City · Lawrence County, South Dakota

Lead, South Dakota

Lead is a city in Lawrence County, South Dakota, part of the Spearfish, SD metro area. It has 3,006 residents. Lead, South Dakota has a quality-of-life score of 79 out of 100 (high), ranking #3,227 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within South Dakota it ranks #34 of 75 cities and towns. It ranks best on unemployment rate (low), rent-burdened households (low) and arts, entertainment and recreation (high). It ranks worst on distance to an airport (high), distance to an Amtrak station (high) and comfortable days (low).

79High

Quality-of-life score: #3,227 of 15,651 cities and towns
South Dakota: #34 of 75 in SD
Population: 3,006 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 1,460.4 /mi²
FIPS code: 4636220

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 71 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety50#7,751/15,637
Economy75#3,917/15,631
Housing92#1,253/14,977
Health69#4,897/15,609
Healthcare57#6,703/15,650
Environment55#6,876/15,453
Education66#5,330/15,649
Infrastructure27#11,487/15,650
Community94#1,007/15,651
Leisure & amenities93#1,075/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Lead, South Dakota ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Lawrence County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Unemployment rate · low0.0%
98/100South Dakota 2.1%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025
Rent-burdened households · low30.9%
98/100South Dakota 39.8%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Arts, entertainment and recreation · high14.3 /10k
98/100South Dakota 8.1 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLawrence County value
Mammography screening · high58.0%
97/100South Dakota 54.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLawrence County value
Preventable hospital stays · low1,465 /100k
97/100South Dakota 2,787 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLawrence County value
Restaurants and bars · high15.6 /10k
96/100South Dakota 10.6 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLawrence County value

Weaknesses

Distance to an airport · high249 mi
0/100South Dakota 114 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauLawrence County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · high255 mi
1/100South Dakota 185 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauLawrence County value
Comfortable days · low22.0%
3/100South Dakota 22.8%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationLawrence County value
Broadband subscriptions · low79.4%
4/100South Dakota 89.6%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Suicide rate · high29.6 /100k
4/100South Dakota 22.3 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataLawrence County value
Traffic deaths · high34.6 /100k
5/100South Dakota 15.7 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataLawrence County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Child poverty rateImproving
19.4% (2015-2019) → 6.2% (2020-2024)
−13 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Median household incomeImproving
$47,500 (2015-2019) → $73,047 (2020-2024)
+54%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Poverty rateImproving
16.8% (2015-2019) → 7.5% (2020-2024)
−9.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Average commute timeWorsening
14.3 min (2015-2019) → 20.1 min (2020-2024)
+41%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
21.0% (2015-2019) → 13.0% (2020-2024)
−8 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
36.9% (2015-2019) → 30.9% (2020-2024)
−5.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Lead, South Dakota improved on 1 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 11 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Poverty−9.2 points16.8% → 7.5%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Lead, South Dakota between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	14.3 min2015-2019	20.1 min2020-2024	+5.9 min	Within the margin of error	7%
Bachelor's degree or higher	23.1%2015-2019	20.5%2020-2024	−2.6 points	Within the margin of error	14%
Broadband subscriptions	79.6%2015-2019	79.4%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	8%
Effective property tax rate	1.44%2015-2019	0.99%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	88%
High school diploma or higher	90.5%2015-2019	94.5%2020-2024	+4 points	Within the margin of error	76%
Home price to income ratio	2.6×2015-2019	2.6×2020-2024	−0.0×	Within the margin of error	79%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3882015-2019	0.3982020-2024	+0.010	Within the margin of error	42%
Median household income	$47,5002015-2019	$73,0472020-2024	+54%	Within the margin of error	87%
Poverty rate	16.8%2015-2019	7.5%2020-2024	−9.2 points	Improved	92%
Rent as share of income	22.5%2015-2019	24.7%2020-2024	+2.2 points	Within the margin of error	38%
Rent-burdened households	36.9%2015-2019	30.9%2020-2024	−5.9 points	Within the margin of error	74%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	21.0%2015-2019	13.0%2020-2024	−8 points	Within the margin of error	94%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Lead, South Dakota five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Lead, South Dakota in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Lead, South Dakota itself moved −1.7 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

3,006 residents (±18)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

1,345 households (±160)

Lead, South Dakota
South Dakota share

Under $25k13%†180
$25k–50k24%†323
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

1,345 households (±160)

Lead, South Dakota
South Dakota share

Own70%946
Rent30%†399

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

1,772 workers (±157)

Lead, South Dakota
South Dakota share

Drive alone72%1,269
Carpool23%†405
Public transit2.2%†

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Spearfish, SD

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Lawrence County, the county holding most of Lead's residents.

Lawrence County has 1,248 employer establishments, 445 for every 10,000 residents (1.79× the US rate of 248; 1.40× South Dakota's), with 11,109 paid employees at an average annual pay of $44,448. The Census Bureau also counts 3,299 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,248; 3,299 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 445; US 248 · South Dakota 317
Paid employees: 11,109
Average annual pay: $44,448; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Lawrence County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	101	36	2.33×More than typical	484	$56,194	181
Lessors of real estate	82	29.2	2.37×More than typical	190	$34,516	563
Construction of buildings	81	28.9	3.82×More than typical	213	$46,624	107
Restaurants and other eating places	73	26	1.42×More than typical	1,124	$22,053	8
Traveler accommodation	57	20.3	11.3×More than typical	1,806	$33,445	24
Ambulatory health care services	56	20	0.96×About typical	592	$77,458	112
Automotive repair and maintenance	40	14.3	2.83×More than typical	136	$42,926	42
Foundation, structure and building exterior contractors	37	13.2	4.19×More than typical	129	$58,023	31
Real estate agents and brokers	36	12.8	2.64×More than typical	57	$48,368	87
Full-service restaurants	35	12.5	1.63×More than typical	585	$26,094	—
Truck transportation	35	12.5	2.47×More than typical	83	$59,554	58
Services to buildings and dwellings	34	12.1	1.80×More than typical	79	$28,671	219

Rank places for an industry Open Lawrence County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 28,037 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Lead is mostly in Lawrence County.

See federal money in Lawrence County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Lead, South Dakota is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Dusty JohnsonR-SD · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 4.7%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Lawrence County90100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Spearfish, SD96

Other cities and towns in Lawrence County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/4636220

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends