Should I Move To
Roughly 193,401 people live in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Living here costs affordable relative to the rest of the country, 14% below the national average. Median rent runs about $965/mo; the typical household pulls in $71,785. On the UrbRank Score it pulls a 64/100 — a C+, putting it at #72 nationally.
UrbRank Score · General
Each dimension scored 0-100 against every other US city.
Based on overall cost of living vs. other US cities.
Inverse of violent + property crime rate per 100,000 residents.
Temperate summers & winters, moderate precipitation.
Walk Score — how feasible daily errands are on foot.
Unemployment rate plus household income vs. national median.
Air quality index (EPA AQS data).
Share of residents 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher.
By the composite index, Sioux Falls sits at 86 — affordable when stacked against the rest of the country. Running the rent-to-income math ($965/mo against $71,785 median household income), housing eats roughly 16% of a typical paycheck — comfortably under the 30% rule of thumb, which is unusual. Buying-side, the median home value is $250,000.
Full cost-of-living breakdown →The weather here is cold-winter: roughly 83°F in summer, 18°F in winter. Walking covers most daily life if you live in a central neighborhood; a car is helpful for longer trips but not essential. Reported crime is somewhat above average, though specific neighborhoods vary widely. AQI runs about 32 — a "good" reading.
Verdict by lifestyle profile — same data, different priorities.
For families, Sioux Falls is workable — not standout, not weak. The profile-weighted score is 57/100 — a C. Its standout dimension is environmental quality (96/100); the soft spot is climate (16/100).
For retirees, Sioux Falls is workable — not standout, not weak. The profile-weighted score is 59/100 — a C. Its standout dimension is environmental quality (96/100); the soft spot is climate (16/100).
For remote workers, Sioux Falls is workable — not standout, not weak. The profile-weighted score is 66/100 — a B-. Its standout dimension is environmental quality (96/100); the soft spot is climate (16/100).
For young professionals, Sioux Falls is workable — not standout, not weak. The profile-weighted score is 64/100 — a C+. Its standout dimension is environmental quality (96/100); the soft spot is climate (16/100).
Our overall score for Sioux Falls is 64/100 — a C+, sitting at #72 in the national ranking. It's a weighted average across the seven UrbRank dimensions.
By the composite index, Sioux Falls sits at 86 — affordable, 14% below the national average. Median renter pays around $965 a month.
Sioux Falls runs cold-winter on the weather. Summer's near 83°F, winter's near 18°F.
Walk Score: 85/100. Walking covers most daily life if you live in a central neighborhood; a car is helpful for longer trips but not essential.
Roughly 193,401 people live here, with 37% college-educated (bachelor's or higher) among adults 25+ with a median age of 35.
Drop Sioux Falls into the comparison tool with any other US city and you'll get housing costs, salaries, demographics, and quality-of-life data lined up side by side. Profile-specific leaderboards (families, retirees, remote workers, young professionals) are linked from the navigation.
Every US city is scored 0-100 on seven dimensions using public data from the US Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, FBI Crime Data Explorer, EPA Air Quality System, NOAA NCEI, and Walk Score. Each dimension is a percentile rank against every other city — so a score of 80 means the city is in the top 20% nationally on that dimension.
The overall score is a weighted average. Five lifestyle profiles — general, families, retirees, remote workers, young professionals — weight the dimensions differently to reflect what each cares about. Families get more weight on safety and schools; young professionals get more weight on jobs and walkability; retirees get more weight on climate.
Compare Sioux Falls with other South Dakota cities scored on UrbRank.
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