Best PlacesLawrence County, SD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Lawrence County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Lawrence County ranks 875th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Lawrence County
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Lawrence County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Lawrence County ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 98% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 97% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 88% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 87% of counties
- BikingBetter than 86% of counties
Where Lawrence County ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 4% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 23% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 26% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 33% of counties
- TransitBetter than only 35% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Lawrence County
A household needs to earn about $88,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Lawrence County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $74,409, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Lawrence County's effective rate of 0.80%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Lawrence County
Lawrence County runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Lawrence County.
Who works in Lawrence County, and how
Work in Lawrence County centers on hospitality & food and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Lawrence County
Lawrence County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 86% of counties and more parkland per resident than 99% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Lawrence County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Lawrence County growing, and who is moving in?
Lawrence County has grown about 16% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Rapid City, SD.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Lawrence County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Lawrence County, month by month
Lawrence County sees roughly 91 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 37, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37° | 27° | 18° |
| April | 55° | 42° | 33° |
| July | 85° | 72° | 60° |
| October | 59° | 47° | 37° |
Flying in and out of Lawrence County
The nearest airport, Rapid City Regional, is about 47 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Denver International, about 320 miles away.
The best schools in and around Lawrence County
Schools across Lawrence County average a C+, better than 55% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Whitewood Elementary - 04A+ · 75% proficient
- Sundance ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
- Creekside Elementary - 07B · 45% proficient
Top middle schools
- Newcastle Middle SchoolA− · 57% proficient
- Sturgis Williams Middle School - 02B · 45% proficient
- Belle Fourche Middle School - 07C · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Spearfish High School - 01B · 50% proficient
- Belle Fourche High School - 01B · 50% proficient
- Newcastle High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Lawrence County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Lawrence County measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Lawrence County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Lawrence County suits
Families
Schools land around the 55th percentile and crime safety beats 83%.
Common questions about living in Lawrence County
Is Lawrence County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Lawrence County ranks 875th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a strong job market, low taxes, and state infrastructure, and lowest on distance from a big city and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Lawrence County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $336,081. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $74,409 median income, cost of living beats 62% of counties.
Is Lawrence County safe?
Yes, Lawrence County is safer than 83% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $330 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Lawrence County?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 37 with lows near 18. That works out to about 91 pleasant days a year, more than 53% of counties.
Is Lawrence County good for families?
Schools beat 55% of counties, crime safety beats 83%, and childcare runs $702 a month.
Compare Lawrence County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Lawrence County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Lawrence County represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Lawrence County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Lawrence County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Lawrence County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Lawrence County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Lawrence County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Lawrence County detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.