AreaProfile

Sioux Falls, SD-MN

Metro Area Profile

298,181 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Sioux Falls, SD-MN metropolitan area.

81
Area Score
Top 1% of 379 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 6% of 379 published metros82
GrowthTop 3% of 821 published metros85
Housing affordability442nd of 822 published metros94
Climate727th of 822 published metros55
Physical resilienceTop 13% of 822 published metros81
AccessTop 17% of 822 published metros95
Economic stabilityTop 1% of 822 published metros98
The quick read

Sioux Falls ranks in the top 6% of published metro profiles for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 1.9% and median household income of $82,754.

Natural-hazard exposure is lower than in most comparable published metro profiles, placing Sioux Falls in the top 13% for physical resilience.

A major airport is 8 miles away, giving the area unusually direct access to the national air network.

At a glance

Population
298,181
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$82,754
Top 14% nationally
Density
98/sq mi
3057.9 sq mi of land
Median age
36.3
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
Sioux Falls, SD-MN
Nearest major airport
FSD
8 mi · Joe Foss Fld
Median home value
$295,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 1.9% is lower than 100% of the 379 measured US metros.

Employment fell 0.8% over the past year, to 176,137 employed residents.

37% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 84% of measured US metros.

Household income is higher than at least 86% of measured US metros.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$1,941$82,754Top 14%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$909$44,905Top 14%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate8.1%Bottom 4%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute20.0 minBottom 13%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher36.7%Top 16%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment176,137Top 38%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)4.0%Top 10%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-0.8%Bottom 46%June 2026
Labor force179,623Top 38%June 2026
Labor force participation74.1%Top 1%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$60,390Bottom 47%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$47,970Top 48%2025 OEWS
Metro employment178,590Top 33%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)0.0%Bottom 46%June 2026
Unemployment rate1.9%Bottom 1%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/062.71.4
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 1.9% in June 2026. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.
Largest occupations — Sioux Falls, SD-MN
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Registered Nurses7,680$75,350
Retail Salespersons5,960$34,600
Fast Food and Counter Workers5,730$29,830
Stockers and Order Fillers5,610$37,650
Cashiers4,000$30,880
Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks3,390$46,910

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,022 takes 15% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 3.6 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
14.8%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.6×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,022
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$295,900
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income3.58Top 36%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate66.1%Bottom 28%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±174128,770Top 19%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$25$1,022Top 42%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$4,443$295,900Top 26%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income14.8%Bottom 7%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate4.9%Bottom 2%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
85/ 100
Top 3% of 821 published city profiles
Permitting is decreasing, measured from 2024 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 7% since 2020, reaching 308,266 in 2024.

Population is still rising, but more slowly than in the preceding year.

At 9.7 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
2,880
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
9.7
Top 6% nationally
Year over year
+9%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
51.7%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024308k287k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population.

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 85°F and January a low of 9°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 27.8 inches, including 45.3 inches of snow.

0°20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station SIOUX FALLS, 8.5 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND4.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation27.8"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall45.3"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low9°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high85°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing56°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

81 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are tornado, hail and drought.

Winter weatherModerate
TornadoModerate
HailModerate
DroughtModerate
Heat waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: ice storm, cold wave, strong wind, inland flooding, wildfire, landslide, lightning, earthquake.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Crime
The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer is the only source with national coverage and a published method, and it requires an API key AreaProfile does not hold. Arrest counts, news volume and commercial “safety scores” are not substituted in the meantime. Reported crime is also easy to misread: agency participation varies year to year, and a city that draws a large daytime workforce carries incidents its residents did not generate.
Taxes
No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, transparent methodology and update cadence. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Full cost of living
No public source publishes one with national coverage and a documented method. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings.

Access

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 8 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Joe Foss FldFSD8 mi9,000 ft
Sioux Gateway/Brig General Bud Day FldSUX82 mi9,002 ft
Eppley AirfieldOMA162 mi9,502 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 29, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.