Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every South Dakota ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Safety

C+Belle FourcheSafer than 41% of U.S. towns C−SturgisSafer than 23% of U.S. towns

Schools

CBelle FourcheBetter than 29% of districts in the state B−SturgisBetter than 51% of districts in the state

Health

B−Belle FourcheHealthier than 48% of U.S. towns BSturgisHealthier than 61% of U.S. towns

7Belle Fourche

13Sturgis

Lists won, of 21 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Lowest obesityHealth · 37 towns #23#4 Best schoolsSchools · 34 towns #27#10 Cheapest rentCost of living · 34 towns #23#7 Most conserved landOutdoors · 33 towns #24#9 Lowest property taxCost of living · 37 towns #8#23 Shortest commuteGetting around · 37 towns #37#23 Lowest depressionHealth · 37 towns #18#31 SafestSafety · 23 towns #12#20

Left end = #1 in South Dakota. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Belle Fourche’s rankings →

Monthly cost

A typical home costs $280 more a month in Sturgis

A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Belle Fourche$2,070/mo

Typical home $340K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.02% · or rent about $983/mo · Housing →

Sturgis$2,350/mo

Typical home $377K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.19% · or rent about $780/mo · Housing →

The difference: $280 a month, about $3,300 a year, between Sturgis and Belle Fourche.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

Belle FourcheSturgis

Snow a year42″48″

January low13°F 15°F

July high87°F 86°F

Growing season (days)143d 147d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)70th 78th

Outdoors & history

Belle FourcheSturgis

Trails1 mi 3 mi

Conserved land1.8%5.6%

Settled—1878

National Register places16 8

Archive photos6 —

Famous people born here10 —

Community

Belle FourcheSturgis

Library hours a week40 hrs 57 hrs

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Where they are

25 miles apart

And the people who already live in one and work in the other.

Belle FourcheSturgis

Belle Fourche ↔ Sturgis25 miles apart

Who commutes between them

86 Belle Fourche residents work in Sturgis (3.2% of its workers)

39 Sturgis residents work in Belle Fourche (1.2% of its workers)

Work & commute in Belle Fourche →

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs South Dakota average

Belle FourcheSturgis

People

Population 5,804Lowest 7,086Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +0.4%Lowest SD: +8.9% +5.9%Highest SD: +8.9%

Median age 38.3±3.8Lowest about the SD average 40.3±3.3Highest 6% above SD

Sturgis and Belle Fourche are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 24.1%±3.4Highest SD: 24.2% 22%±4Lowest SD: 24.2%

Belle Fourche and Sturgis are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 19.2%±3.7Lowest SD: 18% 19.4%±3.3Highest SD: 18%

Sturgis and Belle Fourche are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 17.1%Lowest SD: 31.9% 24.4%Highest SD: 31.9%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 4.5%±2.2Highest SD: 5% 1.8%±1.5Lowest SD: 5%

Belle Fourche and Sturgis are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $65,071±$22kHighest 13% below SD $54,404±$9kLowest 28% below SD

Belle Fourche and Sturgis are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $222,500±$32kLowest 14% below SD $271,200±$30kHighest 5% above SD

Sturgis and Belle Fourche are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Rentmedian gross, monthly $983±$94Highest 4% above SD $780±$214Lowest 18% below SD

Belle Fourche and Sturgis are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Property taxmedian, yearly $2,266Lowest 17% below SD $3,222Highest 18% above SD

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 47%±16.4Highest SD: 39.8% 41%±17.3Lowest SD: 39.8%

Belle Fourche and Sturgis are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 10.6%Highest SD: 11.9% 9.2%Lowest SD: 11.9%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 65.5%Lowest SD: 68.6% 66.9%Highest SD: 68.6%

Typical home builtmedian year 1978Highest 2 yrs older than SD 1976Lowest 4 yrs older than SD

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 26 minHighest 45% above SD 18 minLowest about the SD average

Work from home 4.3%±2.4Highest SD: 9.7% 2%±1.4Lowest SD: 9.7%

Belle Fourche and Sturgis are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 29.3%Lowest 32.5%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 12.3 mi 12.3 mi

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.70Lowest 0.84Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Spearfish (20%)Rapid City (20%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others 3% work in Sturgis1% work in Belle Fourche

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 1.8%Lowest 5.6%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 0.6 miLowest 2.5 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.1 miLowest 0.4 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 5Highest 3Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 30.6Lowest 58.3Highest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #27 of 34 in SD #10 of 34 in SD

School district Belle Fourche School District 09-1Meade School District 46-1

High school in town Belle Fourche High School - 01Sturgis Brown High School - 01

Students per teacherat that high school 14.6Lowest 17.6Highest

South Dakota average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Belle Fourche neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Belle Fourche’s Town Square.

Sturgis neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Sturgis’s Town Square.

Add a town

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Towns like Belle Fourche

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Madison6,094 people · $193K homes

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Belle Fourche vs Sturgis

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

Sturgis places higher on 13 of 21 SD lists

A typical home costs $280 more a month in Sturgis

What daily life feels like in each

25 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

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Towns like Belle Fourche

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