Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For a city of 213,748, Sioux Falls does unevenly: it grades C+, ranked 27th of 35 in South Dakota. It is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 80% of U.S. towns. The trade-off: its crime rate is higher than 86% of U.S. towns, with 777 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. 81% of working residents work locally in Sioux Falls, above both the South Dakota town median (29%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). Its National Register listings include All Saints School Main Building and Old Minnehaha County Courthouse. Only 2 of the 25 South Dakota towns we compare have a higher level of property crime than Sioux Falls.
Where Sioux Falls beats most towns.
All Saints School Main Building| College | Students |
|---|---|
| Augustana University | 2,056 |
| Southeast Technical College | 1,963 |
| University of Sioux Falls | 1,390 |
Its founding year, 1856, is the earliest of any South Dakota town we grade. Its 74 National Register listings are more than in any other South Dakota town with a listing.
Census counts: 2,164 in 1880, 192,517 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1881 and 2 maps from 1962 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within South Dakota), ordered by how far Sioux Falls is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sioux Falls, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Sioux Falls.
Sioux Falls is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in South Dakota; it also trails Split Rock Township and its other neighbors on schools and has a long record of flood insurance claims.
Reported crimes fell from 5,916 to 5,446 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Sioux Falls’ violent offense rate stands at 3.6 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Each of its 4 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than its C+, Split Rock Township highest at A.
The Sioux Falls School District 49-5 runs its public schools. Three of the 78 schools are below, and why each made the list. The 6 public schools in Sioux Falls teach 4,484 students between them.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Memorial Middle School - 04Largest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,133 | B |
| Lincoln High School - 02Largest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,954 | B+ |
| Challenge Center - 51Top results in townGrades 2–5 | Grades 2–5 | 165 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within SD on state tests and graduation
Across 71 parks and preserves: 61 miles of trail. Great Bear Recreation Park, at 229 acres with 4.6 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. For Sioux Falls, the density of trails is 0.7 miles per square mile.
| Sioux Falls | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 5.3% | 3.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Great Bear Recreation Park | 4.6 mi | 229 |
| 2. Sertoma Park | 2.9 mi | 126 |
| 3. Terrace Park | 2.8 mi | 56 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Within South Dakota it is less healthy than 56% of the 35 graded towns: South Dakota sets a high bar.
A fifth of Sioux Falls adults binge drink. On the CDC’s 26 measures, Sioux Falls is ahead of South Dakota on 8 and behind on 1. Two figures for adults in the town: 11% report frequent physical distress, 31% have high blood pressure.
| Sioux Falls | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 19% | 16% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 12% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 32% | 35% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 35% | 35% |
| What stands out | Sioux Falls | SD |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 5.5% | 6.8% |
| Fewer adults who have had a stroke | 2.9% | 3.5% |
| Fewer adults treating high blood pressure | 73.2% | 75.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 8° and about 49 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Employers in Sioux Falls added 21,145 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 129,976. For Sioux Falls, the average trip to work is 17 minutes. The median commute is under 4 miles. The top destinations are Brandon (1%), Harrisburg (1%) and Delapre Township (1%).
| Sioux Falls | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 17 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 11% | 6.5% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
153 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 13 properties have flooded more than once.
Federal disaster aid has reached households in Sioux Falls after 7 declared disasters, most recently in 2024. On expected storm and flood damage, Sioux Falls sits below just over three fifths of U.S. communities. Paid flood insurance claims in the town since 1979: 153. FEMA puts 37% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to tornadoes, and 34% to inland flooding.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Sioux Falls has grown 11% since 2020, to 213,748 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. People 65 and older are 14% of residents (18% statewide). The median age in the town is 35.5 years. Here, 38% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree, against 32% in South Dakota as a whole.
| Sioux Falls | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 14% | 19% | 18% |
| Median age | 35.5 years | 39.6 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 38% | 32% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 24% | 22% | 22% |
49.5% women, 50.5% men
About 102 men for every 100 women. Across South Dakota, 49.2% of residents are women. Median age: women 36.1, men 34.9.
| Sioux Falls | SD | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.7% | 13.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.7% | 11.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.3% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.6% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.4% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.8% | 10.7% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.4% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9% | 11% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.1% | 6.8% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24.4% | 29% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.5% | 19.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.9% | 12.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 26% | 21.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12.1% | 10% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
In Sioux Falls, three in five households are owner-occupiers. On the market locally: a median 31 days to sell. Over the 12 months to September 2026, the typical home gained 1.1% in value.
| Sioux Falls | South Dakota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 60% | 68% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 41% | 39% | 48% |
| Median rent | $1,035 a month | $958 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Sioux Falls. Close and well known come first.
38 mi National MonumentPipestone National Monument77K visitors a year
in town Zoo & aquariumGreat Plains Zoo
in town MuseumWashington Pavilion of Arts and Science
in town MuseumPettigrew Home & Museum24 mi MuseumPorter Sculpture Park
27 mi MuseumJasper MuseumPipestone National Monument: Unknown, Public domain · Great Plains Zoo: Jake DeGroot, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science: Jon Platek, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Pettigrew Home & Museum: Jerry from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Jasper Museum: Heritage Preservation Department - MNHS, CC BY-SA 2.0
4 within 15 miles of the center of Sioux Falls
About 5 of every 100 Sioux Falls residents are enrolled in college, about the same as South Dakota.
153,888 counted in 2010 and 192,517 in 2020; an estimated 213,748 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 10.9% since 2020, after 25.1% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
74 places in Sioux Falls on the National Register of Historic Places.
54 notable people were born in Sioux Falls.
City in South Dakota, United States
Sioux Falls ( soo FAWLZ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into northern Lincoln County. The population was 192,517 at the 2020 census (estimated at 209,289 in 2024). The Sioux Falls metropolitan area, with an estimated 308,000 residents, accounts for more than one-third of South Dakota's population. Chartered in 1856 on the banks of the Big Sioux River, the city is at the junction of Interstates 29 and 90.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
9 towns share a border with Sioux Falls.
| Town | SD rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sioux Falls | #27 | C+ | B− | D | C+ | B+ |
| Split Rock Township | #6 | A | C | — | A | A− |
| Wayne Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Springdale Township | — | — | C− | — | A− | A |
| Delapre Township | — | — | C | — | A− | A |
| Brandon Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Mapleton Township | — | — | B | — | B | B |
| Benton Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Springdale Township, Delapre Township and Mapleton Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Split Rock Township, Springdale Township, Delapre Township and Mapleton Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Wayne Township, Brandon Township and Benton Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Sioux Falls with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Sioux Falls grades C+ overall, better than 44% of U.S. towns and #27 of 35 in South Dakota. It grades B+ for health, D for safety and C+ for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
54 notable people were born here, including January Jones and Michael E. Fossum.
