Shreveport, Seattle, Phoenix, and Portland Top List
Rapid City has been one of the fastest-growing cities in the country the past three years. While the growth itself is noteworthy, the follow-up questions often include “who is moving here?” Or, “where this growth is coming from?” According to recent data from Elevate Rapid City, Shreveport, Louisiana and Seattle, Washington were at the top of a list of metro areas sending the most residents to the City of Presidents in the last four years.
Elevate, Western South Dakota’s regional community and economic development organization, said they were a little surprised by the numbers, but not completely shocked given the recent past and South Dakota’s reputation for low taxes.
“People have been moving here for three things: jobs, the Black Hills, and lower costs,” said Tom Johnson, Elevate’s CEO and President. “Conservative states like Louisiana and Arizona. Liberal states like Washington, Colorado, and Oregon. Those labels really don’t apply here. What we are seeing is people. People want to live in a place they can crush it. And they most certainly can do that in Rapid City.”
The Top Ten Metro Areas Moving to Rapid City:
- Shreveport-Bossier, Louisiana
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington
- Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, Arizona
- Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Oregon-Washington
- Wichita Falls, Texas
- McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas
- Anchorage, Alaska
- Lansing-East Lansing, Michigan
- Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colorado
Many of the moves appear to be related to the continued expansion of Ellsworth Air Force Base and the announcement of the B-21 bomber, while others, like Arizona, could be a result of the snow-bird lifestyle, where seniors swap cold for sunshine for mild climates in the winter. Still others might have moved to the area during the pandemic for lifestyle and costs.
Johnson believes all three are true. “The base, the B-21. Yeah, that’s for sure part of the story. So is the pandemic. So is the quality of life and getting out of some of the places that are less open. Governor Noem really pushed that narrative well and it’s paid dividends for Rapid City. Our challenge for the future is continuing to capitalize on the momentum she helped create.”
Rapid City was recently named one of Livability’s Top 100 cities in the US.
