Loading
Assembling your view…
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
The numbers are clear: 1 of 1 cities in South Dakota beat the national cost-of-living benchmark of 111. And for the typical household, sioux Falls stands out at 74 on the index, with rent of $1,265/month — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — and household income of $74,714. Assembled…
#1 Ranked: Sioux Falls — cost index 74, rent $1,265/mo, income $74,714
1 of 1 cities come in below the national cost-of-living average of 111
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sioux Falls | 74 | $1,265 | Details |
The numbers are clear: 1 of 1 cities in South Dakota beat the national cost-of-living benchmark of 111. And for the typical household, sioux Falls stands out at 74 on the index, with rent of $1,265/month — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — and household income of $74,714. Assembled from 2026 Census, Zillow, and BLS data (not adjusted for inflation, but still telling).
The 3.5× rule is a conservative benchmark: lenders often approve up to 4-5× income, but 3.5× keeps monthly payments safely under 28% of gross income at typical rates. On $60K, that means targeting homes under $210,000. Sioux Falls offers a median home at $326,187 — a 5.4× ratio with room to spare.
A closer look at Sioux Falls: the cost index of 74 breaks down to a Housing index of 74 (strongest category) and a Healthcare index of 95 (weakest). Median rent is $1,265/month — 33% below the national median — while household income sits at $74,714, meaning locals spend about 20% of income on rent. That's a healthy margin by any standard.
If you're ready to act on this, three things to do next: 1) Click into the city pages for the top 3 and check rent trends — direction matters more than the snapshot. 2) Run your income through the salary calculator for a personalized cost comparison. 3) Compare your top two picks head-to-head on our comparison page. The data is here; the decision is yours.
206,410 residents · South Dakota
A closer look at Sioux Falls: the cost index of 74 — for better or worse — breaks down to a Housing index of 74 (strongest category) and a Healthcare index of 95 (weakest). Median rent is $1,265/month — 33% below the national median — while household income sits at $74,714, meaning locals spend about 20% of income on rent. That's a healthy margin by any standard.
We rank cities by their home-price-to-income ratio (median home price ÷ median household income). A lower ratio means homes are more attainable relative to local earnings. The standard benchmark is 3-5×; above 5× is considered stretched. 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 74 and 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.