Welcome to Lead ...
The city of Lead is located in Lawrence County<1>.
The location of Lead has been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (ie- the GNIS).<2>
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Lead has a population of 2,951 people<3> (see below for details).
We don't have a date for the establishment of Lead.
Lead is 5,240 feet [1,597 m] above sea level.<4> In other words, the elevation of Lead is about 1 mile [or ~1½ km] above sea level.
Time Zone: Lead lies in the Mountain Time Zone (MST/MDT) and observes daylight saving time
The area code for Lead: (605)
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Lead had an population of 2,951 people. This is a decrease of 5.54% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 2.51% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Lead had a population of 3,124 people (which is 12.96% of the total population of Lawrence County). This makes Lead the county's 3rd most populous community.
The population of Lead represents 0.38% of the total population of South Dakota (which has 814,180 people), making it the state's 33rd most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 3,124 people, the population of Lead increased 3.2% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 3,027 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Lead.
Communities Also Named Lead ...
Using our Gazetteer, we have found another community named Lead - it's located in North Carolina.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Lead.
Communities near Lead ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Lead.
- Spearfish [Lawrence County]
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spearfish
- Spearfish [Lawrence County] lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<5> to the northwest of Lead
- Population from the 2020 Census: 11,900 people
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spearfish have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to Google Maps centered on Spearfish
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spearfish<6>
- Sturgis [Meade County]
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturgis
- Sturgis [Meade County] lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<5> to the east of Lead
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,978 people
- Jump to Google Maps centered on Sturgis
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sturgis<6>
- North Spearfish [Lawrence County]
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Spearfish
- North Spearfish [Lawrence County] lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<5> to the northwest of Lead
- Population from the 2010 Census: 2,221 people
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Spearfish have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to Google Maps centered on North Spearfish
- Gregory [Lawrence County] - Historic
- Continue List (6 more) ...
- Whitewood [Lawrence County]
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitewood
- Whitewood [Lawrence County] lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<5> to the northeast of Lead
- Population from the 2020 Census: 999 people
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whitewood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to Google Maps centered on Whitewood
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Whitewood<6>
- Tinton [Lawrence County] - Historic
- Saint Onge [Lawrence County]
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Onge
- Saint Onge [Lawrence County] lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<5> to the north of Lead
- Estimated population in 2014: 342 people
- Jump to Google Maps centered on Saint Onge
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Onge<6>
- Preston [Lawrence County]
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preston
- Preston [Lawrence County] lies 5 miles [8 km]<5> to the west of Lead
- Estimated population in 2014: 185 people
- Jump to Google Maps centered on Preston
- Merritt [Lawrence County]
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merritt
- Merritt [Lawrence County] lies 17 miles [27.4 km]<5> to the southeast of Lead
- Estimated population in 2014: 175 people
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Merritt have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to Google Maps centered on Merritt
- Ragged Top [Lawrence County] - Historic
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ragged Top
- Ragged Top [Lawrence County] was located 5 miles [8 km]<5> to the west of Lead
- Estimated population in 2014: 73 people
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ragged Top have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Whitewood [Lawrence County]
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Lead. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Lead.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Lead. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Lead.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Lead. Our list includes 16 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Lead.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Lead ...
Looking for more information about Lead? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Lead, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Lead.
Adding Lead to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Lead in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
In addition, our notes show that the earliest dated mention that we've found for Lead was in the Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
We also found Lead on a map titled Rand McNally Map of South Dakota (1937).
For more details about the above, see References and Mentions for Lead on our Genealogy Page.
Other Roadside Stops ...
Find a Community in South Dakota
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Lead. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Lawrence County: www.lawrence.sd.us/
The official website for State of South Dakota: sd.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of South Dakota's counties, including Lawrence, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we have found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <3> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Lead. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Lead - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Lead) to Point B.If you need the driving distance, we recommend that you use one of the Mapping Services listed on our Map Page for Lead. Since we usually use Google Maps, we've provided the following link for your convenience: Google Map and Driving Directions starting from LeadOur distance measurements begin at a specific point in Lead. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.3522, Longitude: -103.7674 In this case, the coordinates for Lead have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <6> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |