Oct. 6, 2020

Sioux Falls has made the top 10 in an annual ranking of the 100 best places to live.

The analysis by Livability.com ranked the city No. 10.

It ranked more than 1,000 small to midsized cities using factors such as safety, affordability, economic stability, outdoor recreation, accessibility and community engagement. This year’s list also was informed by a new metric: an “opportunity score” used to determine each city’s landscape of opportunity, including variables such as job numbers, broadband access, economic resilience and growth.

“Think South Dakota is boring? Think again. Sioux Falls is full of vitality and zeal. People here are genuinely friendly, and there’s a lot to see and do — it’s managed to retain a small-town feel while offering residents all the big-city amenities they could ever want,” Livability said in its report about the city.

“The city’s affordability, low crime rate, top-notch health care systems, great schools — including the Sanford School of Medicine of the University of South Dakota — and four-seasons climate make it the perfect place to build a life. Want to start a business? Sioux Falls has a large, well-educated talent pool, tons of workforce development programs and excellent transportation options.”

The report also dubbed The Source Roastery + Taproom as the best coffee shop in Sioux Falls, Look’s Marketplace as the best microbrewery and Great Shots as the best place to meet up — “when meeting up is a thing again.”

Fort Collins, Colo., topped the list, followed by Ann Arbor, Mich., and Madison, Wis. To view the complete rankings, click here.