Rapid City, South Dakota demographics

Rapid City, SD demographics: median age 39.1; 37.0% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Rapid City city, South Dakota · Incorporated city · GEOID 4652980. The survey estimates a population of 77,946 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Rapid City is 39.1 years, with a 90% margin of error of 0.7 years. There are 32,368 households (±589). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	39.1 ±0.7	38.0 ±0.2	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 77,946
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	South Dakota	U.S.
Under 18	17,122 ±800	22.0% ±1.0 pp	24.2%	22.0%
18–34	17,537 ±749	22.5% ±1.0 pp	21.9%	22.8%
35–64	27,179 ±1,087	34.9% ±1.4 pp	35.9%	38.0%
65 and older	16,108 ±879	20.7% ±1.1 pp	18.0%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 77,946
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	South Dakota	U.S.
Male	39,689 ±497	50.9% ±0.6 pp	50.8%	49.5%
Female	38,257 ±505	49.1% ±0.6 pp	49.2%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 77,946
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	South Dakota	U.S.
White alone	60,407 ±827	77.5% ±1.1 pp	80.7%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	955 ±260	1.2% ±0.3 pp	2.3%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	6,032 ±711	7.7% ±0.9 pp	7.5%	0.9%
Asian alone	1,031 ±295	1.3% ±0.4 pp	1.4%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	20 ±32 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.0%	0.2%
Some other race alone	1,092 ±407	1.4% ±0.5 pp	1.6%	7.1%
Two or more races	8,409 ±868	10.8% ±1.1 pp	6.5%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 77,946
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	South Dakota	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	73,201 ±511	93.9% ±0.7 pp	95.2%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	4,745 ±509	6.1% ±0.7 pp	4.8%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 32,368
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	South Dakota	U.S.
Married-couple family	13,242 ±638	40.9% ±1.8 pp	48.3%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	1,764 ±342	5.4% ±1.1 pp	4.8%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	3,017 ±378	9.3% ±1.2 pp	8.1%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	11,908 ±769	36.8% ±2.3 pp	31.9%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	2,437 ±446	7.5% ±1.4 pp	6.8%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 32,368
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	South Dakota	U.S.
Households with people under 18	8,022 ±494	24.8% ±1.5 pp	29.0%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	24,346 ±783	75.2% ±2.0 pp	71.0%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 32,368
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	South Dakota	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	11,908 ±769	36.8% ±2.3 pp	31.9%	28.7%
Two-person households	11,703 ±674	36.2% ±2.0 pp	35.5%	33.8%
Three-person households	3,682 ±423	11.4% ±1.3 pp	12.4%	15.3%
Four-person households	3,060 ±483	9.5% ±1.5 pp	10.5%	12.6%
Five-person households	1,419 ±285	4.4% ±0.9 pp	6.1%	5.9%
Six-person households	355 ±166	1.1% ±0.5 pp	2.2%	2.2%
Seven or more people	241 ±129 · low precision	0.7% ±0.4 pp · low precision	1.5%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 77,946
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	South Dakota	U.S.
Native	75,907 ±422	97.4% ±0.5 pp	96.0%	85.9%
Foreign born	2,039 ±428	2.6% ±0.5 pp	4.0%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 73,312
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	South Dakota	U.S.
English only	69,781 ±649	95.2% ±0.8 pp	92.9%	77.7%
Spanish	1,261 ±354	1.7% ±0.5 pp	2.6%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	55 ±43 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	395 ±203 · low precision	0.5% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.8%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	96 ±73 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	218 ±117 · low precision	0.3% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.4%	2.0%
Korean	109 ±93 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	53 ±68 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	1.1%
Vietnamese	26 ±39 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	302 ±210 · low precision	0.4% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	84 ±65 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.4%	1.1%
Arabic	143 ±166 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	789 ±255	1.1% ±0.3 pp	1.8%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 53,749
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	South Dakota	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	2,934 ±463	5.5% ±0.9 pp	6.8%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	13,621 ±901	25.3% ±1.6 pp	29.0%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	11,720 ±850	21.8% ±1.6 pp	19.9%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	5,594 ±547	10.4% ±1.0 pp	12.3%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	12,200 ±832	22.7% ±1.5 pp	21.9%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	7,680 ±705	14.3% ±1.3 pp	10.0%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 77,274
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	South Dakota	U.S.
Same house	63,060 ±1,339	81.6% ±1.7 pp	87.0%	87.7%
Moved within same county	7,119 ±1,011	9.2% ±1.3 pp	5.7%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	2,669 ±521	3.5% ±0.7 pp	3.7%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	3,958 ±858	5.1% ±1.1 pp	3.2%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	468 ±212	0.6% ±0.3 pp	0.3%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

9.8% of Rapid City residents (±1.1 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 9.0% in South Dakota and 8.4% nationally. 90.3% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Rapid City	South Dakota	U.S.	Compared with South Dakota
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	9.8% ±1.1 pp	9.0%	8.4%	Not statistically different
Households with a broadband subscription Households	90.3% ±1.2 pp	89.6%	91.0%	Not statistically different
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	11.5% ±1.0 pp	7.9%	6.2%	Higher

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Rapid City . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Rapid City housing and cost context or return to the city profile.