Metro Life Score
Rapid City, SD
Top-quartile composite Life Score — grade A-, 83rd percentile of the national corpus.
- 58.7
- Life Score / 100
- A-
- Grade (curved)
- #67
- of 387 metros
- 83%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
Rapid City is top-quartile composite Life Score — #67 of 387 (58.7/100, grade A-, 83rd percentile). Carried by childcare at 94/100; held back most by schools at 21/100.
- 83rd
- composite percentile
- #67
- of 387 peers
- 79th
- cost dimension percentile
- 30th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · UPPER · BALANCED · signature composite
Rapid City: top-third composite Life Score
Rapid City clears the top third of US metros on composite Life Score (#67 of 387, 58.7/100, grade A-, 83rd percentile). Stamps UPPER · BALANCED; cost CHEAP (79th) · wages LOW (30th). Childcare at 94/100 carries the lead; Schools (21/100) is the residual gap. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Rapid City, SD ranks #67 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #80 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 89.2 (rent-RPP 72.6). BLS median salary $61,147, 68,240 jobs (Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Registered Nurses). HUD 2BR FMR $1,173/mo (studio $809).
FBI UCR (SD): 320 violent, 1535 property/100K. NCES: 13.0:1 ratio, 0.0% charter. DOL infant childcare $6,595/yr. EPA: 4 Superfund sites (SD).
Where Rapid City sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
59 Top 17% higher than 83% of 387 US metros
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · August 2026
How the 58.7 is built
Rapid City's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Rapid City scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are SD state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Rapid City With...
Ranking Context
Rapid City outranks 83% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #64 | Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH | 58.8 | A- |
| #65 | Lawton, OK | 58.8 | A- |
| #66 | Cleveland, OH | 58.8 | A- |
| #67 | Rapid City, SD | 58.7 | A- |
| #68 | Dothan, AL | 58.7 | A- |
| #69 | Columbus, GA-AL | 58.5 | A- |
| #70 | Fargo, ND-MN | 58.5 | A- |
Quality vs. Affordability
Rapid City, SD's quality rank (top 17% highest-quality) and affordability rank (top 21% most affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
SD Metro Scores
Read with Rapid City
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Rapid City (UPPER · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Dothan, AL
ABS(composite) peer at 58.7 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A- vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW.
Cleveland, OH
ABS(composite) peer at 58.8 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A- vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW.
Lawton, OK
ABS(composite) peer at 58.8 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A- vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW.
Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH
ABS(composite) peer at 58.8 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A- vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW.
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 80/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Tulsa, OK (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 79/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Rapid City, SD relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for UPPER · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Rapid City's top-third Life Score
Rapid City scores 58.7/100 overall, but Childcare (93.8) and Schools (21.0) sit 72.8 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Childcare is the strongest of Rapid City's seven dimensions (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Schools is the weakest (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Sioux Falls is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Sioux Falls
A high composite is a weighted blend; it does not mean every dimension is strong.