A Great Place to Live

Sioux Falls has cracked the Top 10 again for its strong local economy in POLICOM's annual "economic strength" rankings, coming in at No. 9 in 2012, up one from No. 10 in 2011. POLICOM annually ranks the 366 Metropolitan Statistical Areas and 576 Micropolitan Statistical Areas in the U.S. for "economic strength." Metropolitan areas must have a city of at least 50,000 people and are typically more than one county. The study measures 23 different economic factors over a 20-year period to create the rankings. The formulas determine how an economy has behaved over an extended period of time. Data stretching from 1991 to 2010 was used for this study. POLICOM has created this study each year since 1997. To read the entire report, click here: www.policom.com/metrorank.htm.

Things are booming in parts of the Midwest, says Bert Sperling of Sperling's BestPlaces. Sperling analyzed the latest government data and found that Sioux Falls ranked No. 5 as in offering America's best combination of low joblessness and a high percentage of singles (i.e., people to date after a divorce). The largest city in South Dakota, Sioux Falls has just a 5.5 percent unemployment rate and a 15.7 percent singles rate (America's19th-highest). Sperling says South Dakota's business-friendly laws — there's no corporate income tax — have attracted lots of employers, especially banks. "Sioux Falls combines a diverse economy with a small-town atmosphere and a low cost of living," he says. Read the whole story here: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/6-best-cities-for-starting-over-in-2012.html. (December 2011)

South Dakota came in at No. 10 in a 24/7 Wall St. review of data on financial health, standard of living and government services by state to determine how well each state is managed South Dakota had the third lowest unemployment rate and the fourth lowest rate of foreclosures. Read the whole story: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/best-and-worst-run-states-in-america.html. (December 2011)

South Dakota topped the list of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship (SBE) Council's 16th annual ranking of the states according to their public policy climates for small business and entrepreneurship in the "Small Business Survival Index 2011: Ranking the Policy Environment for Entrepreneurship Across the Nation." The 2011 Index was expanded to cover 44 major government-imposed or government-related costs affecting small businesses and entrepreneurs.  The measures are added together for an overall rating. To access the "Small Business Survival Index" report click here. To view the interactive map of "Small Business Survival Index" findings, click here. (November 2011)

South Dakota ranked the best for business costs and was 17th overall in Forbes list of the Best States for Business. For the complete story visit: http://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2011/11/22/the-best-states-for-jobs/ (November 2011)

Sioux Falls made the list of the top 100 best places to live in America, according to RelocateAmerica. The process is based on site nominations and issues most important to relocating consumers and homeowners for the upcoming year. For 2011, the researchers found the best communities that are well positioned for economic recovery, already experiencing strong economic recovery or have proven overall economic stability. Factors such as employment, education, community leadership and overall quality of life are strongly considered and all the data is examined to determine the Top 100. (July 2011)

On Forbes’ 13th Annual list of the Best Places for Business and Careers, Sioux Falls ranked No. 2 among the best small places. Twelve metrics relating to job growth (past and projected), costs (business and living), income growth, educational attainment, projected economic growth, quality of life issues (crime rates, cultural and recreational opportunities), college rankings and net migration patterns were factored in. Previously, Sioux Falls was ranked No. 1 from 2003-10. (July 2011)

Sioux Falls is one of 10 Cities That Embody the American Dream, according to TheStreet. TheStreet limited its search to cities that the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported as having 5 percent unemployment or less in May 2011. That whittled the list to only 17 cities in the U.S., which included Sioux Falls. The affordability of the remaining cities was judged based on the ratio of the median prices of existing single-family homes in the first quarter of this year provided by the National Association of Realtors to the area median incomes. Education, a community’s walkability, economic stability and friendliness to the business community were also factors. (July 2011)

Sioux Falls has the 10th strongest local economy in the U.S., according to POLICOM Corporation's annual economic strength rankings. Sioux Falls is the only community that is not a capital city or typical “college town” that is included on the list. (May 2011)

The average credit score, a measure of financial responsibility, is finally starting to stabilize after a steady slide from 2006-09, suggesting consumer belt tightening is starting to work. The national average was 747.10 at the end of 2010, according to credit reporting agency Experian. On a scale of 501 to 990, Sioux Falls residents’ average credit score was 773.44. Sioux Falls was No. 10 on a list of cities with the highest credit scores in information collected by CNBC (April 2011).

In a ranking compiled for Businessweek.com, location-analysis firm Gadberry Group identified the fastest-growing place per state, based on growth in households year-on-year and from 2000-10, as well as the 2010 average length of residence and the change in average household income from 2000-10. Sioux Falls was named South Dakota’s fastest-growing city, with 1.13 percent growth year over year and a 26.37 percent change since 2000.

For the second year in a row, South Dakota was ranked No. 1 in the Tax Foundation’s State Business Tax Climate Index. Prior to 2011 and 2010, the state ranked No. 2 (October 2010).

CNN Money Magazine thinks Sioux Falls is one of America's Best Places to Live (July 2010). In its annual survey, the magazine named the city No. 77, citing how Sioux Falls has weathered the economic storm better than most other communities, the number of employment opportunities, affordable homes and top-notch health care facilities.

Sioux Falls is one of the best cities for families, according to Parenting Magazine (June 2010). Thanks to a low crime rate, rare traffic congestion and little pollution, South Dakota's largest city ranks No. 11 overall. Sioux Falls ranks No. 3 when ranked by both health and economy.

Sioux Falls is No. 1 — again! Forbes magazine picked the city as its Best Small City for Business and Careers for eight years running (April 2010). Forbes ranked areas on 12 metrics, including: costs (business and living), job growth (past and projected), income growth, educational attainment and projected economic growth. Quality-of-life issues like crime, cultural and recreational opportunities as well as net migration patters were also factored in.

Sioux Falls earned the distinction as a healthy city to live and retire in from AARP the Magazine, which cited health care and fit residents as criteria for the selection. In an online exclusive, Sioux Falls was ranked No. 11 in AARP's poll. Based on the selection criteria, Sioux Falls received high marks for having healthy, educated residents who are among the fittest in the country. A contributing asset is the city's extensive bike trails circling the city and linking its 70 parks to the crown jewel: Falls Park. The city also received healthy bragging rights, coming in first for the number of hospital beds, and number two for teaching hospitals per capita. Sioux Falls also has 314 physicians per 100,000 residents compared to the U.S. average of 223. Additionally, the city has a high percentage of oncologists and cardiologist per capita, a low percentage of residents who smoke and drink alcohol, and a high percentage — 93.4 percent — of residents who have a health plan (September 2008).

The Bureau of Labor Statistics ranked Sioux Falls No. 1 as the best place to seek a job due to the city's low unemployment rates in July 2008. The BLS stated low unemployment rates seem harder to come by in today's economy and 92 percent of cities have seen an increase in their unemployment rates. Sioux Falls is bucking trends with its low unemployment rates and sizable job growth (careerbuilder.com, October 2008).

For the fifth straight year, the Pollina Report named South Dakota as one of the nation's top 10 pro-business states, ranking No. 6. The Pollina Corporate Top 10 Pro-Business States is a comparative evaluation of job creation and retention efforts of all 50 state governments and the federal government. States are ranked and evaluated on 29 factures, including: taxes, human resources, right-to-work legislation, energy costs, infrastructure spending, workers' compensation legislation and jobs lost or gained. The list is published annually by Chicago-based Pollina Corporate Real Estate. South Dakota placed No. 7 in 2007.

Sioux Falls drivers topped Allstate Insurance's list in their annual "America's Best Drivers Report." Sioux Falls has ranked No. 1 for three years running (spring 2008).

Minnehaha County ranked No. 18 on Forbes' list of America's Best Places to Raise a Family. Minnehaha County was recognized for its affordable housing and short commute times. Forbes' rankings were skewed toward counties with good school districts as well as cost of living, graduation rate, standardized scores, home price, property tax rate as a percentage of median home price, percentage of homes occupied by owner, per-capita income, air quality, crime rate and commute time (July 2008).

Organic Gardening magazine named Sioux Falls fifth on its list of nation's cities working to make neighborhoods healthier and more sustainable (February/March 2008 issue). The country's 50 largest cities and the largest cities in each state were graded on nine different points, including air and water quality, green space, number of U.S. Green Building Council-rated buildings, availability of locally grown food and the percentage of households with flower or vegetable garden.

The Boyd Co. calculated the annual operating costs for running a hypothetical 125,000-square-foot data center with 75 employees in 45 cities. Sioux Falls was ranked the least expensive place to open a data center with this criteria (Business Week, August 2008).