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

Schools

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

Health

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

13Sturgis

7Belle Fourche

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

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

Left end = #1 in South Dakota. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Sturgis’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%

Sturgis$2,350/mo

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

Belle Fourche$2,070/mo

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

SturgisBelle Fourche

Snow a year48″42″

January low15°F 13°F

July high86°F 87°F

Growing season (days)147d 143d

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

Outdoors & history

SturgisBelle Fourche

Trails3 mi 1 mi

Conserved land5.6%1.8%

Settled1878 —

National Register places8 16

Archive photos—6

Famous people born here—10

Community

SturgisBelle Fourche

Library hours a week57 hrs 40 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.

SturgisBelle Fourche

Sturgis ↔ Belle Fourche25 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

SturgisBelle Fourche

People

Population 7,086Highest 5,804Lowest

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

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

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

Kids under 18 22%±4Lowest SD: 24.2% 24.1%±3.4Highest 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+ 19.4%±3.3Highest SD: 18% 19.2%±3.7Lowest 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+ 24.4%Highest SD: 31.9% 17.1%Lowest SD: 31.9%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 1.8%±1.5Lowest SD: 5% 4.5%±2.2Highest 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 $54,404±$9kLowest 28% below SD $65,071±$22kHighest 13% 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 $271,200±$30kHighest 5% above SD $222,500±$32kLowest 14% below 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 $780±$214Lowest 18% below SD $983±$94Highest 4% above 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 $3,222Highest 18% above SD $2,266Lowest 17% below SD

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 41%±17.3Lowest SD: 39.8% 47%±16.4Highest 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 9.2%Lowest SD: 11.9% 10.6%Highest SD: 11.9%

Housing

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

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

Getting to work

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

Work from home 2%±1.4Lowest SD: 9.7% 4.3%±2.4Highest 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 32.5%Highest 29.3%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 12.3 mi 12.3 mi

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

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

Between these townsresidents who work in the others 1% work in Belle Fourche3% work in Sturgis

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 5.6%Highest 1.8%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 2.5 miHighest 0.6 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.4 miHighest 0.1 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 3Lowest 5Highest

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

Schools

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

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

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

Students per teacherat that high school 17.6Highest 14.6Lowest

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.

Sturgis neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Sturgis’s Town Square.

Belle Fourche neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Belle Fourche’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Sturgis and Belle Fourche

One tap adds it. Up to 4 towns at once.

Towns like Sturgis

+ Compare

Madison6,094 people · $193K homes

+ Compare

Yankton15,540 people · $223K homes

+ Compare

Huron14,385 people · $159K homes

+ Compare

Canton3,033 people · $191K 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.

Sturgis vs Belle Fourche

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

Set another town beside Sturgis and Belle Fourche

Towns like Sturgis

Post to Sturgis

Check your email