Metro Life Score
Sioux Falls, SD-MN
Top-5% composite Life Score — grade A+, 97th percentile of the national corpus.
- 64.7
- Life Score / 100
- A+
- Grade (curved)
- #10
- of 387 metros
- 97%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
Sioux Falls is top-5% composite Life Score — #10 of 387 (64.7/100, grade A+, 97th percentile). Carried by rent at 95/100; held back most by schools at 22/100.
- 97th
- composite percentile
- #10
- of 387 peers
- 71st
- cost dimension percentile
- 48th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · TOP · BALANCED · signature composite
Sioux Falls: top-third composite Life Score
Sioux Falls clears the top third of US metros on composite Life Score (#10 of 387, 64.7/100, grade A+, 97th percentile). Stamps TOP · BALANCED; cost CHEAP (71st) · wages MID (48th). Rent at 95/100 carries the lead; Schools (22/100) is the residual gap. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Sioux Falls, SD-MN ranks #10 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #111 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 90.6 (rent-RPP 77.6). BLS median salary $63,923, 169,190 jobs (Registered Nurses, Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers). HUD 2BR FMR $973/mo (studio $727).
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 Sioux Falls sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
65 Top 3% higher than 97% 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 64.7 is built
Sioux Falls's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Sioux Falls 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 Sioux Falls With...
Ranking Context
Sioux Falls outranks 97% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #7 | Lexington-Fayette, KY | 64.9 | A+ |
| #8 | Charleston, WV | 65.3 | A+ |
| #9 | Ames, IA | 65.6 | A+ |
| #10 | Sioux Falls, SD-MN | 64.7 | A+ |
| #11 | Elizabethtown, KY | 64.7 | A+ |
| #12 | Monroe, LA | 64.6 | A+ |
| #13 | Owensboro, KY | 64.6 | A |
Quality vs. Affordability
Sioux Falls, SD-MN is top 3% highest-quality nationally but only top 29% most affordable among its composite-quality peers -- its Life Score is earned mostly outside the cost dimension, not through being a budget option.
SD Metro Scores
Read with Sioux Falls
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Sioux Falls (TOP · BALANCED · CHEAP/MID), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Elizabethtown, KY
ABS(composite) peer at 64.7 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A+ vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · CHEAP/MID.
Monroe, LA
ABS(composite) peer at 64.6 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A+ vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · CHEAP/MID.
Owensboro, KY
ABS(composite) peer at 64.6 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · CHEAP/MID.
Lexington-Fayette, KY
ABS(composite) peer at 64.9 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A+ vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · CHEAP/MID.
Baton Rouge, LA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 71/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Rochester, MN (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 71/100 (Δ 1); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Sioux Falls, SD-MN relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for TOP · BALANCED · CHEAP/MID - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Sioux Falls's top-third Life Score
Sioux Falls scores 64.7/100 overall, but Rent (94.8) and Schools (21.8) sit 73.1 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Rent is the strongest of Sioux Falls's seven dimensions (weighted 15% 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
- Rapid City is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Rapid City
A high composite is a weighted blend; it does not mean every dimension is strong.