Sioux Falls, SD

The affordability dashboard for Sioux Falls, SD aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 9 ZIP codes covering 161,141 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of B- (66/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $76,225, median home value of $290,057, median rent of $1,016 per month, and 36.9% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher. These four metrics alone explain most of the variance between city dashboards.

Cross-agency feeds widen the picture beyond Census demographics. HUD publishes a Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom in this county at $1,156 per month (studio $865, 1BR $986, 3BR $1,586, 4BR $1,939). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $9,277 per year, consuming 12% of the local median household income.

Reading the overall grade requires reading all seven dimensions together. The score weights Income 20%, Safety 20%, Housing 15%, Rent 15%, Education 10%, Commute 10%, and Childcare 10%, with each sub-score benchmarked against national percentiles rather than state averages — so the grade is genuinely comparable across any city in the country. Strengths visible in the raw data for Sioux Falls, SD include commute, rent. Unemployment currently reads 2.5% and poverty 10.0% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.