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CityLedger

Rapid City vs Waterloo

Metro-area medians — Rapid City, SD Metro Area vs Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA Metro Area — not the cities proper.

Rapid City comes out ahead, winning 5 of the 9 clearly-decided measures.

Rapid City and Waterloo cost about the same to live in, but Rapid City households earn about 8% more. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in Rapid City.

Their widest everyday difference: Rapid City has the tighter job market — 3.2% unemployment versus 4.2%.

For your salary & household

Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.

Rapid City, SD
$61,314
take-home / yr · 18% to tax
$68,768
real value after local prices
Waterloo, IA
$58,464
take-home / yr · 22% to tax
$67,155
real value after local prices

On $75,000 for just you, Rapid City leaves you about $1,613/yr better off after tax and local prices.

Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.

Measure
Rapid City
Waterloo
Livability (CityLedger)
65/100
56/100
Cost of living (price level, US = 100)
89.2
87.1
Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
$87,546
$83,143
Median household income
$78,056
$72,382
Median rent
$1,168/mo
$1,047/mo
Median home value
$361,100
$212,400
Unemployment
3.2%
4.2%
Bachelor's degree or higher
34.6%
32%
Average commute
20.8 min
16.5 min
Air quality (median AQI)
50
48
Avg temperature
47°F
49°F

Choose Rapid City for

  • + Livability (CityLedger)
  • + Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
  • + Median household income
  • + Unemployment
  • + Bachelor's degree or higher
Full Rapid City profile →

Choose Waterloo for

  • + Median rent
  • + Median home value
  • + Average commute
  • + Air quality (median AQI)
Full Waterloo profile →

More comparisons

Metros closest to Rapid City and Waterloo on cost, income, size, and education.

Rapid City vs La Crosse→Rapid City vs Eau Claire→Rapid City vs Billings→Waterloo vs Wichita Falls→Waterloo vs La Crosse→Waterloo vs Jefferson City→

Rapid City vs Waterloo — frequently asked

Is Rapid City cheaper than Waterloo?
They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Rapid City and Waterloo metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.
Which has higher household income, Rapid City or Waterloo?
Rapid City has the higher median household income — $78,056 versus $72,382 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 8% more.
Does a paycheck go further in Rapid City or Waterloo?
A paycheck stretches further in Rapid City. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $87,546 there versus $83,143 in Waterloo.
Which has cheaper rent, Rapid City or Waterloo?
Waterloo has cheaper rent — a median of $1,047/mo versus $1,168/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).