South Sioux City, Nebraska

Area Profile

13,907 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for South Sioux City, in Dakota County.

51out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 23% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 15 sources
Opportunity2,500th of 4,199 cities measured52
Schools3,005th of 4,162 cities measured32
Growth2,429th of 4,224 cities measured47
Housing affordabilityTop 24% of 4,218 cities measured75
Climate3,918th of 4,225 cities measured56
Physical resilience3,294th of 4,226 cities measured28
AccessTop 31% of 4,226 cities measured97
Economic stabilityTop 38% of 4,226 cities measured64
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.9% and median household income $68,223, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured. The unemployment rate is published for Dakota County, NE, which contains South Sioux City, rather than for South Sioux City alone.

In the public schools here, 45% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 13.9 students for every teacher.

34 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 3% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
13,907
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$68,223
Top 48% nationally
Density
2,069/sq mi
6.7 sq mi of land
Median age
30.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Nebraska
Nearest major airport
SUX
4 mi · Sioux Gateway/Brig General Bud Day Fld
Median home value
$174,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Dakota County, NE, which contains South Sioux City, is 3.9%, lower than in 65% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Dakota County, NE, which contains South Sioux City, fell 0.7% over the past year, to 10,898 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsDakota County, NE’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$42,2051st percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftDakota County, NE’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$45,7713rd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$7,0282024 ACS 5-Year$68,223Top 48%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,4902024 ACS 5-Year$28,929Bottom 33%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year11.4%Bottom 47%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.1 min2024 ACS 5-Year13.7 minTop 4%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year15.5%Bottom 36%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year72.9%36th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentDakota County, NE’s figureJuly 202610,898Bottom 4%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Dakota County, NE’s figureJuly 2026−0.8%Bottom 41%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Dakota County, NE’s figureJuly 2026−0.7%Top 49%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceDakota County, NE’s figureJuly 202611,3404th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year86.0%Top 21%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageSioux City, IA-NE-SD Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$56,240Bottom 7%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageSioux City, IA-NE-SD Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$47,030Bottom 17%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year0.8%83rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Dakota County, NE’s figureJuly 2026−0.2%Top 49%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateDakota County, NE’s figureJuly 20263.9%Top 35%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year4.7%35th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202468k58k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $68,223 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Sioux City, IA-NE-SD

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers2,820$51,540
Retail Salespersons2,220$30,150
Fast Food and Counter Workers2,060$29,090
Food Processing Workers, All Other1,710$46,350
Cashiers1,700$29,470
Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers1,700$47,580

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

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.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Dakota County, NE, which contains this city.

45% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 44% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.9 students for every full-time teacher across 7 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
7
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.9
across all schools here
Math proficiency
45.3%
Bottom 25% in Nebraska
Reading proficiency
43.9%
Bottom 19% in Nebraska
All 7 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
South Sioux High SchoolSO SIOUX CITY COMMUNITY SCHS1,19316.635%40%
South Sioux City Middle SchoolSO SIOUX CITY COMMUNITY SCHS78112.859%41%
Cardinal Elementary SchoolSO SIOUX CITY COMMUNITY SCHS42413.757%62%
Covington Elementary SchoolSO SIOUX CITY COMMUNITY SCHS40812.438%45%
Harney Elementary SchoolSO SIOUX CITY COMMUNITY SCHS32810.647%42%
Lewis & Clark Elementary SchSO SIOUX CITY COMMUNITY SCHS25311.542%42%
E N Swett Elementary SchoolSO SIOUX CITY COMMUNITY SCHS23823.8——

69.1% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Nebraska’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 12% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 88.2, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Sioux City, IA-NE-SD Metro Area is up 40% over five years, but down 1.1% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $3,085 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.77% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,154, close to the $1,127 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,154 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $46,200 a year, about 68% of the median household income here of $68,223.

The typical renter household here spends 29% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,127 a month.

A median home at $174,700 costs 1.9 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $92,098, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
88.2

Prices here run about 12% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Sioux City, IA-NE-SD Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
28.8%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
1.9×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,154
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,127
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$174,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against South Sioux City’s median household income of $68,223, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Sioux City, IA-NE-SD Metro Area’s figure202388.2Top 3%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Sioux City, IA-NE-SD Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2−1.1%2nd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Sioux City, IA-NE-SD Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+39.6%39th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Sioux City, IA-NE-SD Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+81.9%34th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year1.9Top 29%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year55.9%15th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±1702024 ACS 5-Year4,96188th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$925Top 16%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,386Top 13%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,154Top 17%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$842024 ACS 5-Year$1,127Bottom 36%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$13,0852024 ACS 5-Year$174,70047th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$3522024 ACS 5-Year$3,08574th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$13,8622024 ACS 5-Year$92,098Top 34%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.24%2024 ACS 5-Year1.77%87th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year28.8%Bottom 47%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±162024 ACS 5-Year01st percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year3.9%32nd percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1432024 ACS 5-Year19577th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

47/ 100
Ranks 2,429 of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been rising for the last 4 years of a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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 fallen 1% since 2020, to 13,910 in 2024.

Permit activity rose in each of the 4 calendar years through 2025.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 34 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Dakota County, which contains South Sioux City, lost about 1.2% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $42,205, below the $45,771 of households that moved out.

At 2.4 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
34
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.4
Bottom 48% nationally
Year over year
+3%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202414k14k
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. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−1.2%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
82%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$42,205
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$45,771
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Woodbury County, IA 434 people · 42% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Woodbury County, IA 523 people · 41% of departures
  2. Douglas County, NE 64 people · 5.0% of departures
  3. Union County, SD 41 people · 3.2% of departures
  4. Dixon County, NE 38 people · 3.0% of departures
  5. Hennepin County, MN 32 people · 2.5% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Dakota County, NE. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2020202120222023202420254117
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+105%).

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 10°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 29.3 inches, including 36.0 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 CITY GATEWAY AP, 5.2 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.3"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals29.3"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals36.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals10°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals85°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals54°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

28 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and hail, with inland flooding alone responsible for 34% of it.

HailHigh
WildfireModerate
TornadoModerate
DroughtModerate
Heat waveModerate
Winter weatherModerate
Strong windModerate
Inland floodingModerate
Cold waveModerate
LightningModerate

Low or minimal exposure: landslide, ice storm, earthquake, volcanic activity, avalanche, coastal flooding, hurricane, tsunami.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
166
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
1,960
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

South Sioux City's police department reported 166 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 1,960.

Dakota County records 0.0 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at about 9.6 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at about 8.6 per 100,000 residents in Dakota County.

Homicide
0.0
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
9.6
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
8.6
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
15.6
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by South Sioux City’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around South Sioux City (Dakota County) rather than South Sioux City itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Sioux Gateway/Brig General Bud Day Fld at 4 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year88.3%Bottom 44%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle4 miTop 7%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 20%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year10.1%Bottom 37%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Sioux Gateway/Brig General Bud Day FldSUX4 mi9,002 ft
Joe Foss FldFSD79 mi9,000 ft
Eppley AirfieldOMA84 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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Area Score
51
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Other cities in Sioux City, IA-NE-SD

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
Sioux CityWoodbury County86,10158Sioux City vs South Sioux City

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put South Sioux City side by side with a similar place.

South Sioux City vs BradleySouth Sioux City vs Moorhead

Moving to South Sioux City from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 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 every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in South Sioux City

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in South Sioux City with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track South Sioux City closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
6877615,373$68,750$179,800—