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Mid-size city

Living in Rapid City, SD

Rapid City is a mid-size city of 77,946 people in Pennington County, South Dakota. It's part of the Rapid City, SD area. Summer highs average 84°F and winter highs 37°F, with about 53 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $299k and rent runs about $1k a month.

77,946people
$299kTypical home
$1,109/moRent
84° / 37°Summer / winter
53"Snow
251Sunny days
103Rain/snow days

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Size & setting

  • Mid-size city of 77,946
  • Part of a metro area
  • About 1,392 people per sq mi
  • 310 mi to Denver, CO
  • In the Rapid City, SD area
  • Has its own stores and services

Money

  • Typical home $299k (≈$1,888/mo)
  • Median rent $1,109/mo
  • Median household income $71k
  • Property tax about 1.1% of value
  • 3.0% unemployment

Weather

  • Summer highs around 84°F
  • Winter highs around 37°F
  • Comfortable summers (dew point 51°F)
  • 251 sunny days a year (74 totally clear)
  • 114 cloudy days a year
  • 40 of 90 winter days are gray
  • 103 days a year with rain or snow
  • 53" of snow a year
  • 16 days a year with 1"+ of snow
  • 2 days a year over 100°F
  • 34 nights a year below 10°F
  • Breezy

Safety

  • High violent crime (766 per 100k)
  • High property crime (3,620 per 100k)

People

  • Median age 39
  • 25% of households have kids
  • 21% are 65 or older
  • 37% have a college degree
  • Mixed community
  • 6% of residents are college students

Getting around & homes

  • Average commute 19 min
  • 2% walk or take transit to work
  • 8 mi to RAP airport
  • 300 mi to DEN (major hub)
  • 266 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
  • 65% single-family homes
  • Typical home built around 1979
  • 90% of homes have broadband

Outdoors

  • Hilly terrain
  • Elevation 3,307 ft
  • 947 mi to the ocean
  • 108 mi to a big lake
  • 18 mi to the nearest trailhead
  • 17 mi to the nearest ski area
  • Campground in town
  • 8 golf courses within 25 mi

Things to do

  • 99 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
  • 23 bars within 25 mi
  • 42 coffee shops within 25 mi
  • 2 music venues & clubs within 25 mi
  • 13 museums within 25 mi
  • 4 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
  • Farmers market in town

Everyday

  • Schools in the bottom 29% of South Dakota districts (reading)
  • Grocery store in town
  • 4 mi to the nearest ER hospital
  • 44 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
  • Vet in town
  • 3 mi to the nearest dog park
  • 8 congregations per 10k people
  • College in town

Politics

  • Pennington County: R+26 in 2024
  • South Dakota: R+29 in 2024

Natural hazards

  • Very low hurricane risk
  • Low tornado risk
  • Moderate wildfire risk
  • Very low earthquake risk
  • Very low flood risk
  • Moderate drought risk
  • High winter storm risk
  • Very low heat wave risk
  • Very low volcano risk

Places near Rapid City

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