Sioux Falls, SD vs Denver, CO
Moving from Sioux Falls to Denver? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($342,936 → $573,221 median home) and taxes.
Sioux Falls vs Denver at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Sioux Falls, SD, you'd need about $117,401 in Denver, CO (+$17,401).
Livability — Sioux Falls, SD: 69 · Denver, CO: 52 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,479 sqft in Sioux Falls vs 1,657 sqft in Denver ($202 vs $302 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Sioux Falls, SD | Denver, CO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $15,708 | $22,920 | +$7,212 |
| Groceries | $4,870 | $5,079 | +$209 |
| Transportation | $3,200 | $4,050 | +$850 |
| Utilities | $1,572 | $1,788 | +$216 |
| Insurance | $2,400 | $2,800 | +$400 |
| Taxes | $5,263 | $9,828 | +$4,565 |
| Total | $33,013 | $46,464 | +$13,452 |
Side by side
| Metric | Sioux Falls, SD | Denver, CO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 90.1 | 105.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 2.15% | 4.26% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 10.9% | 5.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.13 | $6.02 |
| Median home price | $342,936 | $573,221 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.4× | 5.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.5% | -2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $202 | $302 |
| Median rent | $1,309 | $1,910 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.4% | 9.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.40% | 7.77% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 4.40% |
| Property tax rate | 1.18% | 0.52% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $8,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.79% |
| Avg commute (min) | 19 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,400 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.5 | 16.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $64 | $65 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $68 | $120 |
| Home internet / mo | $81 | $87 |
| Violent crime /100k | 400 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 86 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 10 | 18 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 26.0 | 15.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 48.0 | 49.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 69% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |