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Compared to Sioux Falls, Rapid City seems to have better weather and more recreational opportunities. So why is Sioux Falls growing at a faster rate? Is it better employment opportunities? Is it because the city has better transportation connections to other large cities? Just curious.
My guess is the location, Rapid is more on it's own while Sioux Falls has more nearby such as Sioux City, Omaha, plus the many mid sized towns within an hour's drive. I know some jobs also pay much better, plus there are more options for secondary schools, and Vermillion and Brookings have schools also (within an hour's drive).
I would say that siouxfalls has more employment opportunities and has access to larger cities, Minneapolis and Omaha, I wouldn't go as far as to say that there is less recreational opportunities in Sioux Falls.
Sorry, "less recreation" was a poor word choice. People talk about how beautiful the Black Hills are, and it's right next to Rapid City. That's what I had meant to imply.
When it comes to manufacturing, Rapid City lives up a dead end street. Trucking companys don't haul through Rapid City like they do Sious Falls. I-29 going North and South, I-90 going East and West. I-80, not too far away. Parts and pieces can be brought into Sioux Falls, built into widgets, and transported out.
Because of this, Sioux Falls has become what is considered a local hub. It is fed by major cities, broken down, and dispersed to smaller cities, like Aberdeen, Brookings, Pierre, Rapid City, Huron, etc. It also collects from those towns, makes one big package and ships to larger cities like Omaha, Chicago, Kansas City, etc... It is a collection and dispersment center.
There is very little manufacturing in Rapid City. Sioux falls, on the other hand, is very large in manufacturing.
So location has my vote.
Having said that, there is no way I would live in Sioux Falls. I would, however, live in Rapid City in heart beat.
Compared to Sioux Falls, Rapid City seems to have better weather and more recreational opportunities. So why is Sioux Falls growing at a faster rate? Is it better employment opportunities? Is it because the city has better transportation connections to other large cities? Just curious.
Part of it has to do with all of the small towns around Sioux Falls as opposed to RC as well. Most of the residents go to SF to do their shopping/entertainment/dining/etc. This requires more workers to provide those services, creating more demand for everything, creating more jobs, etc, etc, etc. Being close to the two major state universities also generates a young professional workforce that in a lot of cases doesn't want to move back to their small town, but wants to stay closer to home or out of a larger city.
As others have mentioned, there's also better connectivity and infrastructure historically in SF. Not just roads but more importantly for non-manufacturing sectors, communications.
Probably most importantly for those of us who DO enjoy the outdoors, most people don't to the same level. They like looking at the pretty scenery, but really don't want to deal with everything that goes along with it on a daily basis.
Elk Hunter hit it on the nose with the interstate roads crossing there! Taking away one of the interstate highways would leave you with nothing more than a Brookings, Aberdeen, or at the most a Rapid City sized community.
As far as less recreational opportunities, when it comes to the outdoors, Sioux Falls is no comparison - while the recreational things are great for the Rapid City economy, there is nothing like manufacturing, shipping and processing to create jobs. Add the way more fertile farm ground offered in that area and it makes it natural place for population growth (regardless of the weather).
While there is a decent sized packing plant there. I don't think manufacturing when I hear Sioux Falls. I think call centers, distribution centers, healthcare, retail and service sector. (Finance and banking are notable)
If it wasn't for two interstate highways and rail service Sioux Falls wouldn't be the town it is today.
There are over 12,000 manufacturing jobs in S.F. per city data info, and about 3,900 in Rapid City.
Add that to the manufacturing jobs in neighboring Brookings (which has as many as Rapid), Mitchell and Sioux City and it is definitely a large factor IMO.
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