Permits through August 2026Yearly permits since 1995Lawrence County index 1991–2025
Lawrence County (100 = first year)United States, rebased to the same startNBER recession
House prices are indexed by county, not by city: this is Lawrence County's FHFA index, with the national index rebased to the same start.
Census Bureau notes: building permit figures cover new privately owned housing units authorised by permit-issuing places; permits do not mean the units were started or completed, and places that report less often than monthly are imputed in monthly totals. FHFA notes: The FHFA HPI is a broad measure of the movement of single-family house prices. The FHFA HPI is a weighted, repeat-sales index, meaning that it measures average price changes in repeat sales or refinancings on the same properties.
Spearfish, South Dakota (Lawrence County), authorised 231 housing units through building permits in the 12 months to August 2026, +73.7% on the previous 12 months.
105 of those units were single-family houses (45%), 8 were in two- to four-unit buildings and 118 in buildings of five or more units. That is 16.3 units per 1,000 residents, above the county's 11.3 and well above the state's 6.4.
Since 1995 the place has authorised 3,391 units, with the busiest year 2023 (258 units). Lawrence County's FHFA house price index rose +111.2% over the ten years to 2025.
231units permitted, 12 months to August 2026+73.7% on the previous 12 months
105single-family units45% of the total
118units in 5+ unit buildings51% of the total
16.3units per 1,000 residentsLawrence County 11.3 · South Dakota 6.4
Permits by month and structure type
Housing units authorised in Spearfish by month, latest 24 monthssingle-family2+ unit buildings
Units, 12 months to August 2026
Spearfish
Lawrence County
South Dakota
United States
All housing units
231
334
5,973
1,418,086
Single-family (1 unit)
105 (45%)
206 (62%)
3,244 (54%)
888,241 (63%)
2 units
8
10
114
34,814
3–4 units
0
0
167
17,298
5 or more units
118 (51%)
118 (35%)
2,448 (41%)
477,733 (34%)
Units per 1,000 residents
16.3
11.3
6.4
4.1
Change on previous 12 months
+73.7%
+35.2%
+5.1%
−0.1%
Permits by year since 1995
Housing units authorised in Spearfish by year, 1995–2025single-family2+ unit buildings
3,391 units since 1995; the busiest year was 2023. Annual figures include units imputed for months a place did not report.
Home prices in Lawrence County
FHFA's index for Lawrence County rose +111.2% over the ten years to 2025 (+7.8% a year) and +4.3% in the latest year, against +84.7% and +3.1% for South Dakota. Full county page: decade table, peak-to-low declines, every ZIP code and every permit-issuing place in the county.
Questions and answers
How many homes are being built in Spearfish, SD?
231 housing units were authorised by building permits in the 12 months to August 2026, against 133 in the previous 12 months.
What kind of housing is being permitted in Spearfish?
105 single-family units, 8 in two-unit buildings, 0 in three- and four-unit buildings and 118 in buildings of five or more units.
How does Spearfish compare with its county and state?
16.3 units per 1,000 residents in Spearfish, 11.3 in Lawrence County and 6.4 in South Dakota.
How have home prices moved in Lawrence County?
FHFA's index for Lawrence County rose +111.2% over the ten years to 2025 and +4.3% in the latest year; the county page has the full series.
What does a permit count?
A housing unit authorised by a building permit for new privately owned residential construction, as reported to the Census Bureau Building Permits Survey by the permit-issuing office. Permits are not completions; some permitted units are never built, and places that report only annually are imputed in monthly figures.
Provenance
Permits: US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, place-level monthly and annual files through August 2026 (permit office 551000); county and state comparisons from the county and state files. Population: Census Bureau vintage 2025 estimates for incorporated places, matched on FIPS place code where the permit office is one. House price index: Federal Housing Finance Agency. Public domain. Corrections · Building Permits Survey.