Rapid City, SD Metro Area
The Rapid City, SD metro area is made up of 3 counties in South Dakota: Pennington, Meade, and Custer, largest first. About 156,934 people lived there on July 1, 2025 (Census estimate), 6.5% more than in April 2020.
- Population, July 2025
- 156,934 6.5% more than in April 2020
- Type
- Metropolitan statistical area
- Counties
- 3: 1 central, 2 outlying
- Land area
- 7,805 sq mi (20,214 km²)
- Time zone
- Mountain TimeUTC-07:00 in January; UTC-06:00 in July
- State
- South Dakota
- Combined statistical area
- Rapid City-Spearfish, SD
- CBSA code
- 39660
Counties in the Rapid City, SD metro area, largest first
| County | Role | Population, July 2025 | Share of the area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennington County | Central | 116,792 | 74.4% |
| Meade County | Outlying | 30,711 | 19.6% |
| Custer County | Outlying | 9,431 | 6.0% |
A central county holds the area’s core, an urban area of at least 50,000 people. An outlying county is in the area because of commuting: at least a quarter of its workers have jobs in the central county, or at least a quarter of the people working there live in them. A county belongs to one metro or micro area at most, and it counts whole, countryside included.
Principal city
- Rapid City77,946 people
OMB names the area after its largest principal cities. A principal city is the area’s largest city, plus any other city that is very large or a big job center, and smaller ones with at least as many jobs as working residents (2020 Census and commuting figures). People counts are American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates.
Part of the Rapid City-Spearfish, SD combined statistical area
OMB joins neighboring metro and micro areas into a combined statistical area when enough people commute between them. The other area in this one is
- Spearfish, SD Micro Area29,459 people
Bordering metro and micro areas, nearest first
Areas with a county on this area’s edge. Distances are straight lines between the areas’ largest cities.
- Spearfish, SD Micro Area41 mi northwest
Before using this answer on a form
A metro or micro area is a statistical area that OMB draws for federal statistics. It is not a city, a local government or a mailing address, and it is not a measure of urban and rural: whole counties count, rural parts included. Programs that use metro areas, such as housing income limits or wage rates, can use their own version of these lists; check the program’s own list for an address.
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