Sioux City composite
66.7 /100
Grade A+ · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Sioux City vs Sioux Falls
Sioux City, IA-NE-SD and Sioux Falls, SD-MN side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 66.7
- Sioux City Life Score
- A+
- Sioux City grade
- 64.0
- Sioux Falls Life Score
- A
- Sioux Falls grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Sioux City scores higher on 3 (cost of living, safety, schools) and Sioux Falls on 4 (wages, rent, childcare, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Sioux City vs Sioux Falls across all seven dimensions (each scored 0–100 as a national percentile, bigger area = stronger overall)
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Sioux City Sioux Falls ◗
cost of living
93
72
wages
36
44
rent
72
95
safety
72
48
schools
45
18
childcare
64
94
environment
84
84
Sioux City and Sioux Falls differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Sioux City has a cost-of-living index of 86.5 vs Sioux Falls's 90.6 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $61,732 in Sioux City and $63,923 in Sioux Falls. A 2-bedroom averages $1,154/mo vs $973/mo.
How to read this matchup
Reading the Sioux City vs Sioux Falls Comparison
Sioux City (IA) and Sioux Falls (SD) are assembled here from the same federal data pipeline, BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, FBI Uniform Crime Reports, NCES public-school counts, and EPA environmental indicators, so every number on this page is directly comparable. The overall cost index reads 86.5 for Sioux City against 90.6 for Sioux Falls, a 4.2-point gap on a scale where 100 equals the U.S. average. HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent, the figure used to set housing-choice voucher payment standards, is $1,154/mo in Sioux City and $973/mo in Sioux Falls, a $181/mo difference that compounds to $2,172 over a year.
On wages, BLS OES reports a median salary of $61,732 across 69,160 jobs in Sioux City against $63,923 across 169,190 jobs in Sioux Falls. Adjusted through the BEA cost-of-living lens, $100,000 earned in Sioux City carries the same local purchasing power as $104,831 in Sioux Falls - the most honest way to read the salary headline, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 238.5 per 100,000 residents in IA vs 320.0 in SD, with property-crime rates of 1286.3 and 1535.5 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: IA lists 1,326 public schools at a 14.8:1 student-teacher ratio, while SD lists 698 schools at 13.6:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. Department of Labor center-based infant care runs $8,306/yr in the Sioux City area versus $6,595/yr in Sioux Falls - a line item that shifts the real cost-of-living picture for households with children under five far more than headline RPP does. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Sioux City and Sioux Falls are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Sioux Falls composite
64.0 /100
Grade A · weighted across 7 dims
Cost-of-living gap
-4.2 pts
Sioux City vs Sioux Falls BEA RPP
2-bed rent delta
$181 /mo
Sioux City priced higher
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Sioux City
Sioux City composite (Grade A+)
Sioux Falls
Sioux Falls composite (Grade A)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Sioux City | Sioux Falls |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 86.5 | 90.6 |
| Goods | 94.0 | 95.5 |
| Services | 82.7 | 80.7 |
| Rents | 57.8 | 77.6 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Sioux Falls gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Sioux City?
$
Equivalent in Sioux Falls:
$104,831
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Sioux City: 86.5, Sioux Falls: 90.6, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Sioux City | Sioux Falls |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $796/mo | $727/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $925/mo | $742/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,154/mo | $973/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,386/mo | $1,353/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $1,528/mo | $1,357/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Sioux City | Sioux Falls |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $61,732 | $63,923 |
| Total Employment | 69,160 | 169,190 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Sioux City (IA) | Sioux Falls (SD) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 238.5 | 320.0 |
| Property Crime | 1286.3 | 1535.5 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | IA | SD |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 1,326 | 698 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 14.8:1 | 13.6:1 |
| Charter Schools | 0.3% | 0.0% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | IA | SD |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $8,306/yr | $6,595/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $7,157/yr | $6,595/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $7,157/yr | $6,212/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | IA | SD |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 546 | 124 |
| Water Systems | 1,077 | 512 |
| Superfund Sites | 25 | 4 |
| Water Violations | 729 | 1,192 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Sioux City | Sioux Falls |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 43.0 | 34.0 |
| Good Air Days | 78.9% | 81.4% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 0 days | 2 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | IA | SD |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 6/100 | 11/100 |
| Total Violations | 138,271 | 56,254 |
| Health-Based Violations | 27,946 | 8,399 |
| Systems with Violations | 95.2% | 91.6% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | IA | SD |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 0/100 | 36/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 100.0% | 63.7% |
| HPSA Designations | 448 | 245 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | IA | SD |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 77/100 | 94/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 39.7 | 26.8 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 47.9 | 29.8 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Sioux City more expensive than Sioux Falls? ▼
Sioux City has a cost of living index of 86.5 compared to Sioux Falls's 90.6 (national average = 100). Sioux Falls is 4.2 points above Sioux City on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Sioux City and Sioux Falls? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,154/mo in Sioux City vs $973/mo in Sioux Falls, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $796/mo to $727/mo.
How do salaries compare between Sioux City and Sioux Falls? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $61,732 in Sioux City and $63,923 in Sioux Falls, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Sioux City has the same purchasing power as $104,831 in Sioux Falls.
Is Sioux City or Sioux Falls safer? ▼
At the state level, IA has a violent crime rate of 238.5 per 100,000 residents compared to SD's 320.0 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1286.3 vs 1535.5 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Sioux City and Sioux Falls? ▼
IA has 1,326 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 14.8:1, while SD has 698 schools at 13.6:1. Charter schools make up 0.3% of IA schools vs 0.0% in SD. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
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Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial