In Wall, the typical journey to work is 17 minutes. For most workers, Wall is a place to come home to: only 12% work in town. Its typical household income stands at $59,000, against $72,000 in South Dakota’s towns and $80,000 across U.S. towns. The top destinations are Rapid City (47%), Box Elder (10%) and New Underwood (4%).

12%work in town

	Wall	South Dakota towns	U.S. towns
Working residents who work in town	12%	29%	8%
Average trip to work	17 minutes	17 minutes	25 minutes
Median household income	$59,000	$72,000	$80,000

Where working residents work

In Wall12%

Rapid City47%

Box Elder10%

New Underwood4%

Sioux Falls4%

48 mi

median commute distance

468

jobs based in Wall

A job hub

jobs vs. working residents

Full pageWall’s work & commute pageOpen the page

The jobs here468 jobs based here · A job hub Where people work12% work in Wall Commute times17 minutes · The average commute How far they goHalf commute less than 48 miles

Census LEHD 2023 · ACS

Schools

The schools Wall’s kids attend

The public schools here belong to the Wall School District 51-5. Below: Two of its 3 schools, each with why it was picked. 3 public schools serve Wall, with 273 students in all.

School	Level	Students	Letter
Wall Elementary - 02Largest public elementary schoolGrades K–5	Grades K–5	107	C⁺
Wall High School - 01Largest public high schoolGrades 9–12	Grades 9–12	100	B⁻

Full pageWall’s schools pageOpen the page

The districtsWall School District 51-5 Vs. the neighbors3 bordering towns Every school3 schools · Wall Elementary - 02 Questions“Are Wall’s schools good?”

NCES · EDFacts

Natural hazards

Wall faces a high natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding

52% of Wall’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by wildfires at 15%. Expected damage from storms and floods is higher here than in nearly three quarters of U.S. communities.

74risk score of 100

FEMA risk score

Inland floodingWildfireCold waves

Full pageWall’s hazards pageOpen the page

What it facesHigh risk Flood claims0 paid flood claims · No paid flood claims on record Past disasters19 disaster declarations · Declared for the county Get ready2.1 events a year, on average · Ready for inland flooding

FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA

Climate

The climate in Wall brings four seasons and pleasant summers

The town’s July high stands at 87°F, above both South Dakota’s towns (85°F) and U.S. towns (85°F).

30″snow a winter

Typical low → high °F

Winter14–36°

Spring34–58°

Summer58–84°

Fall36–62°

Oct 1

typical first frost

May 10

typical last frost

+1.2°

vs. the 20th-century average

Full pageWall’s climate pageOpen the page

A year of weatherJuly highs 87°, January lows 13°Rain & snow30″ of snow a winter · 18 inches of rain and snow a year Heating & coolingMostly a heating bill Then and now+1.2° vs. the 20th century · Warmer than the 20th-century average

NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020

Who lives here

Fewer children than South Dakota overall

In Wall, a quarter of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more. Children under 18 are 18% of residents (24% statewide); people 65 and older are 24% of residents (18% statewide). For Wall, the median age is 46.2 years. This South Dakota town is shrinking: down 3.7% since 2020, to 668 residents (2025 estimate).

46.2median age · SD 38

	Wall	South Dakota towns	U.S. towns
Median age	46.2 years	39.5 years	40.5 years
Under 18	18%	22%	22%
Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+	25%	33%	29%

WallSouth DakotaUnited States

SDU.S.

Ages · share of residents

18%

Education · adults 25 and older

No diploma1%

High school44%

Some college17%

Associate’s13%

Bachelor’s21%

Graduate4%

Women and men · all residents

47% women, 53% men

That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±10 points. Across South Dakota, 49.2% of residents are women.

Ages and education in Wall
	Wall	SD	U.S.
Under 10	7.2%	13.1%	11.6%
10 to 17	10.9%	11.2%	10.3%
18 to 24	5.8%	9.3%	9.1%
25 to 34	10.3%	12.6%	13.7%
35 to 44	15%	12.6%	13.2%
45 to 54	12.4%	10.7%	12.2%
55 to 64	14.3%	12.6%	12.7%
65 to 74	17.7%	11%	10.2%
75 and older	6.4%	7%	7%
No diploma	1.1%	6.8%	10.4%
High school	44.2%	29%	26%
Some college	16.7%	19.9%	19.1%
Associate’s	12.7%	12.3%	8.8%
Bachelor’s	21.4%	21.9%	21.6%
Graduate	4%	10%	14.1%

Full pageWall by the numbersOpen the page

Ages46.2 median age · 24% are 65 or older Schooling25% have a four-year degree Homes82% own their home · Homeowners Income$59K a year · Median household income

Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 700, single groups can be off by several points

Health

How healthy Wall is

Among 36 South Dakota towns, just 2 have a higher share of adults who have high blood pressure than Wall. This South Dakota town beats the South Dakota average on 2 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 15% of Wall adults report frequent mental distress.

	Wall	South Dakota towns	U.S. towns
Diabetes (CDC PLACES)	13%	10%	12%
High blood pressure (CDC PLACES)	37%	31%	35%
Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES)	31%	30%	36%
Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES)	15%	15%	17%

26 measures vs. South Dakota

2 better22 too close to call2 worse

What stands out	Wall	SD
More adults treating high blood pressure	79%	75.9%
More adults getting cholesterol checked	87%	84.8%
More adults with arthritis	29.2%	25.8%

Hans P Peterson Memorial Hospital - Cah

28.7 mi away · emergency room

1 of 3

care shortages: mental health

Full pageWall’s health reportOpen the page

Everyday habitsMore adults sleeping under 7 hours Hospitals & doctors nearby28.7 miles to an ER · Hans P Peterson Memorial Hospital - Cah How adults are doingMore adults in frequent physical distress Every CDC estimateBetter than SD on 2 of 26

CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA

Outdoors

In Wall, 0.3% of the land is conserved

Only 3 of the 33 South Dakota towns we compare have a lower share of conserved land than Wall. 0.3 miles of trail wind through 2 parks and preserves. For Wall, the density of trails is 0.1 miles per square mile.

0.3%conserved

	Wall	South Dakota towns	U.S. towns
Miles of trail per square mile	0.1 miles per square mile	0.6	0.4
Conserved land	0.3%	3.3%	4.3%

0.3%

conserved · 4 of 1,724 acres

0.3 mi

of trails · 0.1 per sq mi

Biggest places to walk	Trails	Acres
1. Wall City Park	—	4
2. Buffalo Gap National Grassland	—	1

Full pageWall’s outdoors pageOpen the page

Trail map0.3 miles of trail, mapped Pick a walk4 acres · Wall City Park Conserved land0.3% conserved · 4 acres protected Questions“Where can I hike in Wall?”

Housing

A typical Wall home is worth about $318K

The share of households in Wall who live in a home they own: 82%. In the year to September 2026, typical home values climbed 2.9%.

$318KZillow home value

Typical home value

Wall$318K

South Dakota$318K

+2.9%

value change, 1 year

homes sold in May

Full pageWall’s housing & cost-of-living pageOpen the page

Prices over the yearsUp 2.9% in a year Years of income to buyA typical home costs 5.4 years of income RentsRents Vs. the neighbors3 bordering towns

Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center

Keep exploring

Everything we know about Wall

18pages on Wall

The big questions

Schools3 schools HealthBetter than SD on 2 of 26 CDC measures Cost of living$318K typical home · up 2.9% in a year Work & commute$59K median household income · 468 jobs here Natural hazardsFEMA risk higher than 74% of U.S. communities · inland flooding

Out and about

Outdoors0 mi of trails · 0% conserved land PlacesAttractions9 nearby · Badlands National Park 6 mi LibraryWall Community Library Colleges

The story

HistorySettled 1907 Town Hall & politicsOne full-time town employee per 223 residents Climate87° summer highs · 30″ of snow

Day to day

NewsWeatherHandbookZIP code 57790 Town SquareNeighbors

After high school

Colleges nearby

None within 15 miles of Wall; the nearest are

Oglala Lakota CollegeUniversity or college · Public · Kyle43.3 mi$2,684 in-state tuition Western Dakota Technical CollegeCommunity college · Public · Rapid City46.8 mi$8,294 in-state tuition

About 2 of every 100 Wall residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across South Dakota.

Prices by family income, graduation and earnings →

A job hub

Every workday, about 436 people come to Wall for work

Where Wall’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.

468jobs based in Wall

12%of working residents work in town

48 mimedian commute distance

Census LEHD 2023

About Wall

City in South Dakota, United States

Official town website ↗

Wall is a city in Pennington County, South Dakota, United States. Its Lakota name is Makȟóšiča Aglágla Otȟuŋwahe, meaning "Town alongside the Badlands". Wall's population was 699 at the 2020 census.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)

Established: 1908
Area: 2.2 sq mi
Elevation: 2,825 ft
ZIP code: 57790

Questions about Wall

Short answers, built from the data on this page.

Is Wall, SD a good place to live?

Wall has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.

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Is Wall a good place to live?

668 people, and everyone knows the way

119 years in pictures

Badlands National Park and 1 more within 40 miles

Moving to Wall: who provides what

The data

About half of Wall’s working residents commute to Rapid City