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Buffalo Gap is a tiny town of 131 people in Custer County, South Dakota. It's about 40 miles from Rapid City, SD and 270 miles from Denver, CO, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 88°F and winter highs 40°F, with about 38 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $236k and rent runs about $1k a month.
131people
$236kTypical home
$1,112/moRent
88° / 40°Summer / winter
38"Snow
254Sunny days
80Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Tiny town of 131
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 428 people per sq mi
- 270 mi to Denver, CO
- 40 mi to Rapid City, SD
- 40 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $236k (≈$1,489/mo)
- Median rent $1,112/mo
- Median household income $69k
- Property tax about 0.8% of value
- 2.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 88°F
- Winter highs around 40°F
- Comfortable summers (dew point 51°F)
- 254 sunny days a year (80 totally clear)
- 111 cloudy days a year
- 35 of 90 winter days are gray
- 80 days a year with rain or snow
- 38" of snow a year
- 14 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- 5 days a year over 100°F
- 39 nights a year below 10°F
- Breezy
Safety
- Very low violent crime (112 per 100k), county-wide
- Very low property crime (371 per 100k), county-wide
People
- Median age 66
- 22% of households have kids
- 37% are 65 or older
- 31% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 1% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 30 min
- 2% walk or take transit to work
- 40 mi to RAP airport
- 261 mi to DEN (major hub)
- 226 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 75% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1961
- 88% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Hilly terrain
- Elevation 3,268 ft
- 957 mi to the ocean
- 102 mi to a big lake
- 27 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 28 mi to the nearest ski area
- 8 mi to the nearest campground
- 2 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 18 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- Few or no bars within 25 mi
- 5 coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 4 museums within 25 mi
- No breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 41 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the top 38% of South Dakota districts (reading)
- 9 mi to the nearest grocery store
- 13 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 73 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 37 mi to the nearest vet
- 7 mi to the nearest dog park
- 14 congregations per 10k people
- 41 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Custer County: R+46 in 2024
- South Dakota: R+29 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- Low tornado risk
- High wildfire risk
- Very low earthquake risk
- Very low flood risk
- High drought risk
- Moderate winter storm risk
- Very low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk
Limited data: this place is small enough that most of its Census numbers (rent, home value, income, age) are blended with county figures. Treat its match as a rough guide.