Hot-summer continental (dry winter)
Rapid City, South Dakota
Pennington County, South Dakota · Population 77k · 3,248 ft elevation
Living in Rapid City
Rapid City has a hot-summer continental (dry winter) climate: hot summers (July highs around 85°F) and cold winters (January lows around 17°F).
Precipitation is dry at about 20″ a year, and it gets a fair bit of snow (54″ a season).
Skies are sunny (67% of possible sunshine). It never gets truly muggy.
Air quality is good: a median AQI of 32, with about 1 unhealthy-air day in the latest year.
Rapid City is an outdoor hub: about 33% of the land within 30 miles is public (parks, national forest and the like), and the terrain rises and falls about 3,300 ft around town.
Rapid City at a glance
- Population
- 77k
- Elevation
- 3,248 ft
- Average daily high
- 59°F13th percentile
- Average daily low
- 38°F12th percentile
- Annual precipitation
- 20″14th percentile
- Annual snowfall
- 54″90th percentile
- Sunshine hours per year
- 3,005 hrs67th percentile
- Median AQI
- 327th percentile
- Median home value
- $270k52th percentile
- Median rent
- $1,053/mo38th percentile
- Median household income
- $66k38th percentile
- Property tax rate
- 1.13%58th percentile
- Top state income-tax rate
- 0.0%
- Sales tax (state + local)
- 6.1%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.2%
- Homes with broadband
- 90%43th percentile
- Walkability index
- 8.448th percentile
- Average commute
- 17 min
- Math proficiency (8th grade)
- 42%42th percentile
- Reading proficiency (8th grade)
- 48%
- Violent crime rate
- 767 per 100k95th percentile
- Property crime rate
- 3,655 per 100k
- Overall natural-hazard risk
- 7932th percentile
- Outdoor access
- 9392th percentile
- Public land within 10 miles
- 10%
- Public land within 30 miles
- 33%
- Mountain relief within 30 miles
- 3,314 ft
Climate by month
| Month | High | Low | Precipitation | Snow | Sunshine |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 37°F | 17°F | 0.3″ | 5.3″ | 185 hrs |
| Feb | 39°F | 18°F | 0.5″ | 9.1″ | 190 hrs |
| Mar | 48°F | 26°F | 0.9″ | 10.4″ | 228 hrs |
| Apr | 55°F | 34°F | 2.3″ | 10.0″ | 233 hrs |
| May | 66°F | 45°F | 4.1″ | 2.2″ | 277 hrs |
| Jun | 77°F | 55°F | 3.3″ | 0.1″ | 329 hrs |
| Jul | 85°F | 62°F | 2.6″ | — | 373 hrs |
| Aug | 84°F | 60°F | 2.2″ | — | 343 hrs |
| Sep | 74°F | 51°F | 1.4″ | 0.1″ | 277 hrs |
| Oct | 59°F | 38°F | 1.5″ | 3.4″ | 218 hrs |
| Nov | 47°F | 27°F | 0.5″ | 6.5″ | 184 hrs |
| Dec | 38°F | 19°F | 0.4″ | 6.6″ | 167 hrs |
Near Rapid City
- Rapid Valley, SD · 7.2k
- Box Elder, SD · 12k
- Blackhawk, SD · 2.8k
- Summerset, SD · 3k
- Sturgis, SD · 7.1k
- Lead, SD · 3k
- Spearfish, SD · 13k
- Hot Springs, SD · 3.5k
Largest places in South Dakota
- Sioux Falls, SD · 198k
- Aberdeen, SD · 28k
- Brookings, SD · 24k
- Watertown, SD · 23k
- Mitchell, SD · 16k
- Yankton, SD · 16k
- Huron, SD · 14k
- Pierre, SD · 14k
Sources: NOAA climate normals, NASA POWER, EPA air quality, U.S. Census Bureau, FEMA, FBI, EPA walkability and EDFacts. Methodology