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 5.3 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
- A safer neighborhood33 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 2.3 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 19.5 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
- Schools in town5 public schools: 3 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
- A hospital close byMonument Health Spearfish Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
- Within reach of a big cityDenver is about 331 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 Spearfish 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 16% 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
- $346,200U.S.: $332,700
- Home prices since then
- Up 16%Lawrence County, 2022 to 2025
- Typical rent, with utilities
- $963 a monthU.S.: $1,413
- Typical household income
- $65,688U.S.: $80,734
- Homes owned by the people living in them
- 50%U.S.: 65%
- Typical property tax bill
- $3,183 a yearSouth Dakota: $2,724
- Homes built before 1940
- 10%U.S.: 12%
- Homes built since 2010
- 22%U.S.: 11%
- Vacation and seasonal homes
- 4%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 Spearfish 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
- 14,1542020: 12,239
- Median age
- 40 yearsU.S.: 38.9
- Age 65 and older
- 21%U.S.: 17%
- Under 18
- 18%U.S.: 22%
- Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
- 42%U.S.: 36%
- Moved here from another county or state in the past year
- 9%U.S.: 6%
- College students
- 11%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 (27%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (16%); retail (16%)
- Unemployment rate
- 2%U.S.: 5%
- Average commute
- 16 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
- Work from home
- 7%U.S.: 15%
- Below the poverty line
- 15%U.S.: 12%
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Health care
Nearest emergency room: Monument Health Spearfish Hospital, Spearfish, SD, in town. It's a general hospital. 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
5 public schools in Spearfish, run by Spearfish School District 40-2.
Colleges in or next to town: Black Hills State University (1,000 to 4,999 students).
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
- 81%U.S.: 76%
- Homes with any internet subscription
- 92%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
- 16°F
- July average high
- 84°F
- Days 90°F or hotter
- 26 a year
- Nights at or below freezing
- 144 a year
- Rain and melted snow
- 21.4 inches a year
- Snow
- 70 inches a year
- Elevation
- 3,914 feet
Weather station: Spearfish (3 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: 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
38 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Frawley Historic Ranch, Daktoa Tin and Gold Mine, the Jackson Boulevard Historic District and Spearfish Fisheries Center. One is a National Historic Landmark, the country's highest honor for a historic place.
National Park Service sites within about an hour:
- Devils Tower National Monument44 miles
- Mount Rushmore National Memorial45 miles
- Jewel Cave National Monument52 miles
Campus life. Check Black Hills State University's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.
Read about Spearfish's history on Wikipedia.
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
- Deadwood, SD1,400 people, 9 miles
- Lead, SD3,100 people, 10 miles
- Belle Fourche, SD5,800 people, 12 miles
- Sturgis, SD6,900 people, 17 miles
- Sundance, WY1,100 people, 28 miles
- Piedmont, SD1,200 people, 29 miles
Smaller places
- Mountain Plains, SD (unincorporated)350 people, 3 miles
- North Spearfish, SD (unincorporated)1,858 people, 5 miles
- Central City, SD112 people, 9 miles
- Whitewood, SD981 people, 9 miles
- Crook City, SD (unincorporated)279 people, 9 miles
- Boulder Canyon, SD (unincorporated)841 people, 12 miles
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
- 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
- FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
- 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
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
- U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
- National Park Service, park unit boundaries
- USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
- 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.