Sioux Falls is the state of South Dakota's largest city and the county seat of Minnehaha County. Sioux Falls is located on the banks of the Big Sioux River where Interstate 29 and 90 join. In 2015, Sioux Falls city has an estimated population of 170,000 residents, which ranks 147th in the United States.

The city proper has a population density of 2,109 people per square mile (814/square kilometer). The Sioux Falls metropolitan area has a population of nearly 250,000, which accounts for almost one-third of the state's entire population. The Sioux Falls-Sioux City Designated Market Area, a media market region covering four states, has a population estimated at 1.04 million.

Sioux Falls Demographics

According to the 2010 census, the racial composition of Sioux Falls was 87% White, 4% African American, 2.5% Native American, 2% Asian, 2% other race, and 2.5% two or more races. Hispanic and Latino people of any race accounted for almost 4.5% of the population.

Once South Dakota became a state in 1889, the region was settled by immigrants from Europe, particularly from Scandinavia and Germany. These remain the largest ethnic groups in the area. Lutherans account for the majority religion in Sioux Falls, followed by Roman Catholics.

Sioux Falls History

The Big Sioux River falls were created during the last ice age and they have attracted many people to the land since then. Many indigenous peoples inhabited the area before Europeans arrived, including the Dakota, Nakota, Cheyenne, Quapaw, Kansa, and Missouri people. The high bluffs close to the river are still the site of several burial grounds from the region's early history.

French explorers were the first Europeans to arrive in the early 18th century. The first European American who visited was Philander Prescott in 1832. In 1856, the Dakota Land Company from St. Paul and the Western Town Company from Iowa organized to claim the land surrounding the falls. A temporary barricade was constructed called Fort Sod to respond to hostility from surrounding tribes. That first year, 17 men wintered in the region. The next year, Sioux Falls' population grew to 40.

In 1865, Fort Dakota was established in present-day downtown and a new wave of settlers came to the region. By 1873, the Village of Sioux Falls had 593 people. It was granted a city charter in 1883. The region experienced a large boom that decade as the railroads arrived and Sioux Falls' population grew from 2,100 in 1880 to more than 10,100 by 1890, although the growth slowed to a virtual standstill the next decade due to a depression and a plague of grasshoppers.

By 1955, the city consolidated the neighboring city of South Sioux Falls, which had a population of 1,600. The population has grown rapidly since the 1970s, hitting 81,000 in 1980 and 153,000 in 2010.

Sioux Falls Population Growth

Sioux Falls is one of the 50 fastest-growing cities in America and South Dakota's fastest-growing metropolitan area. Between 2000 and 2010, the city grew 22%. The most recent population estimate found that Sioux Falls has a population of 169,900 as of January 1, 2015, a growth of nearly 14,000 people over four years. Most of the new residents to the city are coming from Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois, although many are coming from Southern California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. By 2035, the population of Sioux Falls is projected to reach 233,000.