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Towns / South Dakota

Box Elder, South Dakota

Box Elder is a small town of about 13,900 people in Pennington County, South Dakota. It's growing fast: its population is up 17% since 2020. A typical home costs about 4.1 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Denver, is about 314 miles away as the crow flies.

Boom town

Population
13,936
up 17% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$302,100
Pennington County prices up 14% since 2022
Household income
$73,008
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Rapid City area
89.2
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
8 miles
Rapid City, SD
To Denver
314 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 10.8% below the U.S. average in the Rapid City metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 4.1 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood45 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 3.1 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 13.8 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town5 public schools: 2 elementary, 1 middle, 1 high school and 1 other.
  • A hospital close byMonument Health Rapid City Hospital in Rapid City, about 8 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityDenver is about 314 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Box Elder meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

Boom town. The population is up 17% since 2020. Growing fast, with rising home values. Watch for chain stores and big apartment complexes: the small-town feel may not last.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$302,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 14%Pennington County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,491 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$73,008U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
48%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$4,019 a yearSouth Dakota: $2,724
Homes built before 1940
1%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
35%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
89.2U.S. average = 100 (the Rapid City metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 14% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Rapid City metro area, not Box Elder alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
13,9362020: 11,948
Median age
28.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
7%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
27%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
28%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
15%U.S.: 6%
College students
8%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (29%); construction (13%); retail (12%)
Unemployment rate
5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
20 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
7%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
8%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Monument Health Rapid City Hospital, Rapid City, SD, about 8 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

5 public schools in Box Elder, run by Douglas School District 51-1.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on South Dakota's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
82%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
94%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
13°F
July average high
86°F
Days 90°F or hotter
32 a year
Nights at or below freezing
174 a year
Rain and melted snow
17.4 inches a year
Snow
48 inches a year
Elevation
3,042 feet

Weather station: Rapid City Rgnl Ap (5 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Monument Health Rapid City Hospital, Rapid City, Denver.

Pennington County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Mount Rushmore National Memorial23 miles
  • Badlands National Park33 miles
  • Wind Cave National Park36 miles
  • Jewel Cave National Monument45 miles
  • Minuteman Missile National Historic Site58 miles

Read about Box Elder's history on Wikipedia.

Know Box Elder?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Ashland Heights, SD (unincorporated)1,105 people, 3 miles
  • Green Valley, SD (unincorporated)1,642 people, 5 miles
  • New Underwood, SD594 people, 12 miles
  • Wonderland Homes, SD (unincorporated)745 people, 15 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.