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Big small town

Living in Rapid Valley, SD

Rapid Valley is a big small town of 6,975 people in Pennington County, South Dakota. It's about 5 miles from Rapid City, SD and 311 miles from Denver, CO, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 85°F and winter highs 36°F, with about 49 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $256k and rent runs about $1k a month.

6,975people
$256kTypical home
$1,174/moRent
85° / 36°Summer / winter
49"Snow
251Sunny days
99Rain/snow days

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Size & setting

  • Big small town of 6,975
  • Part of a metro area
  • About 1,088 people per sq mi
  • 311 mi to Denver, CO
  • 5 mi to Rapid City, SD
  • 4 mi to the nearest town of 10k+

Money

  • Typical home $256k (≈$1,611/mo)
  • Median rent $1,174/mo
  • Median household income $83k
  • Property tax about 1.0% of value
  • 4.0% unemployment

Weather

  • Summer highs around 85°F
  • Winter highs around 36°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
  • 99 days a year with rain or snow
  • 49" of snow a year
  • 15 days a year with 1"+ of snow
  • 3 days a year over 100°F
  • 38 nights a year below 10°F
  • Breezy

Safety

  • Above-average violent crime (706 per 100k), county-wide
  • Above-average property crime (2,957 per 100k), county-wide

People

  • Median age 43
  • 23% of households have kids
  • 19% are 65 or older
  • 21% have a college degree
  • Mixed community
  • 3% of residents are college students

Getting around & homes

  • Average commute 22 min
  • 2% walk or take transit to work
  • 4 mi to RAP airport
  • 301 mi to DEN (major hub)
  • 266 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
  • 83% single-family homes
  • Typical home built around 1988
  • 95% of homes have broadband

Outdoors

  • Gently rolling terrain
  • Elevation 3,196 ft
  • 951 mi to the ocean
  • 104 mi to a big lake
  • 22 mi to the nearest trailhead
  • 20 mi to the nearest ski area
  • 4 mi to the nearest campground
  • 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
  • 4 mi to the nearest farmers market

Everyday

  • Schools in the bottom 29% of South Dakota districts (reading)
  • 2 mi to the nearest grocery store
  • 5 mi to the nearest ER hospital
  • 48 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
  • 3 mi to the nearest vet
  • 2 mi to the nearest dog park
  • 8 congregations per 10k people
  • 4 mi to the nearest college

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 Valley

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