Best PlacesSouth Sioux City, NE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South Sioux City, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
South Sioux City ranks 15,058th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in South Sioux City
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.
South Sioux City's strengths and weaknesses
Where South Sioux City ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 99% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 99% of towns
- BikingBetter than 99% of towns
- Short commute12.5 minutes each way, better than 99% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 97% of towns
Where South Sioux City ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 4% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 5% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 10% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 11% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 12% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in South Sioux City
A household needs to earn about $51,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South Sioux City home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $71,908, 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 South Sioux City's effective rate of 1.44%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in South Sioux City
South Sioux City runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for South Sioux City.
Who works in South Sioux City, and how
Work in South Sioux City centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in South Sioux City
South Sioux City has more restaurants and bars per resident than 98% of towns and more parkland per resident than 96% of towns. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of South Sioux City and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in South Sioux City, month by month
South Sioux City sees roughly 92 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 12. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 22° | 12° |
| April | 65° | 49° | 35° |
| July | 88° | 75° | 62° |
| October | 67° | 51° | 38° |
Flying in and out of South Sioux City
The nearest airport, Sioux Gateway/Brig General Bud Day Field, is about 5 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 85 miles away.
The best schools in and around South Sioux City
Schools across South Sioux City average a C+, better than 48% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Ponca Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Homer Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Cardinal Elementary SchoolB · 45% proficient
Top middle schools
- South Sioux City Middle SchoolB · 44% proficient
Top high schools
- Ponca High SchoolA− · 67% proficient
- Homer High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
- South Sioux High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every South Sioux City school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South Sioux City 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 South Sioux City against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in South Sioux City
Is South Sioux City a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South Sioux City ranks 15,058th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on cell coverage, state finances, and biking, and lowest on education levels and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is South Sioux City expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $180,627. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $71,908 median income, cost of living beats 52% of towns.
Is South Sioux City safe?
South Sioux City is safer than 40% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $334 per resident a year.
Compare South Sioux City with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South Sioux City. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South Sioux City 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.
South Sioux City detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South Sioux City: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South Sioux City: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South Sioux City: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South Sioux City: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South Sioux City 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.