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Location: New Albany, Indiana (Greater Louisville)
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They are in the same region are around the same size - even half of their name is the same! So why has Sioux Falls grown so fast (it's the fastest growing metro in the Midwest) while Sioux City has as many people now than it did in 1940?
Population comparison by year
1900: SF 10,266; SC 33,111
1940: SF 40,832; SC 82,364
1960: SF 65,466; SC 89,159
1980: SF 81,182; SC 82,003
2000: SF 123,975; SC 85,013
2008: SF 154,997; SC 82,807
Sioux Falls stepped up to offer more in the lines of economic development.
Sioux City was a packing plant industrial town of old. It is dirty and smelly and generally dumpy. Sioux Falls also has packing plants and manufacturing but they really stepped up to adapt to services, ie destination for medical care, financial services and they did clean up the downtown down.
Sioux Falls stepped up to offer more in the lines of economic development.
That's a huge part of it. Sioux Falls owes a lot of what it is today to the lift on South Dakota's usury caps in the early 80's which allowed the local financial sector to explode. Prior to that, I'd guess that Sioux Falls was probably considered more of an agricultural/meatpacking town itself. Also, it's likely because Sioux Falls is the largest city in South Dakota and is the heart of a huge trade region. Sioux Falls owes a lot of what it is today to the residents of SD that don't live there, but make the trip weekly/monthly to spend money, shop, dine, etc. because of the limited services in their own communities.
I agree with the previous posts... Sioux Falls has benefited from the state's friendly tax environment, especially for businesses.
I think another part of it, is that Sioux City is often ignored when it comes to state finances... The majority goes to Des Moines... the state capitol.
I'm from Sioux City originally and I would say the main reason for Sioux City's decline is the failure to pursue new businesses. It seems like the focus there has been on hanging on to old business that continue to docline in payscale thus bringing in lower wage workers. When this happens, kids grow up and move away, There's little opportunity for long term well paying careers. The tax climate in Iowa also creates this compared to South Dakota. Large corporations like any tax haven they can get.
I lived in Sioux City in the 70s and 80s; to be more specific, I was in grade school in the 80s (Whittier Elementry). By the time I started Middle School (Old East Junior High School), the city had begun a very noticeable change. This is not a rant on race vs. crime vs. economics, etc.. but several of my parents friends started to exit Sioux City as jobs became harder to find and neighborhoods started becoming more diverse ethnically. What was once a safe place to play and ride bikes, became a haven for drugs and other crimes. A friend of mine in Middle School was shot in the face and killed in a drive by shooting. Nice, huh? That is the most severe story, but there are other horrible instances that happened in our part of the city. It was not long after that my family picked up and left in the same manner and for the same reason that their friends did. So...that's a least one reason there has been Zero growth in Sioux City.
In relation to your question, why SF up and SC down...that other posters seem to be correct in their assumptions, in my opinion. But I would also like to add that as Sioux Falls grows, crime will surely come with it. Let's hope they address it early.
Over the past 30 years, Sioux Falls has had a pro-growth attitude by it's public and private leadership. Government, people and corporations stepped up to support quality of life and economic development efforts. It truly was an attitude of "a rising tide lifts all boats." Plus, we live in a state where companies and people can keep the profit that they make. Let's keep it moving forward.
I used to make a delivery from Omaha to Sioux City Mon-Fri for seven years. Every once and a while they would send me up to North Sioux City on the South Dakota side. To this day it seems the same to me. What I mean is once you cross the border from Iowa to South Dakota it seems as if you have entered a new life. Seems cleaner, newer, more well kept, interstate is in better condition and just a better atmosphere in general. My boss would always call it "Sewer City" and I think he was right. It always seemed to have a stink in the air in Sioux City. But once you got into SD it seemed better. I'm sure I am way off my rocker and come off as not knowing anything, but that's how I saw it....
I used to make a delivery from Omaha to Sioux City Mon-Fri for seven years. Every once and a while they would send me up to North Sioux City on the South Dakota side. To this day it seems the same to me. What I mean is once you cross the border from Iowa to South Dakota it seems as if you have entered a new life. Seems cleaner, newer, more well kept, interstate is in better condition and just a better atmosphere in general. My boss would always call it "Sewer City" and I think he was right. It always seemed to have a stink in the air in Sioux City. But once you got into SD it seemed better. I'm sure I am way off my rocker and come off as not knowing anything, but that's how I saw it....
Sioux City does have the "Sewer City" regional acclamation. Dakota Dunes and North Sioux City are part of the "nicer" areas of Sioux City.
The SD side has a cleaner feel to it... I absolutely hate driving through Sioux City on my way down south..
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Sioux City does have the "Sewer City" regional acclamation. Dakota Dunes and North Sioux City are part of the "nicer" areas of Sioux City.
