Sioux Falls vs. Minneapolis (Wall: 2015, apartments, low crime)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I've never lived in either, but like both areas. I like the availability of things in the Twin Cities, but maybe would get tired of the large amounts of people and traffic. Also, the cost of housing really is higher. A good 2br apartment will cost you at least $1000 a month. Sioux Falls is still more expensive than I'm used to, but it's certainly cheaper than Twin Cities.
Sioux Falls has enough amenities for me, less traffic, and cheaper housing. Also, SD has cheaper taxes.
I'm considering a move to both areas next year. I guess I'll find out where the job takes me.
Sioux Falls is basically a large town, it really has a fraction of the amenities that the Twin Cities does, but there are always trade-offs regarding what one values. Sioux Falls has a more favorable income to cost of living ratio due to the no state income tax. Less traffic, less stressful. However, the Twin Cities have a much greater variety of parks, natural areas, fine arts, different types of ethnic foods, restaurants, etc. Cost of living is higher as well as taxes. Climate, I would give the advantage to the Twin Cities due to much less wind overall.
Sioux Falls is basically a large town, it really has a fraction of the amenities that the Twin Cities does, but there are always trade-offs regarding what one values. Sioux Falls has a more favorable income to cost of living ratio due to the no state income tax. Less traffic, less stressful. However, the Twin Cities have a much greater variety of parks, natural areas, fine arts, different types of ethnic foods, restaurants, etc. Cost of living is higher as well as taxes. Climate, I would give the advantage to the Twin Cities due to much less wind overall.
I think you're right. For me, Sioux Falls has enough to do. There's a mall, a good selection of restaurants, plenty of grocery stores. I guess my only complaint might be that the ethnic restaurant selection is somewhat limited compared to the diverseness of Twin Cities.
I've lived in small towns, and large, but not huge cities (Charlotte, Raleigh, and St Louis areas). I think my favorite places have been around the 100,000 - 200,000 population. They usually have enough amenities for my wife and I, and the traffic is a lot less than larger cities. Even though larger cities have a great selection of things to do, you often have to drive 30min+ in traffic to get there. Not exactly my idea of fun. When I lived in Charlotte, I was having to drive 20 minutes to get here, 25 minutes to get there, then another 15 minutes back over there. Whenever I go to Kansas City, it's the same thing.
That being said, there are a lot of areas in the Twin Cities that have a small town, medium town, and large city feel. That's nice to have.
For our move, I think it will come down to this... I think that the parks and other amenities in MSP are a definite perk. The job market is too. However, because it's such a large market, I fear that the job market might be overloaded with qualified individuals. I'd imagine that it would be much easier to land the same job in Sioux Falls compared to Twin Cities. The housing in Minneapolis seems overpriced for what it is. Some older house in poor condition is going for more than what I'd expect. However, I sometimes fear that we would get bored in Sioux Falls after some years.
I consider myself to have both liberal and conservative values, but the very liberalness of MSP might be a negative for me (as would a super conservative Bible thumping area). Sioux Falls probably leans more conservative, but doesn't have a Bible thumping feel.
This is going to be a really tough decision. I guess I'll just apply to jobs in both areas and see what happens.
Might be worth noting that Sioux Falls does seem to be going through somewhat of a renaissance right now. Anything remotely "cosmopolitan" in feel was pretty unheard of as of 10-15 years ago, but there is a burgeoning downtown scene of new local restaurants, loft development, and investment in parks infrastructure (from what I could tell in a recent visit) that is pretty new and exciting for the area. Climate-wise I actually like Sioux Falls, it's slightly warmer on average I believe relative to Twin Cities (small difference, but can be meaningful depending on time of year).
Although Sioux Falls does have a strong job market, it's not the most diversified job market, so best probably to let your job search lead you and check the number of postings available in your field before committing too much in one direction or the other. With the amount of industry in the Twin Cities, you'll likely find related postings regardless of what field you're in (but correct that this likely comes with more potential competition as well).
Another thing to consider based on your past places of residence- Sioux Falls and South Dakota in general can feel a little remote/isolated if you are wanting easy access to those big-city amenities, and MSP is a four hour drive away. That said, your stated preferences/values seem like they would align well with an area like Sioux Falls.
Sioux Falls is basically a large town, it really has a fraction of the amenities that the Twin Cities does, but there are always trade-offs regarding what one values. Sioux Falls has a more favorable income to cost of living ratio due to the no state income tax. Less traffic, less stressful. However, the Twin Cities have a much greater variety of parks, natural areas, fine arts, different types of ethnic foods, restaurants, etc. Cost of living is higher as well as taxes. Climate, I would give the advantage to the Twin Cities due to much less wind overall.
One thing to keep in mind is that though housing/cost of living is higher in general in the Twin Cities, income is generally a lot higher, too. Much more job diversity and growth potential than you'd find in a small city like Sioux Falls.
One thing to keep in mind is that though housing/cost of living is higher in general in the Twin Cities, income is generally a lot higher, too. Much more job diversity and growth potential than you'd find in a small city like Sioux Falls.
Agreed, that is why it remains on my short list of places to move to in the future as it has a sizable amount of job openings in my career field (GIS).
There has been a notion that Sioux Falls is significantly cheaper than Minneapolis. That is not exactly true and depends on a few things. I actually ran the numbers for everything a few weeks ago as we are considering moving back to Mpls.
Food: The cost of groceries in Sioux Falls is significantly higher. Hyvee stores can be highway robbery on some products. Costco does help a bit since their pricing is more even city vs city. South Dakota DOES apply sales tax to all food purchases including groceries. Minnesota does not tax groceries but does tax restaurant meals. That lack of sales tax on food in MN really matters if you have a huge grocery bill and a house full of kids. Minneapolis also have many more grocery options and everything tends to be cheaper there for food. Sioux Falls is finally getting an Aldi and that may help provide at least somewhere to get some cheaper groceries. MN also makes all clothing tax free.
Utilities: Utilities were mostly cheaper in Minneapolis. Water bills are significantly less and most suburbs base it mostly on usage rather than loading your bill with up front fees. Electricity in Mpls is 2 cents more expensive but they also have an active solar program in MN. Internet depends on who you can use. Midco in SF recently hiked their rates so now they are even or more expensive than the more expensive providers in Mpls like Comcast. We are currently paying about $65 a month for cable internet that is one speed up from their rock bottom speed that is akin to dial up.
Property taxes: With the exception of Mpls proper and some of the more swanky suburbs, everywhere else I checked for mid-tier suburbs the property taxes were SIGNIFICANTLY less than in Sioux Falls or SF burbs. Between the MN property tax rebate and the lower tax rate our property taxes on an equal but more expensive house in Mpls would be $1000 LESS in Mpls. burbs.
Home costs: A roughly $140-$160 house in SF area will cost you about $150 to $200k in a similar area of Mpls. But this also gains you access to decent public transportation, state services, a real library system, many suburbs are full of amenities and you have access to the whole city. Average home insurance in MN is about $100-$200 more a year vs. SD.
Income taxes: If you are in lower tax brackets or have lots of deductions you could end up owing little to zero income taxes. In higher incomes it goes up in a progressive fashion.
Jobs: Mpls will have more job options than SF due to size and the MN job market is active right now. The problem with the size of SF if you decide to change jobs you are seriously limited by the number of companies or industries doing that work in SF. So you may not be able to find another company without moving away. I have found Mpls employers to be mostly more professional at least when it comes to job diversity and keeping people out of your business at work. In SF I had problems almost everywhere I worked with someone wanting to poke into my personal business, harass me about their religious beliefs at work or share horribly racist, misogynistic or homophobic opinions unsolicited at work. It may be better in some workplaces now but it makes me glad I don't work in an office anymore.
So when we did all the math, all costs were a wash. it was going to be $50 cheaper a year to live in Mpls vs. SF even with a more expensive house. But this is minus income tax. Most professional jobs in Mpls pay enough more than the comparable job in SF to cover those income taxes and still have you earning more money.
Driving depends on how smart you are. If you live in one place in Mpls and have to commute to work through a massive bottleneck on the freeway system you will hate your daily commute. If you can arrange it to live near work, live somewhere that has an easy drive route or allows using light rail, your commute won't be so bad. I use the surface roads mostly to get around Mpls and St. Paul and avoid the freeways. This is usually faster and less gridlocked. Driving in Sioux Falls makes me want to scream. There are lots of poor drivers and reckless drivers here. There are also lots of drivers from nearby small towns on the weekend and that makes it even more interesting. Driving in SF I spend more time avoiding people driving dangerously. Minneapolis, most people on the road obey the rules and do fewer unpredictable moves. I find driving in SF during rush hour or a Saturday more stressful than the 45 minute commute I had for a few months when I was in Mpls before we shifted houses. So pick your poison :-)
I see this frequently where locals in Sioux Falls will insist how safe the city is and how it is oh so much more dangerous everywhere else. Nothing will dissuade them of this notion.
I was looking on Trulia and checked the crime overlay you can do on their maps. I did one for Sioux Falls and then did one for Bloomington MN (a mid level inner ring burb of Mpls with a mix of everything). The amount of high crime areas on the Sioux Falls map was more shocking than I expected it to be. Pretty much anywhere that wasn't an isolated wealthy neighborhood on the edge of town was in the higher crime brackets. Even many of the middle class suburban neighborhoods were flagged as having higher crime.
When I looked at the Bloomington map almost all of it was green. The few slightly elevated areas were small and in the "yellow". I really expected to at least see some high crime in the retail areas or near the Mall of America. That was not an elevated crime area.
In Sioux Falls there was a rash of business break ins last week. Gas station and casino robberies daily. I had assumed it was more noticeable because the news bothered to report them but looking at these two maps it does appear Sioux Falls isn't the sheltered safe city some people insist it is.
I see this frequently where locals in Sioux Falls will insist how safe the city is and how it is oh so much more dangerous everywhere else. Nothing will dissuade them of this notion.
I was looking on Trulia and checked the crime overlay you can do on their maps. I did one for Sioux Falls and then did one for Bloomington MN (a mid level inner ring burb of Mpls with a mix of everything). The amount of high crime areas on the Sioux Falls map was more shocking than I expected it to be. Pretty much anywhere that wasn't an isolated wealthy neighborhood on the edge of town was in the higher crime brackets. Even many of the middle class suburban neighborhoods were flagged as having higher crime.
When I looked at the Bloomington map almost all of it was green. The few slightly elevated areas were small and in the "yellow". I really expected to at least see some high crime in the retail areas or near the Mall of America. That was not an elevated crime area.
In Sioux Falls there was a rash of business break ins last week. Gas station and casino robberies daily. I had assumed it was more noticeable because the news bothered to report them but looking at these two maps it does appear Sioux Falls isn't the sheltered safe city some people insist it is.
Statistics Shmatistics - Sioux Falls is a sheltered safe city. If you want, I can send you a map that highlights the 10-block zone that you might want to avoid. There's two or three gas stations that like to get picked on too by robbers. I got a flat tire in Bloomington once and I did not feel safe at all.
Statistics Shmatistics - Sioux Falls is a sheltered safe city. If you want, I can send you a map that highlights the 10-block zone that you might want to avoid. There's two or three gas stations that like to get picked on too by robbers. I got a flat tire in Bloomington once and I did not feel safe at all.
Why did you feel "unsafe" in Bloomington with a flat tire?
If find the level of disconnect in Sioux Falls kind of amusing. The people that are lifers or long time residents like to claim all the children are above average and everything here is peachy while ignoring some pretty bad systemic problems going on. Of course the local TV stations don't help. Any time some fluff magazine puts out a meaningless metric about what cities to "xyz" the best they are cheerleading that. If Sioux Falls has anything it has an epic level of denial. :-)
What are some advantages or disadvantages of Sioux Falls compared to Minneapolis. Inclusion of price of food and pets, crime, mindset of populous, and jobs would be appreciated. How would such things, among anything else you can think of, effect whether Sioux Falls or Minneapolis would be a better place to live.
You really need to visit these two cities. There really is no comparison, Minneapolis is huge...and surrounded by suburbs and other smaller cities..Sioux Falls is much smaller, and towns ranging from bedroom communities to small towns surround it.
The main page of City Data allows you to search any town and provides a range of info on each.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
