of nine publicly elected members. Board meetings are usually the second Tuesday of each month, 6:30 pm, at Sturgis Williams Middle School. Agendas are available the Friday before meetings and may be picked up at school district administrative offices, or found online at www.meadek12.sd.us. For the 2011-12 school year, the school board estimates total expenditures of about $22.7 million.

Summerset is governed by a City Commission that includes two commissioners and the mayor. In 2012 two additional commissioners will be added. Commission meetings are held on the first and third Thursday of the month. The Planning and Zoning Commission meets on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month as needed.

Municipal Elections

On April 10, 2012 voters in Summerset will elect a mayor and four commissioners. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Candidates may start circulating petitions January 27. To qualify for the ballot, petitions with signatures of at least 15 registered voters who reside in the City of Summerset must be filed with the Summerset Finance Office by 5 p.m. on February 24. For more information, see the City of Summerset's January 2012 Newsletter.

Summerset is in Meade County. In a 2012 wellness report, the University of Wisconsin’s Population Health Institute ranked Meade County 34th of 59 South Dakota counties studied. The primary care physician to patient ratio was 1,037:1, far below the national benchmark of 631:1. Twenty percent of adults reported themselves as smokers. Residents reported slightly lower rates of poor physical and mental health days than the state average. Rates of adult obesity and excessive drinking were well below the statewide average. The teen birth rate was just below the statewide rate. Like the state as a whole, 15 percent of the adults in Meade County did not have health insurance. To compare Meade County data to other counties, visit the site created by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin.

County-level health statistics are also available from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services and allow you to compare Meade County to similar counties in the United States and to the national median.