Lead is a very small city located in the state of South Dakota. With a population of 3,013 people and two associated neighborhoods, Lead is the 45th largest community in South Dakota. Lead has a large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic cities in the country.

Of important note, Lead is also a city of artists. Lead has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Lead’s character.

Despite the fact that it is a small city, Lead has quite a few people who take public transportation – mostly the bus - for their daily commute to work. This helps to fill a real need in the city for affordable transportation.

The citizens of Lead are slightly better educated than the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns, with 21.14% of adults in Lead having a bachelor's degree or advanced degree.

The per capita income in Lead in 2022 was $33,471, which is middle income relative to South Dakota and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $133,884 for a family of four. However, Lead contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

The people who call Lead home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Lead residents report their race to be White, followed by Native American. Important ancestries of people in Lead include German, Irish, English, Norwegian, and Scots-Irish.

The most common language spoken in Lead is English. Other important languages spoken here include Polish and Langs. of India.