Rapid City, SD vs Sioux Falls, SD
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Summary
Sioux Falls spends 2.2% more per capita than Rapid City ($286/person difference). Rapid City, SD has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 90/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $25 | $71 |
| Sales Tax | $1,480 | $230 |
| Income Tax | $1,532 | $716 |
| Intergovernmental | $552 | $658 |
| Charges & Fees | $3,480 | $2,124 |
| Other | $2,212 | $2,334 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $93 | $182 |
| Highways & Roads | $158 | $200 |
| Education | $67 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $1,036 | $1,726 |
| Health | $446 | $536 |
| Hospitals | $15 | $781 |
| Parks & Recreation | $2,308 | $1,410 |
| Housing | $2,811 | $2,376 |
| Utilities | $2,503 | $1,486 |
| Interest on Debt | $358 | $516 |
| Other | $3,033 | $3,902 |
Compare More Cities
The side-by-side above pulls the the Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances data for both entity A and entity B. What follows is the interpretation — which specific axes carry the most weight for entity A versus entity B, and which differences are large enough to influence a real decision.
Practical use of the comparison: read the data above, then drill into the individual entity A and entity B detail pages for the underlying breakdown. A pairwise comparison answers the relative question; the per-entity pages answer the absolute question.
Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.