Sioux Falls composite
64.0 /100
Grade A · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Sioux Falls vs St. Cloud
Sioux Falls, SD-MN and St. Cloud, 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.
- 64.0
- Sioux Falls Life Score
- A
- Sioux Falls grade
- 69.5
- St. Cloud Life Score
- A+
- St. Cloud grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Sioux Falls scores higher on 2 (rent, childcare) and St. Cloud on 5 (cost of living, wages, safety, schools, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Sioux Falls vs St. Cloud 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 Falls St. Cloud ◗
cost of living
72
90
wages
44
75
rent
95
63
safety
48
65
schools
18
54
childcare
94
34
environment
84
86
Sioux Falls and St. Cloud differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Sioux Falls has a cost-of-living index of 90.6 vs St. Cloud's 87.6 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $63,923 in Sioux Falls and $72,671 in St. Cloud. A 2-bedroom averages $973/mo vs $1,206/mo.
How to read this matchup
Reading the Sioux Falls vs St. Cloud Comparison
Sioux Falls (SD) and St. Cloud (MN) 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 90.6 for Sioux Falls against 87.6 for St. Cloud, a 3.0-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 $973/mo in Sioux Falls and $1,206/mo in St. Cloud, a $233/mo difference that compounds to $2,796 over a year.
On wages, BLS OES reports a median salary of $63,923 across 169,190 jobs in Sioux Falls against $72,671 across 96,960 jobs in St. Cloud. Adjusted through the BEA cost-of-living lens, $100,000 earned in Sioux Falls carries the same local purchasing power as $96,691 in St. Cloud - 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 320.0 per 100,000 residents in SD vs 259.4 in MN, with property-crime rates of 1535.5 and 1624.6 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: SD lists 698 public schools at a 13.6:1 student-teacher ratio, while MN lists 2,391 schools at 15.8:1, 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 $6,595/yr in the Sioux Falls area versus $11,722/yr in St. Cloud - 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 Falls and St. Cloud 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.
St. Cloud composite
69.5 /100
Grade A+ · weighted across 7 dims
Cost-of-living gap
3.0 pts
Sioux Falls vs St. Cloud BEA RPP
2-bed rent delta
$233 /mo
St. Cloud priced higher
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Sioux Falls
Sioux Falls composite (Grade A)
St. Cloud
St. Cloud 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 Falls | St. Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 90.6 | 87.6 |
| Goods | 95.5 | 95.4 |
| Services | 80.7 | 88.7 |
| Rents | 77.6 | 65.1 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in St. Cloud gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Sioux Falls?
$
Equivalent in St. Cloud:
$96,691
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Sioux Falls: 90.6, St. Cloud: 87.6, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Sioux Falls | St. Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $727/mo | $874/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $742/mo | $919/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $973/mo | $1,206/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,353/mo | $1,604/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $1,357/mo | $1,873/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Sioux Falls | St. Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $63,923 | $72,671 |
| Total Employment | 169,190 | 96,960 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Sioux Falls (SD) | St. Cloud (MN) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 320.0 | 259.4 |
| Property Crime | 1535.5 | 1624.6 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | SD | MN |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 698 | 2,391 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 13.6:1 | 15.8:1 |
| Charter Schools | 0.0% | 11.9% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | SD | MN |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $6,595/yr | $11,722/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $6,595/yr | $10,737/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $6,212/yr | $9,850/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | SD | MN |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 124 | 592 |
| Water Systems | 512 | 993 |
| Superfund Sites | 4 | 49 |
| Water Violations | 1,192 | 845 |
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 Falls | St. Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 34.0 | 39.0 |
| Good Air Days | 81.4% | 77.0% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 2 days | 0 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | SD | MN |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 11/100 | 62/100 |
| Total Violations | 56,254 | 59,895 |
| Health-Based Violations | 8,399 | 36,496 |
| Systems with Violations | 91.6% | 51.6% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | SD | MN |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 36/100 | 0/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 63.7% | 100.0% |
| HPSA Designations | 245 | 476 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | SD | MN |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 94/100 | 73/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 26.8 | 42.4 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 29.8 | 49.1 |
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 Falls more expensive than St. Cloud? ▼
Sioux Falls has a cost of living index of 90.6 compared to St. Cloud's 87.6 (national average = 100). Sioux Falls is 3.0 points above St. Cloud on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Sioux Falls and St. Cloud? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $973/mo in Sioux Falls vs $1,206/mo in St. Cloud, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $727/mo to $874/mo.
How do salaries compare between Sioux Falls and St. Cloud? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $63,923 in Sioux Falls and $72,671 in St. Cloud, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Sioux Falls has the same purchasing power as $96,691 in St. Cloud.
Is Sioux Falls or St. Cloud safer? ▼
At the state level, SD has a violent crime rate of 320.0 per 100,000 residents compared to MN's 259.4 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1535.5 vs 1624.6 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Sioux Falls and St. Cloud? ▼
SD has 698 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 13.6:1, while MN has 2,391 schools at 15.8:1. Charter schools make up 0.0% of SD schools vs 11.9% in MN. 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