Sioux Falls population nears 225,000 mark

Sioux Falls is just a few hundred new residents away from reaching 225,000 people.

The city’s most recent updated population, through the end of 2025, is 224,676 people, up 2.3 percent from a year ago.

“That’s about where we’ve been hanging out is around that 2.5 percent mark,” Mayor Paul TenHaken said. “That obviously compounds on a bigger number every year.”

After a surge a few years ago during the pandemic, “we’re trending back to normal,” he said.

Still, the updated number represents 5,088 new residents added in 2025.

In the eight years he has been in office, TenHaken has seen Sioux Falls grow by the equivalent of “half of Rapid City” or “three Pierres,” he said. “So kudos to the team and the city of Sioux Falls that’s had to wrestle with that and make that work.”

He pointed to the “One Sioux Falls framework” he has used for years to prioritize city investments.

“Smart growth,” TenHaken continued. “The 2050 plan we’re looking at adopting, those are all very intentional efforts to make sure the things within that framework we keep up to make sure we’re delivering the services effectively, efficiently and in a cost-friendly manner.”

From 2020 to 2024 “our state grew by 4 percent, but Sioux Falls grew by 12 percent,” he said. “So the state is growing, and Sioux Falls, this metro, is really growing. So we have to really keep that in mind from a state perspective as well when we look at where we’re appropriating resources.”

The four-county metro area is expected to reach 360,000 by 2030 and 500,000 by 2050, he added. It’s estimated at 308,000 now.

“A lot of the growth we’re seeing in the state is happening in this corner.”

Economic development is key, TenHaken said.

“So we can continue to bring in the dollars, the tax revenue to support another 5,000 to 6,000 people a year,” he said. “I hope the next administration really keeps a laser focus on that economic development piece as well because it’s very, very important to the future of our community. It’s an exciting time in Sioux Falls.”