Best PlacesRapid Valley, SD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Rapid Valley, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Rapid Valley ranks 10,575th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low taxes by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Rapid Valley
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Rapid Valley's strengths and weaknesses
Where Rapid Valley ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 98% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than 96% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 95% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than 91% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 90% of towns
Where Rapid Valley ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 10% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 11% of towns
- School gradeD+, better than only 16% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 22% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Rapid Valley
A household needs to earn about $73,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Rapid Valley home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $82,914, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Rapid Valley's effective rate of 1.07%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Rapid Valley
Rapid Valley's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Rapid Valley.
Who works in Rapid Valley, and how
Work in Rapid Valley centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Rapid Valley
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Rapid Valley.
What the weather is like in Rapid Valley, month by month
Rapid Valley sees roughly 118 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 39, with lows near 13. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 25° | 13° |
| April | 61° | 44° | 29° |
| July | 90° | 73° | 57° |
| October | 65° | 47° | 33° |
Flying in and out of Rapid Valley
The nearest airport, Rapid City Regional, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Denver International, about 301 miles away.
The best schools in and around Rapid Valley
Schools across Rapid Valley average a D+, better than 16% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Vandenberg Elementary - 02B− · 43% proficient
- Rapid Valley Elementary - 12D · 20% proficient
- Valley View Elementary - 13D · 20% proficient
Top middle schools
- East Middle School - 30C · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- Douglas High School - 03B · 50% proficient
- Rapid City High School - 45F · 11% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Rapid Valley school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Rapid Valley measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Rapid Valley against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Rapid Valley
Is Rapid Valley a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Rapid Valley ranks 10,575th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low taxes, cell coverage, and low crime, and lowest on distance from a big city and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Rapid Valley expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $269,071. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $82,914 median income, cost of living beats 70% of towns.
Is Rapid Valley safe?
Yes, Rapid Valley is safer than 95% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $176 per resident a year.
Compare Rapid Valley with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Rapid Valley. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Rapid Valley represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Rapid Valley detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Rapid Valley: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Rapid Valley: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Rapid Valley: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Rapid Valley: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Rapid Valley detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.