Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Belle Fourche is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C overall, 32nd among South Dakota's 35 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is cost of living: homes are within reach, about $347K for a typical one, or 4.6 years of the county’s $76K median household income. Its lowest everyday mark is in schools: its public schools trail 69% of South Dakota towns on state tests and graduation. Its National Register listings include Belle Fourche Commercial Historic District and Hay Creek Bridge. Among 35 South Dakota towns, just 2 have a higher July high than Belle Fourche.
Where Belle Fourche beats most towns.
Census counts: 451 in 1900, 5,617 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1887 and 3 maps from 1907 on.
16 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within South Dakota), ordered by how far Belle Fourche is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Belle Fourche, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Belle Fourche.
Belle Fourche is healthier than towns with similar incomes, has home values still below their peak and has colder winter nights than most of the country, though not than most of South Dakota.
The average commute for its 2,724 working residents takes 25.8 minutes, against 17.8 across South Dakota.
About one in 3 of Belle Fourche’s working residents works in town. Belle Fourche’s average trip to work is 26 minutes, against 17 minutes in South Dakota’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. The top destinations are Spearfish (20%), Rapid City (10%) and Deadwood (3%).
| Belle Fourche | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 17 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 29% | 30% | 8% |
| Median household income | $65,000 | $72,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Belle Fourche School District 09-1. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Belle Fourche High School - 01, with 389 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belle Fourche Middle School - 07Largest public middle schoolGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 414 | C− |
| Belle Fourche High School - 01Largest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 389 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within SD on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 70% of U.S. communities. Since 1982, 6 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Belle Fourche.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
January nights average 13°: colder than most of the country, but milder than 96% of South Dakota places with climate records; July afternoons average 88.1°.
Belle Fourche has cold, snowy winters and warm summers, with very little rain. Belle Fourche’s January low is 13°F, above the South Dakota town median (9°F) but below the median of U.S. towns (22°F). About 42 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Belle Fourche’s violent crime rate is 2.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Belle Fourche | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.5 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 7.8 per 1,000 residents | 10.6 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The typical value, about $347K, is 10% below its December 2022 peak. At about $347K, home values are up 7% in five years, against a rise of 23% across South Dakota.
The typical Belle Fourche home is worth about $347,000, up 2.6% in a year, 9% above the South Dakota typical home.
| Belle Fourche | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 66% | 68% | 73% |
| Median rent | $983 a month | $958 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Against the 9,942 U.S. towns with household incomes like Belle Fourche’s, it is healthier than 66%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income.
Belle Fourche beats the South Dakota average on 0 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 5. 28% of Belle Fourche adults get no exercise outside work. Among 35 South Dakota towns, just 2 have a higher share of adults 18 to 64 who have no health insurance than Belle Fourche.
| Belle Fourche | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 22% | 25% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 30% | 36% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 19% | 16% |
| What stands out | Belle Fourche | SD |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 17.9% | 12.7% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.2% | 6.7% |
| More adults with heart disease | 7.8% | 6.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
0.6 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves. Only 2 of the 32 South Dakota towns we compare have a lower trail density than Belle Fourche.
| Belle Fourche | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.8% | 3.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Hermann Park | — | 9 |
| 2. Highland Park | — | 3 |
| 3. Jones Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Belle Fourche
About 5 of every 100 Belle Fourche residents are enrolled in college, about the same as South Dakota.
16 places in Belle Fourche on the National Register of Historic Places.
9 notable people were born in Belle Fourche.
City in South Dakota, United States
Belle Fourche (; bel-FOOSH) is a city in and the county seat of Butte County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 5,617 at the 2020 census, and was estimated to be 5,855 in 2024, making it the 18th-most populous city in South Dakota. It is near the geographic center of the United States, which moved some 550 miles (885 km) northwest from the geographic center of the contiguous United States in Lebanon, Kansas with the admission of Alaska and Hawaii in the mid-20th century.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Belle Fourche grades C overall, better than 28% of U.S. towns and #32 of 35 in South Dakota. It grades B− for health, C+ for safety and C for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a C−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
9 notable people were born here, including Jason Kubel and Bill Pearson.
