Photo: Gary Chancey, Black Hills National Forest · Public domainHow is Lead run?
Lead’s city government spent $2.8 million on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2024, about $932 per resident. Water and other utilities ($959,000) are counted separately.
What stands out about how Lead is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
About $932 per resident a year, or $2.55 a day
Day-to-day services only. The biggest line: police, at 29%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
No comparison for Lead yet
The fair comparison uses 2022, the last year the Census Bureau counted every government (later years are a sample). Lead’s 2022 figures are a Census estimate (it reported none of its 2022 dollars), so it has no like-for-like peer figure. It reported 2024; the next full count is 2027.
How Town Hall compares budgets →Day-to-day spending is down 33% since 2023
Day-to-day services, in dollars, in the years Lead reported to the Census Bureau. Prices rose too: about 4% a year in 2022–2024.
Day-to-day spending by fiscal year
Per resident: 2023: $1,403 · 2024: $932.
full-time in March 2025, the same as 20 in 2022. Both are Census estimates.
Building projects, interest and enterprises (hospital, utilities) are left out, so a big construction year doesn’t read as growth.
The typical homeowner pays $1,864 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 0.98% of the home’s value, vs 1.06% across South Dakota.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Lead’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate.
Tax bills are one input to Lead’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Lead →
Who’s in charge in Lead
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
Lead’s meeting calendar isn’t in our feed yet. The city posts agendas and minutes on leadmethere.org ↗.
One full-time city employee for every 151 residents
On the payroll in March 2025, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (a Census estimate). Residents: the Census population in the 2024 finance file (3,013).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2025
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Lead-Deadwood School District 40-1
Lead’s K–12 school district, shared with Central City, Deadwood. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $17,440 per pupil, $9,955 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
South Dakota districts overall: 50% local, 31% state, 19% federal.
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
Lead’s votes are counted by county
South Dakota reports official results by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Lead alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Lawrence County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican64.3%9,904 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat32.9%5,074 votesOthers: 2.8% (431 votes).
Most votes in Lawrence County: Donald J Trump
South Dakota: Trump 63.4%, Harris 34.2%
100% of Lead lies in Lawrence County. Every 2024 race in Lawrence County is on the county’s page.
Lawrence County’s 2024 results →Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Lead.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilOfficials: leadmethere.org ↗
- 2South Dakota HouseState representatives
- 3South Dakota SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of South Dakota
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
How Lead compares with the towns next door
Lead’s 2022 figures are a Census estimate, so it isn’t placed among them. None of its neighbors reported 2022 figures. Tap a town to see its page.
| Town | Day-to-day, per resident (2022) | Tax bill |
|---|---|---|
| Deadwood | estimate | $2,409 |
| Lead | estimate | $1,864 |
Day-to-day spending in 2022, the last year every government was counted, for governments that reported it; hospital and utilities left out. Tax bill: the typical homeowner’s bill (Census ACS, 2020–24).
Reach Lead’s government
The official site has phone numbers, hours and forms. Neighbors add the rest to the Handbook.
Questions about Lead’s government
How much does Lead spend per resident?
About $932 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2024, as reported to the Census Bureau.
What is the property tax rate in Lead?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $1,864 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 0.98% of the typical home’s value, vs 1.06% across South Dakota. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see leadmethere.org.
Who runs Lead’s government?
See leadmethere.org for current officials. We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Lead yet.
How did Lead vote in 2024?
South Dakota counts votes by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Lead alone. Lawrence County, where 100% of Lead lies, voted Trump 64.3%, Harris 32.9% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Lead?
20 full-time and 8 part-time employees in March 2025, with a March payroll of $123,538 (about $1.5M a year if every month were the same); Census Bureau estimates.
Who represents Lead in the state legislature?
State Senate District 31 (Randy Deibert) and State House District 31 (Mary Fitzgerald and Scott Odenbach). The House district also covers five other towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Lead’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll; day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →