Who’s moving to and from Sioux Falls? Data shows trends from in and out of state

At one point in life, Tony and Ali Gabriel thought Sioux Falls might become a place to move when they retired.

The Minnesota natives discovered the community through Tony’s business travel. “He said he loved it, so I started to accompany him, and while he worked, I would tour Sioux Falls and look at neighborhoods and visit restaurants and shop and walk downtown,” Ali Gabriel said. “A town he’d already grown to love, I grew to love, and we had it on the radar for at least part of our retirement or maybe when the kids graduated high school, but COVID sped it up.”

Unable to send their three children to school or attend church, they knew they needed a change, she said.

“It turned out to be a real blessing,” she said. “Harrisburg schools have done a beautiful job with our kids and their special needs … so we feel really happy to be in the school district and our neighborhood. We didn’t know what end of town we wanted to end up on, but we’re really happy.”

They also have plenty of company when it comes to migrating to the Sioux Falls area.

A recent analysis from the Dakota Institute found that “the significant state population growth seen in 2020-22, fueled largely by migration from the rest of the U.S., continued into 2023 but at a lower rate.”

The U.S. Census Bureau’s estimated South Dakota population of 919,318 represented growth of 9,449 people over 2022.

At its peak, net domestic migration — those moving in minus those moving out — totaled 8,424 from 2021 to 2022. The following year, it dropped to 4,812, which still was higher than any year since 2000.

The vast majority of the state’s growth from 2022 to 2023, the most recent data available, occurred in four counties, led by Minnehaha, which added 3,100 residents, roughly one-third of the state’s total growth. Lincoln County added about 2,200, a little less than one-quarter of state growth, and Pennington and Lawrence counties added about 1,600 and 800, respectively, together accounting for another one-quarter of state growth.

The most detailed data around where people are coming from and moving to exists for Minnehaha County, although it’s for 2021-22. For that time period, Minnehaha lost a net population of 788 people to Lincoln County, with 3,304 people moving to Lincoln and 2,516 people moving from there.

Minnehaha County had positive in-migration from Brookings and Pennington counties, as well as Hennepin County in Minnesota, which includes Minneapolis.

Gabriel, who now works as director of marketing and engagement for the Sioux Falls Canaries, said she has met “a shocking amount” of people like herself who have moved from other states in recent years.

“It’s just been a continued open flow since then (COVID) because I think so many people have been turned off and looking for ways to get out of Minnesota.”

That includes her best friend, who moved to Sioux Falls in June, and her parents, who just moved here.

“We have a guest room, and it is rarely empty,” Gabriel said. “All our friends and family from Minnesota just love coming here to visit. They love the parks, they love the restaurants, and they come for concerts and festivals.”

From 2021 to 2022, South Dakota had net in-migration of 1,556 people from other states, according to the Dakota Institute report. No single net flow exceeded 100 people. The largest known net inflows were from San Diego and Los Angeles counties in California and Woodbury County in Iowa, which includes Sioux City. The largest net outflows of people went to the Des Moines and Fargo areas, as well as Dakota County in Minnesota, which includes suburban Minneapolis and St. Paul.

“Minnehaha did have small net in-migration from the central counties of the Twin Cities, but there is no clear total exchange imbalance between the metropolitan areas,” the report said.

“There is a rough balance relative to the Omaha-Lincoln portion of Nebraska. There appears to be a slight net outflow to Arizona counties, no clear tendency relative to Colorado counties and a pronounced net inflow from the known California counties. The residual flows to and from counties aggregated together indicate large positive net inflows from other Western and Midwestern states, a smaller net inflow from Northeastern states and a small net outflow to Southern states.”