Brookings is a medium-sized city located in the state of South Dakota. With a population of 23,577 people and five constituent 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.

A relatively large number of people in Brookings telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 8.48% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. 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.

In addition, Brookings is a major college town that has a very high percentage of its residents over 18 years old who are college students. Naturally, collegiate life has a major influence on local Brookings culture, lifestyle and entertainment options. Brookings really pulses to the beat of the academic calendar. In Brookings every fall, returning students reinvigorate the community, who you will notice are all over town, buying groceries, out with friends, and getting acquainted or re-acquainted with each other and Brookings. One of the beneficial effects that colleges provide is that they tend to be lasting institutions that deliver direct economic benefits to the local economy in the form of such things as jobs for faculty and staff, and spending by students. Brookings benefits directly from 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 13.77 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the city are less than they would otherwise be.

The citizens of Brookings are among the most well-educated in the nation: 49.77% of adults in Brookings have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree, whereas the average US city has 21.84% holding at least a bachelor's degree.

The per capita income in Brookings in 2018 was $27,244, 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 $108,976 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.