Fort Collins vs Rapid City
The short version
- Rapid City is cheaper overall: prices in its metro run 12% lower than in the Fort Collins area (BEA 2024).
- The median home costs $299,400 in Rapid City and $577,900 in Fort Collins.
- Households earn more in Fort Collins ($85,070 vs $70,870 median).
- Fort Collins has the warmer winter: January highs of 45°F vs 36°F.
- Rapid City is growing faster: +7.8% since 2020 vs +1%.
- South Dakota has no state income tax on wages; Colorado's top rate is 4.4%.
Side by side
| Fort Collins, CO | Rapid City, SD | |
|---|---|---|
| People | ||
| Population (2025) | 171,500 | 80,589 |
| Growth since 2020 | +1% | +7.8% |
| People per square mile | 2,996 | 1,440 |
| Median age | 30.9 | 39.1 |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 61% | 37% |
| Money and housing | ||
| Median household income | $85,070 | $70,870 |
| Median home value | $577,900 | $299,400 |
| Home value to income | 6.8× | 4.2× |
| Median rent (with utilities) | $1,690 | $1,109 |
| Metro price level (US = 100) | 101.1 | 89.2 |
| Housing price level (US = 100) | 120.6 | 72.6 |
| $75,000 elsewhere equals | $75,800 | $66,900 |
| Homeowners | 52% | 63% |
| Top state income tax | 4.4% | None |
| Combined sales tax | 7.89% | 6.11% |
| Work and commute | ||
| Average commute (minutes) | 19.5 | 17.5 |
| Work from home | 22% | 10% |
| Take public transit | 1% | 0% |
| Unemployment (2020-24 avg) | 5.4% | 2.6% |
| Poverty rate | 15.8% | 12.5% |
| Weather | ||
| January high / low | 45° / 18° | 36° / 13° |
| July high / low | 87° / 59° | 86° / 59° |
| Precipitation per year | 16 in | 17 in |
| Snowfall per year | 51 in | 49 in |
| Days 90°F or hotter | 29 | 32 |
| Nights below freezing | 150 | 174 |
| Comfortable months | 4 | 3 |
| Risks, air and home prices | ||
| Natural hazard risk (FEMA, county) | Relatively Moderate | Relatively Low |
| FEMA risk score (lower is safer) | 90.1 | 78.6 |
| Good air days, 2025 | 51% | 62% |
| Home prices, past year | +0.2% | +1.8% |
| Home prices, past 5 years | +29.3% | +45.1% |
Highlighted cells are the better value where "better" is clear (lower prices, higher income, shorter commutes). Sources: Census Bureau 2025 estimates and ACS 2020-2024, BEA 2024, NOAA 1991-2020, Tax Foundation 2026.
Weather, month by month
Most comfortable months: Fort Collins: May to June and August to September. Rapid City: June and August to September.
Full monthly tables: Fort Collins weather by month and Rapid City weather by month.
What $75,000 is worth
A $75,000 salary in an average-priced US city buys about the same as $75,800 in Fort Collins and $66,900 in Rapid City. Moving from Fort Collins to Rapid City, you would need about $66,100 to match a $75,000 salary.
Moving between Fort Collins and Rapid City
IRS county-to-county migration, 2022 to 2023 tax years, for the counties that contain each city. See where else people move from Fort Collins and Rapid City.
Which would you pick?
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