The Rapid City, SD metropolitan area, as defined by the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

. Anchored by the city of

Rapid City Rapid City is the county seat of Pennington County, South Dakota, United States. It is located on the eastern slope of the Black Hills in western South Dakota and was named after Rapid Creek, where the settlement developed. It is the second-mo ...

, the area corresponds to the entirety of Pennington and Meade counties in the state of

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

, though the Rapid City market area extends well beyond those counties and into

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

, and

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

. The population was 139,074 at the 2020 census. According to the 2024 census estimates, the MSA has a population of 156,227.

Counties

Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point ...

* Meade * Pennington

Communities

Places with more than 75,000 inhabitants

(Principal city)

Places with 2,000 to 20,000 inhabitants

* Blackhawk (

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

) *

Box Elder ''Acer negundo'', also known as the box elder, boxelder maple, Manitoba maple or ash-leaved maple, is a species of maple native to North America from Canada to Honduras. It is a fast-growing, short-lived tree with opposite, ash-like compound l ...

Ellsworth AFB Ellsworth Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located about northeast of Rapid City, South Dakota, just north of the town of Box Elder. The host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing (28 BW). Assigned to the Glob ...

(former census-designated place) *

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

* Rapid Valley (census-designated place) * Sturgis * Summerset

Places with 750 to 2,000 inhabitants

* Colonial Pine Hills (census-designated place) * Green Valley (census-designated place) * Hill City

Places with less than 750 inhabitants

* Ashland Heights (census-designated place) * Blucksberg Mountain *

Buffalo Chip Cow dung, also known as cow pats, cow poop or cow manure, is the waste, waste product (faeces) of Bovinae, bovine animal species. These species include domestic cattle ("cows"), bison ("buffalo"), yak, and water buffalo. Cow dung is the undigest ...

* Caputa *

Faith Faith is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. In the context of religion, faith is " belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". According to the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, faith has multiple definitions, inc ...

* Johnson Siding * Keystone * New Underwood * Quinn *

Wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or serves a decorative purpose. There are various types of walls, including border barriers between countries, brick wal ...

Wasta Wasta or wāsita () is an Arabic word that loosely translates into nepotism or ' clout'. It refers to the use of personal connections or influence to achieve desired outcomes, particularly in governmental contexts. This can include expedited doc ...

Unincorporated places

* Owanka * Rockerville *

Scenic Scenic may refer to: * Scenic design * Scenic painting * Scenic overlook * Scenic railroad (disambiguation) * Scenic route * Scenic, South Dakota, United States * Scenic (horse), a Thoroughbred racehorse Aviation * Airwave Scenic, an Austrian ...

* Silver City * Three Forks * Wicksville

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 139,074 people and 58,790 households in the MSA.

2010 census

The ethnic makeup of the MSA, according to the 2010 census, was the following: * 85.26%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

* 8.19% Native American * 1.08%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

* 0.96% Asian * >0.01%

Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, Indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiʻi was set ...

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

* 3.63% Two or more races * 0.80% Other races * 3.63% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) As of the 2010 census, there were 126,382 people, 51,154 households, and 33,390 families residing in the MSA. The population density was 20.2 people per square mile (7.8/km²). There were 55,949 housing units at an average density of 8.9 per square mile (3.4/km²). 27.9% were of German, 7.2% Irish, 6.7% Norwegian, and 5.2% English ancestry. There were 51,154 households, out of which 32.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.2% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.7% were non-families. 28.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.93.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 112,818 people, 43,446 households, and 29,978 families residing within the MSA. The racial makeup of the MSA was 87.98%

, 0.99%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 6.79% Native American, 0.82% Asian, 0.06%

, 0.67% from other races, and 2.69% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 2.53% of the population. The median income for a household in the MSA was $37,239, and the median income for a family was $42,667. Males had a median income of $28,590 versus $21,029 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the MSA was $18,309.

References

{{South Dakota Geography of Pennington County, South Dakota Geography of Meade County, South Dakota