Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every South Dakota ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Safety

D−Rapid CitySafer than 4% of U.S. towns CBox ElderSafer than 31% of U.S. towns

Schools

CRapid CityBetter than 29% of districts in the state B−Box ElderBetter than 48% of districts in the state

Health

BRapid CityHealthier than 62% of U.S. towns B+Box ElderHealthier than 75% of U.S. towns

11Rapid City

10Box Elder

Lists won, of 22 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Most conserved landOutdoors · 33 towns #14#29 Lowest depressionHealth · 37 towns #18#34 Most activeHealth · 37 towns #22#10 Fastest growingGrowth · 36 towns #14#3 SafestSafety · 23 towns #23#16 Most educatedPeople · 37 towns #14#25 Highest graduation rateSchools · 33 towns #27#18 Most walkableOutdoors · 37 towns #24#34

Left end = #1 in South Dakota. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Rapid City’s rankings →

Where they are

Rapid City and Box Elder share a border

And the people who already live in one and work in the other.

Rapid CityBox Elder

Rapid City ↔ Box Elder7.3 miles apart · They share a border

Who commutes between them

2,898 Box Elder residents work in Rapid City (61.5% of its workers)

630 Rapid City residents work in Box Elder (1.9% of its workers)

Work & commute in Box Elder →

Monthly cost

A typical home costs about the same each month

A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Rapid City$2,220/mo

Typical home $362K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.09% · or rent about $1,109/mo · Housing →

Box Elder$2,330/mo

Typical home $367K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.33% · or rent about $1,491/mo · Housing →

The difference: $110 a month, about $1,300 a year, between Box Elder and Rapid City.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

Rapid CityBox Elder

Snow a year36″49″

January low13°F 13°F

July high84°F 86°F

Growing season (days)147d 139d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)32nd 51st

Outdoors & history

Rapid CityBox Elder

Trails33 mi 6 mi

Conserved land3.5%0.7%

Settled1876 1907

National Register places31 —

Archive photos6 3

Famous people born here62 1

Community

Rapid CityBox Elder

Library hours a week68 hrs —

Colleges in town2 —

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs South Dakota average

Rapid CityBox Elder

People

Population 77,946Highest 12,902Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +9.9%Lowest SD: +8.9% +50.6%Highest SD: +8.9%

Median age 39.1±0.7Highest about the SD average 28.8±2.2Lowest 24% below SD

Kids under 18 22%±1Lowest SD: 24.2% 26.9%±3.6Highest SD: 24.2%

Age 65+ 20.7%±1.1Highest SD: 18% 7.5%±2Lowest SD: 18%

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 37%Highest SD: 31.9% 28%Lowest SD: 31.9%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 5.3%±0.6Lowest SD: 5% 7.9%±3.7Highest SD: 5%

Box Elder and Rapid City are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $70,870±$4kLowest 6% below SD $73,008±$9kHighest about the SD average

Box Elder and Rapid City are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $299,400±$8kLowest 16% above SD $302,100±$25kHighest 17% above SD

Box Elder and Rapid City are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,109±$48Lowest 17% above SD $1,491±$138Highest 58% above SD

Property taxmedian, yearly $3,251Lowest 19% above SD $4,019Highest 48% above SD

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 50.4%±4.8Highest SD: 39.8% 43.4%±8.7Lowest SD: 39.8%

Rapid City and Box Elder are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 12.5%Highest SD: 11.9% 7.5%Lowest SD: 11.9%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 62.9%Highest SD: 68.6% 48.2%Lowest SD: 68.6%

Typical home builtmedian year 1979Lowest 1 yr older than SD 2004Highest 24 yrs newer than SD

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 18 minLowest about the SD average 20 minHighest 13% above SD

Work from home 10%±1.4Highest SD: 9.7% 6.9%±2.6Lowest SD: 9.7%

Rapid City and Box Elder are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 74.5%Highest 6.6%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 3.3 miLowest 8.3 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.48Highest 0.43Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Sioux Falls (4%)Rapid City (62%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others 2% work in Box Elder62% work in Rapid City

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 3.5%Highest 0.7%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 33.1 miHighest 5.7 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.6 miHighest 0.4 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 40Highest 1Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 49.5Highest 25.9Lowest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #26 of 34 in SD #22 of 34 in SD

School district Rapid City Area School District 51-4Douglas School District 51-1

High school in town Central High School - 41Douglas High School - 03

Students per teacherat that high school 17.0Lowest 17.1Highest

South Dakota average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Rapid City neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Rapid City’s Town Square.

Box Elder neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Box Elder’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Rapid City and Box Elder

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Bordering Rapid City

+ Compare

Colonial Pine Hills2,609 people · $407K homes

+ Compare

Rapid Valley6,975 people · $256K homes

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Rapid City vs Box Elder

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

Rapid City places higher on 11 of 22 SD lists

Rapid City and Box Elder share a border

A typical home costs about the same each month

What daily life feels like in each

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Rapid City and Box Elder

Bordering Rapid City

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