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Towns / South Dakota

Lead, South Dakota

Lead is a small town of about 3,100 people in Lawrence County, South Dakota, about 5,300 feet above sea level. It has grown about 3% since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.6 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 322 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
3,064
up 2.9% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$189,400
Lawrence County prices up 16% since 2022
Household income
$73,047
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural South Dakota
86.7
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
2 miles
Deadwood, SD
To Denver
322 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 13.3% below the U.S. average in the parts of South Dakota outside metro areas.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.6 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood2 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0.7 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 6.2 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town2 public schools: 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byMonument Health Lead-Deadwood Hospital in Deadwood, about 2 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityDenver is about 322 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 Lead 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.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$189,400U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 16%Lawrence County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$835 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$73,047U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
70%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,864 a yearSouth Dakota: $2,724
Homes built before 1940
64%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
3%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
9%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
86.7U.S. average = 100 (the parts of South Dakota outside metro areas)

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 16% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of South Dakota outside metro areas, not Lead 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
3,0642020: 2,978
Median age
46.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
27%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
15%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
21%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
4%U.S.: 6%

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
Arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (38%); professional and business services (12%); schools, health care and social services (12%)
Unemployment rate
0%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
20 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
2%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 Lead-Deadwood Hospital, Deadwood, SD, about 2 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Monument Health Spearfish Hospital, Spearfish, SD, about 11 miles away. Medicare gives it 4 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

2 public schools in Lead, run by Lead-Deadwood School District 40-1.

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
71%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
79%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
18°F
July average high
82°F
Days 90°F or hotter
6 a year
Nights at or below freezing
166 a year
Rain and melted snow
31.8 inches a year
Snow
184 inches a year
Elevation
5,296 feet

Weather station: Lead (1 mile 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 Lead-Deadwood Hospital, Rapid City, Denver.

Lawrence County is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 6, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

5 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Hardy Guard Station, the Lead Historic District and Lead Historic District (Boundary Increase II) (Boundary Decrease).

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Mount Rushmore National Memorial35 miles
  • Jewel Cave National Monument42 miles
  • Devils Tower National Monument49 miles
  • Wind Cave National Park51 miles

Read about Lead's history on Wikipedia.

Know Lead?

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

  • Central City, SD112 people, 1 mile
  • Crook City, SD (unincorporated)279 people, 8 miles
  • Boulder Canyon, SD (unincorporated)841 people, 9 miles
  • Mountain Plains, SD (unincorporated)350 people, 9 miles
  • Whitewood, SD981 people, 10 miles
  • North Spearfish, SD (unincorporated)1,858 people, 13 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.