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.

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 12.89 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the city are less than they would otherwise be.

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.