PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Rapid City, SD

57.2
Life Score / 100
B+
Grade (curved)
#91
of 387 metros
76%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Rapid City ranks #91 of 387 US metros, ahead of 76% - carried by its childcare (94/100) and held back most by schools (17/100).

94
strongest: Childcare
80
then: Cost of Living
17
weakest: Schools
7
weighted dimensions

Where Rapid City sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

57 Top 24% higher than 76% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). Below this entry. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Below this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Below this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Below this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). This entry sits in this band. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

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 · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Rapid City Life Score

Rapid City's composite score of 57.2 out of 100, a grade of B+, places the metro at rank #91 of 387, ahead of 76% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Childcare (94/100) and Cost of Living (80/100), which pull the composite upward, while Schools (17/100) and Wages (26/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

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: 13.6:1 ratio, 0.0% charter. DOL infant childcare $6,595/yr. EPA: 4 Superfund sites (SD). Ranks #88-#94 below.

Dimension detail

How Rapid City scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 80/100 (20%)
Wages 26/100 (20%)
Rent 69/100 (15%)
Safety 48/100 (15%)
Schools 17/100 (10%)
Childcare 94/100 (10%)
Environment 74/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

89.2
Cost Index (RPP)
$61,147
Avg Median Salary
$1,173
2BR Fair Market Rent
320
Violent Crime/100K (SD)
13.6:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$6,595
Infant Childcare/yr (SD)
4
Superfund Sites (SD)
68,240
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Rapid City With...

Rapid City vs Sioux City Compare → Rapid City vs Sioux Falls Compare → Rapid City vs Wildwood Compare → Rapid City vs Waterloo Compare → Rapid City vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Rapid City outranks 76% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#88 Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA 57.4 B+
#89 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX 57.6 B+
#90 Valdosta, GA 57.7 B+
#91 Rapid City, SD 57.2 B+
#92 Fargo, ND-MN 57.2 B+
#93 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC 57.2 B+
#94 Wilmington, NC 57.2 B+

SD Metro Scores

Sioux City, IA-NE-SD A+ 66.7 Sioux Falls, SD-MN A 64.0

Using Rapid City's Life Score

Rapid City is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is childcare (94/100) and its weakest is schools (17/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Rapid City head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Rapid City lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Rapid City's biggest strengths? ▼
Rapid City's strongest dimensions are Childcare (94/100), Cost of Living (80/100), Environment (74/100). Childcare is top-tier nationally.
What are Rapid City's weakest areas? ▼
Rapid City's lowest-scoring dimensions are Schools (17/100), Wages (26/100), Safety (48/100). Schools weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Rapid City compared to the national average? ▼
Rapid City's Regional Price Parity is 89.2 (10.8% less than national); rent RPP 72.6.
What is the average salary in Rapid City? ▼
Rapid City median salary: $61,147, 68,240 jobs. Top: Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Registered Nurses.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Rapid City's 57.2/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.