Brookings is a medium-sized city located in the state of South Dakota. With a population of 24,312 people and five associated neighborhoods, Brookings is the fourth largest community in South Dakota. There's nothing like the smell of a brand new house, and in Brookings, you'll find that a large proportion of houses were recently built. New growth in residential real estate is an indication that people are choosing to move to Brookings, and putting down their money on brand new construction. Brookings’s real estate is, on average, some of the newest in the nation. Brookings does seem to be experiencing an influx of affluent people, because the median household income is $61,979.00.

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.

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 10.05% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. 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.

Residents of the city have the good fortune of having one of the shortest daily commutes compared to the rest of the country. On average, they spend only 12.89 minutes getting to work every day.

Brookings is one of the most well-educated cities in the nation. 49.66% 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 $31,799, which is lower middle income relative to South Dakota, and middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $127,196 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 Chinese.