Box Elder (

Lakota Lakota may refer to: * Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes *Lakota language, the language of the Lakota peoples Place names In the United States: * Lakota, Iowa * Lakota, North Dakota, seat of Nelson County * La ...

: ''čhaŋšúška''; " box elder maple") is a city in Pennington and Meade counties in the

State State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large porti ...

. The population was 11,746 according to the 2020 census, making it the 11th most populous city in South Dakota. Ellsworth Air Force Base lies on the northeast side of the city. Box Elder was named from nearby Boxelder Creek.

Geography

Box Elder is located at (44.115349, -103.081997). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Box Elder has been assigned the ZIP code 57719 and the

FIPS place code The Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) of the United States are a set of publicly announced standards that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed for use in computer systems of non-military, American ...

06620. It is located within minutes of

Ellsworth AFB Ellsworth Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force base located about northeast of Rapid City, South Dakota, just north of the town of Box Elder. The host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing (28 BW). Assigned to the Global Stri ...

, and surrounds it on three sides.

Climate

Demographics

2010 census

At the 2010 census there were 7,800 people, 2,443 households, and 1,968 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 2,828 housing units at an average density of . The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the city was 79.5% White, 5.1% African American, 4.4% Native American, 2.2% Asian, 0.4% Pacific Islander, 2.4% from other races, and 6.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.9%. Of the 2,443 households, 55.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.6% were married couples living together, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 19.4% were non-families. 15.1% of households were one person, and 2% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.95 and the average family size was 3.26. The median age was 23.5 years. 33.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 20.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 30.3% were from 25 to 44; 13% were from 45 to 64, and 2.9% were 65 or older. The gender makeup of the city was 51.9% male and 48.1% female.

2000 census

At the 2000 census, there were 2,841 people, 993 households, and 750 families living in the city. The population density was 489.6 inhabitants per square mile (189.1/km). There were 1,072 housing units at an average density of 184.8 per square mile (71.4/km). The

of the city was 83.42% White, 2.29% African American, 5.60% Native American, 2.08% Asian, 0.11% Pacific Islander, 0.70% from other races, and 5.81% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.56% of the population. Of the 993 households, 48.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.4% were married couples living together, 19.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.4% were non-families. 17.3% of households were one person, and 1.8% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.86 and the average family size was 3.20. The age distribution was 34.6% under the age of 18, 13.1% from 18 to 24, 30.9% from 25 to 44, 18.2% from 45 to 64, and 3.3% 65 or older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.7 males. The median household income was $32,344 and the median family income was $35,020. Males had a median income of $24,596 versus $17,313 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,692. About 13.0% of families and 15.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 21.3% of those under age 18 and 6.9% of those aged 65 or over.

Schools

Douglas School District serves families in Box Elder and those living on Ellsworth AFB.https://www.dsdk12.net/ The school district operates six schools in Box Elder: *Carrousel (Pre-Kindergarten) *Badger Clark Elementary (Kindergarten - 3rd grade) *Francis Case Elementary (Kindergarten - 3rd grade) *Vandenberg Elementary (4th - 5th grade) *Douglas Middle School (6th - 8th grade) *Douglas High School (9th - 12th grade) The school's athletics teams are the Douglas Patriots.

Points of interest

* South Dakota Air and Space Museum

Notable people

* Jeffrey W. Hayzlett, author, speaker, businessman * Nellie Zabel Willhite, first deaf woman to earn a pilot's license

References

{{Authority control Cities in South Dakota Cities in Meade County, South Dakota Cities in Pennington County, South Dakota Rapid City, South Dakota metropolitan area