Box Elder is a somewhat small city located in the state of South Dakota. With a population of 12,581 people and two associated neighborhoods, Box Elder is the 11th largest community in South Dakota. Much of the housing stock in Box Elder was built relatively recently. The construction of new real estate can often be taken as an indication that the local Box Elder economy is robust, and that jobs or other amenities are attracting an influx of new residents. This seems to be the case in Box Elder, where the median household income is $69,153.00.

The armed forces are a huge part of the life in Box Elder, employing 10.17% of the workforce. While it is a military town, the civilian sector still plays an important role in the local economy, where the Healthcare and Retail industries employ 18.09% and 12.84% of the civilian workforce, respectively.

Box Elder is also a college town, where lots of students live while attending area colleges. Because of the high percentage of people living in Box Elder enrolled in college, Box Elder has a number of services, amenities and opportunities geared towards the needs and activities of students.

The citizens of Box Elder are very well educated compared to the average community in the nation: 34.72% of adults in Box Elder have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree.

The per capita income in Box Elder in 2022 was $27,308, which is lower middle income relative to South Dakota and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $109,232 for a family of four. However, Box Elder contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Box Elder is a very ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Box Elder home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Box Elder residents report their race to be White, followed by Native American. Important ancestries of people in Box Elder include German, Irish, English, European, and Scottish.

The most common language spoken in Box Elder is English. Other important languages spoken here include Italian and Spanish.