Be Happy! Rapid City Ranks High Amongst Happiest Places to Live

RAPID CITY RANKS HIGH AMONGST HAPPIEST PLACES TO LIVE

WalletHub ranks Rapid City & Sioux Falls among top tier of 182 ranked cities for happiness

RAPID CITY, SD (February 29, 2024)—Rapid City and Sioux Falls are ranked among the nation’s happiest cities to live in the nation in a report released this week by WalletHub.

         Rapid City ranked 36^th among the top 182 cities referenced in the report.  Sioux Falls ranked 11^th.  According to WalletHub, the happiest city in America is Fremont, CA followed in the top five by Overland Park, KS, San Jose, CA, Madison, WI and Irvine, CA.  WalletHub compared 182 of the largest cities, including the 150 most populated US cities, plus at least two of the most populated cities in each state, across three key dimensions: emotional/physical well-being, income/employment and community/environment.

        Rapid City was among the top six cities for happiest place to live in the region listed in the report with all six ranking in the top 20 percent of the listing: Sioux Falls (11^th), Minneapolis (13^th), Fargo, ND (16^th), Lincoln, NE (19^th), Bismarck, ND (20^th) and Rapid City (36^th).  Other regional cities in the 182-city rankings included Omaha, NE (41^st), St. Paul, MN (44^th), Cedar Rapids, IA (45^th), Missoula, MT (70^th), Des Moines, IA (72^nd), Billings, MT (82^nd) and Casper, WY (153^rd).

        “The WalletHub reports confirms what many people who live and visit here have known and sometimes take for granted. Rapid City is a great place to live You can find a lot of happiness here,” said Mayor Jason Salamun.  “Rapid City is a great place to live, work and raise a family. Rapid City and the Black Hills have many quality of life experiences and opportunities for residents and visitors alike.  And visitors often complement us on how friendly and helpful we are.”

       Rapid City consistently ranks high in WalletHub reports.  Last May, Rapid City ranked as the fifth best place in the nation for summer jobs.

       WalletHub used 29 indicators of happiness to determine the happiest places to live rankings, ranging from income-growth rate to average leisure time spent per day to depression rate. Among the indicators: unemployment rate, commute time, job satisfaction, poverty rate, physical-health and mental health factors, weather, acres of parkland, separation and divorce rates, hate-crime incidents, depression rates among others.

View the report at https://wallethub.com/edu/happiest-places-to-live/32619 .