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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
On a student budget, the math is brutal: loans, part-time income, zero margin. We ranked 1 cities in South Dakota on rent, food costs, and overall affordability. Sioux Falls leads with rent at $1,265/mo and a food index of 93.
#1 Ranked: Sioux Falls — cost index 95, rent $1,265/mo, income $74,714
Student-budget scoring: rent $1,265/mo, food index 93, cost index 95 — survival-level affordability
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sioux Falls | 95 | $1,265 | Details |
On a student budget, the math is brutal: loans, part-time income, zero margin. We ranked 1 cities in South Dakota on rent, food costs, and overall affordability. Sioux Falls leads with rent at $1,265/mo and a food index of 93.
Here's Sioux Falls by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 95. Rent: $1,265/month — we had to double-check this one — . Income: $74,714/year. Home price: $326,187. Population: 206,410. The strongest category is Utilities at 88; the most expensive is Healthcare at 98. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $7,560 per year vs. the national median. That level of affordability is getting rarer every year.
Student affordability boils down to three survival metrics: rent under $1,200/month — make of that what you will — (25pts), overall cost index (20pts), and food costs (10pts). Sioux Falls leads at $1,265/month rent with a food index of 93 — 7% below the national food cost baseline.
The other side of the coin: State context matters: South Dakota's 1 cities average a 95 cost index with $1,265/month median rent and $74,714 household income. No income tax and Great Plains affordability. The linked city profiles go deeper than this ranking ever could.
Bottom line: Sioux Falls leads this ranking for clear, data-backed reasons — but the "best" city depends on your priorities. Click into any city below to see the full detail page with 12-month trend charts, profession-specific salary data, and a breakdown of all five cost categories. If you're seriously considering a move, use our salary calculator to model your specific income against these numbers.
206,410 residents · South Dakota
What does daily life actually cost in Sioux Falls? Start with the 20% rent-to-income ratio — that's the kind of margin that lets people build savings. And in most cases, on the category level, Utilities (index 88) is where the real savings show up, while Healthcare (index 98) is the line item most likely to surprise newcomers. Income at $74,714 and homes at $326,187 round out a profile that ranks #1 for clear reasons.
Our persona scoring model weights cost of living, income, rent, healthcare costs, tax burden, and population size differently based on what matters most to students. Each factor contributes 10-25 points to a 0-100 composite score. Cities with the highest composite rank first. All data is sourced from federal agencies and verified research institutions. Cost of living indices are normalized to 100 (national median) using Zillow rent as the primary signal, with sub-category adjustments derived from regional BLS price data. Rankings are updated monthly as new data is released.
Sioux Falls ranks #1 in South Dakota for this analysis with a cost index of 95 and median income of $74,714.
Sioux Falls scores highest for students due to its below-average cost of living, median rent of $1,265/mo, and competitive median income of $74,714.
Our cost of living index uses real Zillow rent data as the foundation, indexed to 100 (national median). Sub-categories (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare) are derived from the overall index with regional adjustments. Data is updated monthly.
City data is refreshed monthly from Census Bureau population estimates, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary data, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Last updated: 2026.
The median 1-bedroom rent in Sioux Falls is $1,265/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $630 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Sioux Falls is $326,187, which is 4.4× the local median income. It's on the edge of affordability for median-income households. The national median home price is $467,370.
South Dakota has a 0% state income tax rate — one of the states with no income tax. Combined state and local sales tax averages 6.1%, and the effective property tax rate is 1.08%.
This ranking was generated using data current as of early 2026. Population and income data comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Rent and home price data is from Zillow's monthly releases. Tax rates are from the Tax Foundation's 2025 edition. Rankings are refreshed monthly.