Welcome to Lead ...
The city of Lead is located in Lawrence County<1>.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Lead, you might consider that their post office opened in 1890.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Lead has a population of 2,951 people<2> (see below for details).
Lead is 5,240 feet [1,597 m] above sea level.<3> In other words, the altitude 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
Area Code for Lead: 605
The ZIP code for Lead: 57754<4>
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 (or 12.91% 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 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 (with 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 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
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spearfish have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spearfish
- Spearfish is located in Lawrence County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 11,900 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spearfish <6>
- Sturgis
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturgis
- Sturgis is located in Meade County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,978 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sturgis <6>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Sturgis
- From Lead to Sturgis
- North Spearfish
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Spearfish have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Spearfish
- North Spearfish is located in Lawrence County
- Population from the 2010 Census: 2,221 people
- Gregory ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south) - Whitewood
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitewood
- Whitewood is located in Lawrence County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 999 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Whitewood <6>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Whitewood
- From Lead to Whitewood
- Tinton ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tinton
- Tinton is located in Lawrence County
- Estimated population in 2014: 477 people
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Tinton
- From Lead to Tinton
- Saint Onge
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Onge
- Saint Onge is located in Lawrence County
- Estimated population in 2014: 342 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Onge <6>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Saint Onge
- From Lead to Saint Onge
- Preston
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preston
- Preston is located in Lawrence County
- Estimated population in 2014: 185 people
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Preston
- From Lead to Preston
- Merritt
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast) - Ragged Top ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ragged Top have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ragged Top
- Ragged Top is located in Lawrence County
- Estimated population in 2014: 73 people
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.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Lead was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>
X2X - From that list, the Lead post office opened in 1890.
We also found Lead in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Lead.
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: https://www.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> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Lead. |
| <3> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Lead - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <4> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Lead). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Lead or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <5> | 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 found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <6> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <7> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |