Hot-summer humid continental
Belle Fourche, South Dakota
Butte County, South Dakota · Population 5.7k · 3,022 ft elevation
Living in Belle Fourche
Belle Fourche has a hot-summer humid continental climate: hot summers (July highs around 87°F) and cold winters (January lows around 13°F).
Precipitation is dry at about 18″ a year, and it gets a fair bit of snow (42″ a season).
Skies are sunny (67% of possible sunshine). It never gets truly muggy.
Air quality is good: a median AQI of 36 and virtually no unhealthy-air days.
Belle Fourche is an outdoor hub: about 25% of the land within 30 miles is public (parks, national forest and the like), and the terrain rises and falls about 3,000 ft around town.
Belle Fourche at a glance
- Population
- 5.7k
- Elevation
- 3,022 ft
- Average daily high
- 61°F24th percentile
- Average daily low
- 35°F5th percentile
- Annual precipitation
- 18″12th percentile
- Annual snowfall
- 42″82th percentile
- Sunshine hours per year
- 3,006 hrs68th percentile
- Median AQI
- 3616th percentile
- Median home value
- $189k30th percentile
- Median rent
- $947/mo29th percentile
- Median household income
- $60k30th percentile
- Property tax rate
- 1.16%59th percentile
- Top state income-tax rate
- 0.0%
- Sales tax (state + local)
- 6.1%
- Unemployment rate
- 6.5%
- Homes with broadband
- 91%49th percentile
- Walkability index
- 8.346th percentile
- Average commute
- 23 min
- Math proficiency (8th grade)
- 42%42th percentile
- Reading proficiency (8th grade)
- 52%
- Violent crime rate
- 254 per 100k65th percentile
- Property crime rate
- 779 per 100k
- Overall natural-hazard risk
- 233th percentile
- Outdoor access
- 9191th percentile
- Public land within 10 miles
- 8%
- Public land within 30 miles
- 25%
- Mountain relief within 30 miles
- 2,986 ft
Climate by month
| Month | High | Low | Precipitation | Snow | Sunshine |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 37°F | 13°F | 0.4″ | 5.5″ | 184 hrs |
| Feb | 39°F | 15°F | 0.5″ | 6.7″ | 189 hrs |
| Mar | 50°F | 24°F | 1.2″ | 7.2″ | 228 hrs |
| Apr | 59°F | 33°F | 2.1″ | 5.2″ | 234 hrs |
| May | 69°F | 44°F | 3.0″ | 1.3″ | 278 hrs |
| Jun | 79°F | 54°F | 3.0″ | — | 331 hrs |
| Jul | 87°F | 60°F | 2.0″ | — | 375 hrs |
| Aug | 87°F | 57°F | 1.5″ | — | 344 hrs |
| Sep | 78°F | 47°F | 1.3″ | — | 277 hrs |
| Oct | 62°F | 35°F | 1.7″ | 2.6″ | 217 hrs |
| Nov | 48°F | 24°F | 0.7″ | 3.9″ | 183 hrs |
| Dec | 37°F | 15°F | 0.6″ | 9.8″ | 166 hrs |
Near Belle Fourche
- Spearfish, SD · 13k
- Lead, SD · 3k
- Sturgis, SD · 7.1k
- Summerset, SD · 3k
- Blackhawk, SD · 2.8k
- Rapid City, SD · 77k
- Box Elder, SD · 12k
- Rapid Valley, SD · 7.2k
Largest places in South Dakota
- Sioux Falls, SD · 198k
- Aberdeen, SD · 28k
- Brookings, SD · 24k
- Watertown, SD · 23k
- Mitchell, SD · 16k
- Yankton, SD · 16k
- Huron, SD · 14k
- Pierre, SD · 14k
Sources: NOAA climate normals, NASA POWER, EPA air quality, U.S. Census Bureau, FEMA, FBI, EPA walkability and EDFacts. Methodology