Living in Lead, SD
Lead is a small town of 3,006 people in Lawrence County, South Dakota. It's about 33 miles from Rapid City, SD and 322 miles from Denver, CO, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 81°F and winter highs 37°F, with about 182 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $189k and rent runs about $835 a month.
3,006people
$189kTypical home
$835/moRent
81° / 37°Summer / winter
182"Snow
251Sunny days
133Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Small town of 3,006
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 1,461 people per sq mi
- 322 mi to Denver, CO
- 33 mi to Rapid City, SD
- 10 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $189k (≈$1,194/mo)
- Median rent $835/mo
- Median household income $73k
- Property tax about 1.0% of value
- 0.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 81°F
- Winter highs around 37°F
- Dry summers (dew point 49°F)
- 251 sunny days a year (74 totally clear)
- 114 cloudy days a year
- 40 of 90 winter days are gray
- 133 days a year with rain or snow
- 182" of snow a year
- 40 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 34 nights a year below 10°F
- Usually calm
Safety
- Very low violent crime (117 per 100k)
- Low property crime (895 per 100k)
People
- Median age 47
- 15% of households have kids
- 27% are 65 or older
- 22% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 3% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 22 min
- 3% walk or take transit to work
- 41 mi to RAP airport
- 314 mi to DEN (major hub)
- 284 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 74% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1938
- 81% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Mountain country
- Elevation 5,397 ft
- 915 mi to the ocean
- 128 mi to a big lake
- 9 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 3 mi to the nearest ski area
- 2 mi to the nearest campground
- 6 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 46 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 16 bars within 25 mi
- 13 coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 13 museums within 25 mi
- 2 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 33 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the bottom 37% of South Dakota districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 4 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 11 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 8 mi to the nearest vet
- Dog park in town
- 10 congregations per 10k people
- 11 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Lawrence County: R+31 in 2024
- South Dakota: R+29 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- Low tornado risk
- Moderate wildfire risk
- Very low earthquake risk
- Low flood risk
- Moderate drought risk
- High winter storm risk
- Very low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk