What Makes Sioux Falls A Top Place To Live In 2026?

Sioux Falls: A Standout on "Best Of" Lists

Sioux Falls lands on a lot of "best of" lists pretty frequently. So what makes the "Livability Top 100" list different and maybe the definitive list?

They've spent over a decade putting together their lists of the Best Places to Live in the U.S., and they only consider small and mid-sized cities. They choose these particular cities because they say "your paycheck goes further, your commute is shorter, and your quality of life comes first."

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Something else that sets this study apart is its focus on accessibility and affordability. They exclude cities with median home values over $500,000. They only feature cities with populations between 75,000 and 500,000 – large enough for big opportunities, small enough to feel like home.

They evaluated 2,000 cities in eight essential categories across 100 data points:

Housing & cost of living
Amenities
Economy
Education
Safety
Environment
Health
Transportation

Why Sioux Falls Excels In This Study

When they were done crunching all the numbers, Sioux Falls once again showed up in the Top 100 Best Places to Live in the U.S., this year landing in 27th place. Livability goes on to explain why Sioux Falls is such a wonderful place to reside.

They cite economic advantages like no state income tax, lower cost of living than many other places, and a family-friendly atmosphere. They also tout the more than 80 parks and 30-plus paved trails in the Sioux Falls area as giving residents plenty to do outdoors. And finally, they praised our city for being a regional leader in healthcare and finance.

You can check out this complete study at Livability's Top 100 Best Cities in the U.S. and also see everything they had to say about Sioux Falls, here.

Here's my list of Not-So-Typical, but Awesome Things to See in Sioux Falls.

9 Sioux Falls Streets Visitors Have A Hard Time Pronouncing

If you are visiting or new to Sioux Falls and trying to find your way around, chances are you really don't need to pronounce street names correctly. All you have to do is enter your destination into Google Maps and your phone will show you the way.

But what if you are trying to tell someone where your cool friend or family member lives in our fine city? Some of our streets and avenues have tricky spellings that may throw visitors for a loop when trying to sound them out.

No one is going to mess up on the big thoroughfares like Minnesota Avenue, Western Avenue, or Louise Avenue but what about these?

Gallery Credit: Ben Davis

Source: Sioux Falls Scores Big on Livability’s Top 100 Cities List