Official Federal Data
Minnehaha County, South Dakota
Sioux Falls, SD-MN · Population 203,289
10 Sources
Updated September 10, 2026
$76,880 up from the baseline named below
Median Income (nominal) vs 2019
$80,734 national
2% up from the baseline named below
Unemployment vs 2024
4.3% national
$22.4B up from the baseline named below
GDP (nominal) real change vs 2023
35.2% up from the baseline named below
Bachelor's+ vs 2019
35.7% national
Demographics & Population
Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates
Household Income
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household (nominal)
$76,880 up from 2019 vs 2019
Per Capita
$43,062 up from 2019 vs 2019
Mean Household
$102,921 up from 2019 vs 2019
Median Household (cost-of-living adjusted)
$84,857 metro RPP 90.6
Poverty Rate
8.8% down from 2019 vs 2019
Median Income Comparison
Minnehaha County$76,880
South Dakota$75,081
National$80,734
Cost-of-living adjustment uses the BEA all-items regional price parity for Sioux Falls, SD-MN, 90.6 against a national average of 100 (2024). BEA publishes regional price parity at state and metropolitan level only; there is no county figure, so the metro index stands in for Minnehaha County and the adjusted median is an approximation. Per capita and mean household income above are nominal and carry no adjustment.
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B01001, B02001, B03003
CohortsShare of total population
Under 18 · 25.4%
18-34 · 23.2%
35-54 · 25.6%
55-64 · 11.9%
65+ · 13.9%
Race & Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.
Educational Attainment
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
92.7%
High School+
National: 89.6%
up from national +3.1 pts vs national
35.2%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
down from national 0.5 pts vs national
10.5%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
down from national 3.6 pts vs national
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
203,289
Population
116,075
Labor Force
Employed
113,220
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
2% up from 2024 +0.2 pts vs 2024
Mean Commute 9 min below national avg
17.8 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
11.1%
Labor Force and Employed are ACS 5-Year survey estimates; the Unemployment Rate above comes from BLS LAUS, a separate monthly survey with its own methodology. The two won't reconcile by subtracting one from the other.
Key Takeaways
- Income near the national median: Median household income tracks the national median, indicating a broad-based consumer market.
- Cost of living stretches income further: Local prices run 9.4% below the national average, so the nominal median of $76,880 is worth $84,857 at national average prices. BEA publishes price parity at metro level, not county level.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
$22.4B up from 2023 +3.8% vs 2023
Gross Domestic Product · 2024
+3.8% real (inflation-adjusted)
·
+7.5% nominal
· 2023 to 2024
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis · level and nominal change from CAGDP2 (current dollars); real change from CAGDP9 (chained 2017 dollars), both all-industry total. The two series agree in 2017, the chain reference year, and diverge by the amount of price change since.
90.6
Cost of Living · metro · Below Avg
Key Takeaways
- Largest private-sector industry: Health Care and Social Assistance employs 27,518 workers (24.8% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $76,889. Every industry figure on this page is private sector; government employs a further 12,991 and is counted separately.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $22.4B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Finance and Insurance averages $96,123 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $25,102, a 3.8x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
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Industry Concentration
Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.
Cluster Depth
Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
11 sub-sectors at LQ ≥ 1.5
Largest grouping among them is Health Care & Social Assistance Cluster at 38.3% of the employment across all of them, which signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
35,504
Employment in the sub-sectors listed
2.83x
Peak sub-sector LQ
Sub-Sector Detail, Highest 10 By LQ
Hospitals
2.83x 14,614
Food Manufacturing
2.51x 4,195
Telecommunications
2.39x 1,400
Credit Intermediation and Related Activities
2.39x 5,806
Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing
1.87x 610
Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing
1.78x 702
Printing and Related Support Activities
1.74x 588
Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument, Book, and Misc. Retailers
1.67x 2,369
Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles
1.67x 50
Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods
1.60x 5,170
+ 1 more sub-sector at LQ ≥ 1.5, holding a further 2,687 jobs not counted in the total above. See the spider chart for the broader picture.
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, screened against local siting constraints. Source: BLS QCEW
0.16x
Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing
50 employed
Freight-dependent sector with no rail-truck intermodal terminal anywhere in the state.
0.21x
Publishing Industries and Telecommunications
181 employed
0.23x
Crop Production
118 employed
Freight-dependent sector with no rail-truck intermodal terminal anywhere in the state.
0.36x
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
166 employed
Freight-dependent sector with no rail-truck intermodal terminal anywhere in the state.
0.38x
Computing Infrastructure Providers and Data Processing
173 employed
Screened on industrial power cost, rail-truck intermodal access, land base.
Industrial electricity in South Dakota costs 8.68¢/kWh against 8.62¢/kWh nationally (2025).
South Dakota has 0 rail-truck intermodal terminals.
Land area 807 sq mi, larger than 67% of US counties.
Sources: EIA, BTS NTAD, Census Gazetteer.
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Hospitals concentrates at 2.83x the national norm.
- Cluster depth: 11 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, and no single source of demand accounts for more than 38.3% of the employment across them, the largest being health care economy. Demand reaches this base from more than one market rather than from a single one.
- Attraction whitespace: 5 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5 with at least 50 employed, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Housing & Affordability
Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026
Housing Overview
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064, B25004
$287,600 up from the baseline named below
Median Home Value vs 2019
$978 up from the baseline named below
Rent/Mo vs 2019
63.1% down from the baseline named below
Owner-Occ vs 2019
5.1% down from the baseline named below
Vacancy vs 2019
2.8% available
for rent or sale
for rent or sale
3.7x
Home Value to Income Ratio
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
HUD publishes these by FMR area, which may cover more than one county · Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026 · Affordability threshold and renter cost burden from Census ACS B25119, B25070
Studio
$865/mo
1 Bedroom
$986/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,156/mo
3 Bedroom
$1,586/mo
4 Bedroom
$1,939/mo
30% of monthly median renter household income (~$1,160/mo, from a renter median of $46,405) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Measured: 40% of renter households already pay 30% or more of income on rent, and 16.9% pay 50% or more.
Key Takeaways
- In line with national: Home value to income ratio of 3.7x sits near the ~4.1x national average; affordability is neither a clear advantage nor a recruitment friction.
- Affordable rent tiers: 3 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom sizes sit below what a household on the median renter income of $46,405 can pay without cost burden (~$1,160/mo), and 40% of renter households are measured as cost-burdened.
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.
Workforce Pipeline
Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition
Labor Market Overview
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23001, B23025, B08303, B08301
123,376 up from the baseline named below
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 9 min below national avg
17.8 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
11.1%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
88.5%
of prime-age population
Prime-age rate numerator is civilian employed (B23001); the denominator is total population aged 25-54 (B01001), which also includes armed forces.
of population age 16 and over (157,090)
down from 2019 vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
35.2% up from 2019 vs 2019
HS Diploma+
92.7% up from 2019 vs 2019
Institutions in Minnehaha County
Largest 6 of 7 by credentials awarded, in Minnehaha County
Credentials awarded in Minnehaha County
2,508/yr
818/yr
797/yr
586/yr
110/yr
104/yr
93/yr
Aging Workforce
Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
19.7%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Same cohort is 11.9% of total population, the basis used in the Demographics cohort chart.
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
40.4%
Service
15.1%
Sales & Office
20.4%
Construction / Maint.
9.6%
Production / Transport
14.6%
Bars are drawn on a 0% to 60% axis, so bar length is proportional to actual share. Labels give each group's share of 113,220 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Healthy participation: 74.1% labor force participation reflects a steady, available local workforce.
- Short commutes: 17.8-minute mean commute is a quality-of-life and labor-access advantage worth surfacing for site selectors.
- Talent pipeline: the 6 largest of 7 institutions in Minnehaha County award 2,508 credentials a year. Employers drawing from a wider labor shed should read this alongside institutions outside the county, which this page does not aggregate.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.
AI Insights
Sample output. Pulse AI analysis draws on 10 federal data sources.
Sample AI Insight
Minnehaha County shows emerging potential for hospitals attraction, with a 2.83x concentration and 14,614 jobs in this sub-sector.
The concentrated base spans hospitals, food manufacturing, and telecommunications, and no single source of demand accounts for more than 38.3% of the employment across them, the largest being health care economy. Supply-chain recruitment has more than one demand base to work from.
Industry Shift Analysis
Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100
Prospect Match Scores
Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
Illustrative example
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Data Sources
Updated from official federal government data.
Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2024 annual
BLS LAUS2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
BEA Regional Price Parity2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23
American Community Survey figures on this page are 2020-2024 five-year averages rather than single-year counts. A five-year estimate pools 60 months of survey responses, so each value describes the period as a whole.
Frequently Asked Questions
Key economic and demographic figures for Minnehaha County, South Dakota, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Minnehaha County, South Dakota?
203,289 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Minnehaha County, South Dakota?
$76,880 in nominal dollars (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates). Adjusted for local prices using the BEA all-items regional price parity for Sioux Falls, SD-MN (90.6 against a national average of 100), that is $84,857 at national average prices. BEA publishes regional price parity at metro level; there is no county-level figure.
What is the unemployment rate in Minnehaha County, South Dakota?
2% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Minnehaha County, South Dakota?
$22.4B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP2).
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