Spearfish, SD

Census Place

2024 Population

12,930

US Senator

John Thune

Republican Party

US Senator

Mike Rounds

Republican Party

US Representative

Dusty Johnson

Republican Party

2024 Median Age

7.53% 1-year increase

2024 Poverty Rate

15.2%

Population & Diversity

Spearfish, SD is home to a population of 12.9k people, from which 99.1% are citizens.

As of 2024, 2.63% of Spearfish, SD residents were born outside of the country (340 people).

In 2024, there were 25.3 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (11.3k people) in Spearfish, SD than any other race or ethnicity. There were 447 American Indian & Alaska Native (Non-Hispanic) and 413 Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

99.1%

2024 Citizenship

99.2%

2023 Citizenship

As of 2024, 99.1% of Spearfish, SD residents were US citizens, which is higher than the national average of 93.2%. In 2023, the percentage of US citizens in Spearfish, SD was 99.2%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been decreasing.

The following chart shows US citizenship percentages in Spearfish, SD compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Spearfish, SD

White (Non-Hispanic)
11.3k ± 293
American Indian & Alaska Native (Non-Hispanic)
447 ± 155
Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic)
413 ± 180

3.87%

Hispanic Population

500 people

3.87% of the people in Spearfish, SD are hispanic (500 people).

The following chart shows the 8 races represented in Spearfish, SD as a share of the total population.

Global Diversity

The PUMS dataset is not available at the Place level, so we are showing data for South Dakota.

Most Common Origin

Mexico
3,429 ± 1,435 people
Guatemala
2,883 ± 1,316 people
Ethiopia
2,826 ± 1,303 people

In 2024, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of South Dakota was Mexico, the natal country of 3,429 South Dakota residents, followed by Guatemala with 2,883 and Ethiopia with 2,826.

Foreign-Born Population

2.63%

2024 Foreign-Born Population

340 people

1.94%

2023 Foreign-Born Population

244 people

As of 2024, 2.63% of Spearfish, SD residents (340 people) were born outside of the United States, which is approximately the same as the national average of 14%. In 2023, the percentage of foreign-born citizens in Spearfish, SD was 1.94%, meaning that the rate has been increasing.

The following chart shows the percentage of foreign-born residents in Spearfish, SD compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period

Gulf War (2001-)
346 ± 145
Gulf War (1990s)
241 ± 123
Vietnam
165 ± 84

Spearfish, SD has a large population of military personnel who served in Gulf War (2001-), 1.44 times greater than any other conflict.

The chart shows the distribution of veterans by conflict in Spearfish, SD.

Economy

The economy of Spearfish, SD employs 6.87k people. In 2024, the largest industries in Spearfish, SD were Retail Trade (1,114 people), Health Care & Social Assistance (1,001 people), and Accommodation & Food Services (931 people), and the highest paying industries were Utilities ($101,442), Mining, Quarrying, & Oil & Gas Extraction ($91,410), and Wholesale Trade ($79,076).

Employment

Occupations

6.87k

2024 Value

± 671

2.95%

1 Year growth

± 13.7%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Spearfish, SD grew at a rate of 2.95%, from 6.67k employees to 6.87k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Spearfish, SD, are Sales & Related Occupations (903 people), Management Occupations (876 people), and Office & Administrative Support Occupations (569 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Spearfish, SD.

Unemployment Insurance Claims

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for South Dakota.

This chart shows weekly unemployment insurance claims in South Dakota (not-seasonally adjusted) compared with the four states with the most similar impact.

The most recent data point uses Advance State Claims data, which can be revised in subsequent weeks.

Industries

Employment by Industries

6.87k

2024 Value

± 671

2.95%

1 Year growth

± 13.7%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Spearfish, SD grew at a rate of 2.95%, from 6.67k employees to 6.87k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Spearfish, SD, are Retail Trade (1,114 people), Health Care & Social Assistance (1,001 people), and Accommodation & Food Services (931 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Spearfish, SD, though some of these residents may live in Spearfish, SD and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

$50,044

Median earning men ± $12,671

$34,134

Median earning women ± $8,128

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2024 are Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($91,731), Wholesale Trade ($79,076), and Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining ($72,742).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2024 are Manufacturing ($70,636), Information ($50,417), and Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining ($49,896).

Civics

In the 2024 presidential election, the popular vote in South Dakota went to Donald J. Trump with 63.4% of the vote. The runner-up was Kamala Harris (34.2%), followed by Robert Kennedy (1.68%).

John Thune and Mike Rounds are the senators currently representing the state of South Dakota. In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.

Spearfish, SD is currently represented by Dusty Johnson in the U.S. house, and members of the House of Representives are elected to 2-year terms.

Presidential Elections

Presidential Popular Vote Over Time

Voting results are not available for Spearfish, SD. Showing the available data for South Dakota.

2024 Election Results

Donald J. Trump (63.4%)
Republican Party
Kamala Harris (34.2%)
Democratic Party
Robert Kennedy (1.68%)
Independent Party

In the 2024 presidential election, the popular vote in South Dakota went to Donald J. Trump with 63.4% of the vote. The runner-up was Kamala Harris (34.2%), followed by Robert Kennedy (1.68%).

The following chart shows the popular vote results in South Dakota for each registered party from 1976 to 2024.

Senator Elections

US Senators from South Dakota

Senatorial voting results are only available at the state level. Showing data for South Dakota.

John Thune

Senator from South Dakota

Assumed office on January 3, 2005

Mike Rounds

Senator from South Dakota

Assumed office on January 3, 2015

John Thune and Mike Rounds are the senators currently representing South Dakota.

In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.

The following chart shows elected senators in South Dakota over time, excluding special elections, colored by their political party.

US Representative Elections

US Representatives from Spearfish, SD

Dusty Johnson

District at-large Representative

Republican Party

Spearfish, SD is currently represented by Dusty Johnson (Republican Party).

Members of the House of Representives are elected to 2-year terms, and the following chart shows the how the member for Spearfish, SD have changed over time starting in 2008.

Education

The student population of Spearfish, SD in 2024 is skewed towards women, with 1,247 male students and 2,099 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in Spearfish, SD are White (408 and 89.3%), Hispanic or Latino (15 and 3.28%), American Indian or Alaska Native (9 and 1.97%), and Two or More Races (9 and 1.97%).

The largest universities in Spearfish, SD by number of degrees awarded are Black Hills State University (459 and 100%).

The most popular majors in Spearfish, SD are General Business Administration & Management (69 and 15%), General Biological Sciences (37 and 8.06%), and Elementary Education & Teaching (35 and 7.63%).

The median tuition cost for a public four year colleges is $7,616 for in-state students and $10,718 for out-of-state students.

Admissions & Enrollments

Applicants, Admissions & Enrolled

University

Measure

In 2024 in Spearfish, SD, the percentage of applicants admitted was 96.3%, while the percentage of admitted who enrolled was 30.1%. The number of students enrolled in 2024 was 3,346 (37.3% men and 62.7% women).

The line chart shows the evolution of the percentage of applicants admitted, admitted who enrolled or the number of students enrolled according to the option selected in the upper button.

Enrollments by Gender and Races

Universities

In 2024 there were 3,346 students enrolled in Spearfish, SD, 37.3% men and 62.7% women.

By race, the largest number of students enrolled was concentrated in White with 2,335 records, of which 63.1% were women and 36.9% men.

Completions

Concentrations

Most Common

General Business Administration & Management
55 degrees awarded
Elementary Education & Teaching
35 degrees awarded
General Psychology
30 degrees awarded

In 2024, the most common concentation for Bachelors Degree recipients in Spearfish, SD was General Business Administration & Management with 55 degrees awarded.

This visualization illustrates the percentage of students graduating with a Bachelors Degree from schools in Spearfish, SD according to their major.

Universities

Gender

Race

Black Hills State University

Largest Universities by degrees awarded

459 degrees awarded

In 2024, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was Black Hills State University with 459 degrees awarded.

Student Diversity

University

In 2024, 128 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Spearfish, SD, which is 0.387 times less than the 331 female students who received degrees in the same year.

In 2024, the most common race/ethnicity group awarded degrees at institutions was White students. These 408 degrees mean that there were 27.2 times more degrees awarded to White students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, Hispanic or Latino, with 15 degrees awarded.

Awarded Degrees over Time

The graph shows the evolution of awarded degrees by degrees. Under the paragraphs, the average number of awarded degrees by university in each degree is shown.

Tuition

Average Net Price by Sector

Universities

Public, 4-year or above ($7,616) is the sector with the highest median state tuition in 2024.

Public, 4-year or above ($1,300) is the sector with the highest median state fee in 2024.

Public, 4-year or above ($1,200) is the sector with the highest average net price of books and supplies.

The graph shows the average net price by sector and year.

Housing & Living

The median property value in Spearfish, SD was $346,200 in 2024, which is 1.04 times larger than the national average of $332,700. Between 2023 and 2024 the median property value increased from $309,200 to $346,200, a 12% increase. The homeownership rate in Spearfish, SD is 49.6%, which is lower than the national average of 65.2%.

People in Spearfish, SD have an average commute time of 16.3 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Spearfish, SD is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

Housing

Property

$346,200

Median Property Value 2024

±$21,481

$2,945

Median Property Taxes

±$357

The following chart display owner-occupied housing units distributed between a series of property tax buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. In Spearfish, SD the largest share of households pay taxes in the $3k+ range.

The chart underneath the paragraph shows the property taxes in Spearfish, SD compared to it's parent and neighbor geographies.

Rent vs Own

49.6%

Homeownership

2024

68.4%

Homeowners with Mortgage

2024

In 2024, 49.6% of the housing units in Spearfish, SD were occupied by their owner. This percentage grew from the previous year's rate of 48.3%.

This chart shows the percentage of owner in Spearfish, SD compared it's parent and neighboring geographies.

Equity

Household Income

Please note that the buckets used in this visualization were not evenly distributed by ACS when publishing the data.

$65,688

Median Household Income

± $12,528

5.93k

Number of Households

± 659

In 2024, the median household income of the 5.93k households in Spearfish, SD grew to $65,688 from the previous year's value of $59,731.

The following chart displays the households in Spearfish, SD distributed between a series of income buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households have an income in the $75k - $100k range.

Wage Distribution

The closest comparable wage GINI for Spearfish, SD is from South Dakota.

0.44

2024 Wage GINI in South Dakota

0.443

2023 Wage GINI in South Dakota

In 2024, the income inequality in South Dakota was 0.44 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 0.642% decline from 2023 to 2024, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat more even. The GINI for South Dakota was lower than than the national average of 0.474. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly in South Dakota in comparison to the national average.

This chart shows the number of workers in South Dakota across various wage buckets compared to the national average.

Transportation

Commuter Transportation

Most Common Commute in 2024

Drove Alone (76.6%)
Carpooled (7.73%)
Walked (7.27%)

In 2024, 76.6% of workers in Spearfish, SD drove alone to work, followed by those who carpooled to work (7.73%) and those who walked to work (7.27%).

The following chart shows the number of households using each mode of transportation over time, using a logarithmic scale on the y-axis to help better show variations in the smaller means of commuting.

Commute Time

16.3 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Spearfish, SD have a shorter commute time (16.3 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.4 minutes). Additionally, 1.26% of the workforce in Spearfish, SD have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

The chart below shows how the median household income in Spearfish, SD compares to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Car Ownership

2 cars

Average Number

The following chart displays the households in Spearfish, SD distributed between a series of car ownership buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households in Spearfish, SD have 2 cars.

Poverty

Poverty & Diversity

15.2% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Spearfish, SD (1.86k out of 12.2k people) live below the poverty line, a number that is higher than the national average of 12.5%. The largest demographic living in poverty are Females 18 - 24, followed by Females 25 - 34 and then Males 18 - 24.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Spearfish, SD is White, followed by Native American and Hispanic.

The Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who classifies as impoverished. If a family's total income is less than the family's threshold than that family and every individual in it is considered to be living in poverty.

Social Needs

Data only available at the state level.

Most prevalent states

California
35,798 individuals
New York
5,087 individuals

In 2017, California had the highest estimated number of chronically homeless individuals in the nation, at 35,798, followed by New York (5,087).

The following map shows the estimated number of chronically homeless individuals by state over multiple years.

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