Mountain townsSouth Dakota2026
South Dakota Mountain Towns
Lead, Custer and Spearfish were the most booked of the 6 mountain towns in South Dakota on Airbnb in the 12 months to October 2026, with an estimated 12,545, 7,385 and 4,491 stays. July is the busiest month across them, and the typical stay is 3.9 nights.
Figures are AirROI estimates. How they are made
- Most booked of these 6
- Lead 12,545 stays
- Highest revenue per home of these 6
- Powder House Pass $81,189 a year
- Highest rated of these 6
- Spearfish 4.89 out of 5
- Lowest nightly rate of these 6
- Hill City $274 a night
- Longest typical stay of these 6
- Spearfish 4.5 nights
Ranking
South Dakota Mountain Towns Ranked by Airbnb Stays
Every one of the mountain towns and villages in South Dakota with 100 or more Airbnb homes and recent stays, most booked first.
Figures are AirROI estimates for the 12 months to October 2026, and stays count Airbnb bookings only. Typical stay is a booking's length, occupancy the share of available nights booked, and revenue the yearly average per home, before costs. Guest rating is out of 5.
Town by town
Where the Top Towns Stand Out
All 6 are busiest in July, and among guests who left a review, Sioux Falls is the top home city in each. Cabins, campers and other outdoor stays are the largest home type in 5 of the 6. The lines below add what the table can't show, where one of the towns leads its peers or differs from the rest.
- Lead
Of the 6 mountain towns in South Dakota with 100 or more homes, Lead had the most Airbnb homes, at 535, in the 12 months to October 2026.
- Custer
Of the 6 mountain towns in South Dakota with 100 or more homes, Custer had the highest occupancy, at 48%, in the 12 months to October 2026.
- Spearfish
Of the 6 mountain towns in South Dakota with 100 or more homes, Spearfish had the highest guest rating, at 4.89, and had the longest typical stay, at 4.5 nights, in the 12 months to October 2026. Houses were the largest home type in Spearfish, at 59% of homes.
- 4Deadwood
Of the 6 mountain towns in South Dakota with 100 or more homes, Deadwood had the biggest share of apartments and condos, at 23%, in the 12 months to October 2026.
- 5Hill City
Of the 6 mountain towns in South Dakota with 100 or more homes, Hill City had the lowest nightly rate, at $274, in the 12 months to October 2026.
- 6Powder House Pass
Of the 6 mountain towns in South Dakota with 100 or more homes, Powder House Pass had the biggest share of homes that sleep 8 or more, at 97%, and had the highest nightly rate, at $659, in the 12 months to October 2026.
When to go
Busiest and Quietest Months
July, June and August rank as the busiest months for Airbnb nights across the mountain towns in South Dakota, and February and January as the quietest. July is the busiest month in every one of them. Across the 6 towns, nightly rates run lowest in April, at about $316, and highest in August, at about $466. Across the 6 towns, stays run longest in April, at 4.5 nights, and shortest in September, at 3.1 nights.
July ranks first, January last
Airbnb months in calendar order. The number is the month's rank, and 1 is the busiest. The bar shows its part of Airbnb nights.
- Three busiest months
- Other months
Month by month: rank, typical stay and nightly rate
| Rank | Month | Typical stay | Nightly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | July | 3.9 nights | $444 |
| 2 | June | 3.9 nights | $419 |
| 3 | August | 3.9 nights | $466 |
| 4 | September | 3.1 nights | $362 |
| 5 | May | 3.8 nights | $352 |
| 6 | October | 3.4 nights | $341 |
| 7 | December | 3.6 nights | $365 |
| 8 | March | 3.3 nights | $343 |
| 9 | November | 3.4 nights | $333 |
| 10 | April | 4.5 nights | $316 |
| 11 | February | 3.5 nights | $355 |
| 12 | January | 3.6 nights | $364 |
Who comes
Where Guests Come From
Among guests who left a review, 97.5% come from within the United States. The top home cities among those guests are Sioux Falls, Bismarck and Rapid City. Deadwood draws the most from abroad, at 3.7%, among towns with 100 or more homes.
Top home cities
Among guests who left a review
97.5% from within the United States
The money view
Revenue, Occupancy and Nightly Rate
Among the 6 towns on this list, Powder House Pass has the highest estimated revenue per home, at $81,189 a year. Of those 6, Custer has the highest occupancy, at 48%, and Hill City has the lowest nightly rate on Airbnb, at $274. The most booked of the 6, Lead, earns about $40,022 per home.
Highest revenue per home of these 6
A year, AirROI estimate
- Powder House Pass $81,189
- Deadwood $41,004
- Custer $40,114
- Lead $40,022
- Spearfish $31,179
Highest occupancy of these 6
Nights booked, AirROI estimate
Lowest nightly rate of these 6
On Airbnb, AirROI estimate
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most popular mountain town in South Dakota?
By AirROI's estimates, Lead is the most booked of the 6 mountain towns in South Dakota, with 12,545 Airbnb stays in the 12 months to October 2026. Custer is second, with 7,385. This counts Airbnb bookings only.
What is the most affordable mountain town in South Dakota?
By AirROI's estimated nightly rate on Airbnb in the 12 months to October 2026, among mountain towns in South Dakota with 100 or more homes, the lowest are Hill City ($274), Spearfish ($296) and Custer ($318). That is the average asking price on booked nights, not what it costs to live or buy there.
What mountain towns in South Dakota offer the strongest Airbnb returns?
Returns depend on what a home costs to buy and run, which AirROI's figures do not cover. On AirROI's estimated revenue per home in the 12 months to October 2026, among mountain towns in South Dakota with 100 or more homes, the highest are Powder House Pass ($81,189), Deadwood ($41,004) and Custer ($40,114). Among the same towns, Custer has the highest occupancy, at 48%.
Method
How These Lists and Numbers Are Made
How a town gets on this list. A town needs 100 or more Airbnb homes with recent stays. A language model then judges the place from its name, state, country and coordinates, not from words in its name: it has to sit in a mountain range or right at its foot, with the mountains the reason it is known and why people go. The town's own listings can back that up, with 15% of its listing titles naming the mountains. A town whose listings do not gets a second, stricter check, which asks whether people go there for that or mainly for something else. Big cities stay off. Corrections come last: places the checks got wrong are added or taken off, and rows that name one place are joined.
How the figures are made. Stays, occupancy, nightly rate and revenue are AirROI estimates built from Airbnb listing data, and cover Airbnb only. A town's stays are its bookings in the period, and the typical stay and busiest month come from the same data. Guest ratings, home sizes and how far ahead guests book are the latest figures in each town's AirROI data. Month ranks compare each month's part of Airbnb nights. Origin rests on 78,686 reviews and describes guests who left a review, not everyone who stayed. A town needs 1,000 reviews before this page gives its share from abroad.