Belle Fourche, South Dakota

Population

Growing. Up 2.5% since 2020.

5,791

people, the 18th-largest of South Dakota's cities and towns.

Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among South Dakota's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates

The workday

6 in 10 jobs here go to people who live somewhere else.

57.7%

of 2,045 jobs located in Belle Fourche are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Rent

Median rent is up 102% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$983

a month. South Dakota's median is $946.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

The seam

Cross one tract line and median rent jumps $40.

A $40 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Butte County.

• $938 Tract 9676
• $978 Tract 9677.01

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Room to build

The median rent sits inside what local wages can carry.

$889–$1,334

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $983 median

Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year

Building

74% of the housing here was built before 2000.

• 157 homes permitted in ten years, 2016–2025
• 10% of those were in multifamily buildings
• 74% of all homes were built before 2000

Census Building Permits Survey, 2016–2025; Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census Building Permits Survey, Census ACS 5-year

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0.3–0.8% to the 2,625 homes here.

8–20

is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.

Range computed by the Almanac from 2023 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac

Home value

A median home costs 14% less than South Dakota's.

$222,500

median home value in Belle Fourche.

• $222,500 Belle Fourche
• $257,400 South Dakota
• $332,700 U.S.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census ACS 5-year