Cost of living comparison
compared to
Rapid City vs. United States Cost of Living Summary
Rapid City is 12.6% cheaper than United States overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 1.0% less in Rapid City
- Groceries
-
pay 7.8% less in Rapid City
- Transportation
-
pay 20.1% less in Rapid City
- Housing
-
pay 21.9% less in Rapid City
- Childcare
-
pay 49.5% less in Rapid City
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 9.8% less in Rapid City
- Clothing
-
pay 22.0% more in Rapid City
Expenses including childcare, housing, transportation, entertainment and sports, groceries, and restaurants are lower in Rapid City.
Rapid City vs. United States Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Rapid City instead of United States, you would:
pay 1.0% less for restaurants
|
United States
|
Rapid City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$19.45
|
$15.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.12
|
$10.43
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.56
|
$3.63
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
|
$1.66
|
|
United States vs. Rapid City - Cost of restaurants
pay 7.8% less for groceries
|
United States
|
Rapid City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.56
|
$2.97
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.50
|
$6.61
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.97
|
$3.96
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.27
|
$4.38
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.41
|
$4.31
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.37
|
$2.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.78
|
$0.70
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.04
|
$1.76
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.21
|
$1.79
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.34
|
$1.26
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.38
|
$1.43
|
|
United States vs. Rapid City - Cost of groceries
pay 20.1% less for transportation
|
United States
|
Rapid City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.41
|
$3.08
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$65.85
|
$30.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,336.38
|
$35,500.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.61
|
$13.07
|
|
United States vs. Rapid City - Cost of transportation
pay 21.9% less for housing
|
United States
|
Rapid City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.97
|
$57.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,664.59
|
$1,030.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,416.15
|
$1,138.80
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$150.19
|
$131.52
|
|
United States vs. Rapid City - Cost of housing
pay 49.5% less for childcare
|
United States
|
Rapid City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,387.27
|
$700.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$23,196.46
|
?? | |
United States vs. Rapid City - Cost of childcare
pay 9.8% less for entertainment and sports
|
United States
|
Rapid City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.84
|
$3.75
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.15
|
$5.33
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.90
|
$9.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$51.45
|
$51.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.64
|
$12.00
|
|
United States vs. Rapid City - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 22.0% more for clothing
|
United States
|
Rapid City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$51.08
|
$61.67
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.81
|
$75.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$87.56
|
$78.33
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$112.04
|
$110.00
|
|
United States vs. Rapid City - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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