Is Billings cheaper than Rapid City?

Rapid City is cheaper: its overall cost of living runs about 5% below Billings's (BEA Regional Price Parities).

Which has higher household income, Billings or Rapid City?

Household incomes are similar — $77,770 in the Billings metro versus $78,056 in Rapid City (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).

Does a paycheck go further in Billings or Rapid City?

A paycheck stretches further in Rapid City. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $87,546 there versus $83,153 in Billings.

Which has cheaper rent, Billings or Rapid City?

Rents are close — $1,170/mo in the Billings metro versus $1,168/mo in Rapid City (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).

Billings vs Rapid City

Metro-area medians — Billings, MT Metro Area vs Rapid City, SD Metro Area — not the cities proper.

Rapid City comes out ahead, winning 6 of the 7 clearly-decided measures.

Rapid City costs about 5% less to live in, and household incomes are similar. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in Rapid City.

For your salary & household

Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.

Annual salary (gross)

Household size

Billings, MT

$58,071

take-home / yr · 23% to tax

$62,091

real value after local prices

Rapid City, SD

$61,314

take-home / yr · 18% to tax

$68,768

real value after local prices

On $75,000 for just you, Rapid City leaves you about $6,677/yr better off after tax and local prices.

Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.

Measure

Billings

Rapid City

Livability (CityLedger)

60/100

65/100

Cost of living (price level, US = 100)

93.5

89.2

Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)

$83,153

$87,546

Median household income

$77,770

$78,056

Median rent

$1,170/mo

$1,168/mo

Median home value

$383,900

$361,100

Unemployment

3.3%

3.2%

Bachelor's degree or higher

32.8%

34.6%

Average commute

20.8 min

Air quality (median AQI)

Avg temperature

48°F

47°F

Choose Billings for

+ Air quality (median AQI)

Full Billings profile →

Choose Rapid City for

+ Livability (CityLedger)
+ Cost of living (price level, US = 100)
+ Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
+ Median home value
+ Unemployment
+ Bachelor's degree or higher

Full Rapid City profile →

Billings vs Rapid City — frequently asked

Is Billings cheaper than Rapid City?: Rapid City is cheaper: its overall cost of living runs about 5% below Billings's (BEA Regional Price Parities).
Which has higher household income, Billings or Rapid City?: Household incomes are similar — $77,770 in the Billings metro versus $78,056 in Rapid City (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).
Does a paycheck go further in Billings or Rapid City?: A paycheck stretches further in Rapid City. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $87,546 there versus $83,153 in Billings.
Which has cheaper rent, Billings or Rapid City?: Rents are close — $1,170/mo in the Billings metro versus $1,168/mo in Rapid City (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).