Business & Economic Development

We are ready

As the economic center for a five-state, 200-mile radius, Rapid City serves a population of more than 450,000 people. We are well positioned for future growth and business development. We have a strong and growing economic base of agriculture and tourism. We have solid regional assets such as Ellsworth Air Force Base, Rapid City Regional Hospital, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, Rapid City Regional Airport, Black Hills Business Development Center and the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory. We continue to diversify into science, medicine, engineering, technology, military related and energy industry clusters.

We are business friendly

Imagine doing business in a state and region with no corporate income tax, no personal income tax, no business inventory tax and no personal property tax. We enjoy several advantages when it comes to business costs. We are a Right-to-Work State and enjoy some of the lowest unemployment and workers compensation insurance rates in the country. Imagine being in a business environment where you keep more of what you earn. South Dakota also enjoys the fourth lowest overall crime rate and one of the lowest energy costs in the nation. Rapid City was named the fourth Best Small City in America to Launch a Business by CNNMoney.com in 2009 and was named one of the country’s best cities for business by Forbes in 2011. If that’s not enough to make you think about doing business in Rapid City, we can offer you many financing and job-training incentives that make growing your business a reality.

We are accessible

Whether you are traveling to work, traveling the highways or traveling the world, it doesn’t get much better than this. Our average commute time is only 13.8 minutes, and Rapid City is located at the hub of several major highways. Interstate 90 -- which connects Seattle to Boston -- runs through the northern tier of the city. I-90 provides five hour drive times to Billings, MT, and Sioux Falls, SD. Highways 16, 44 and 79 also converge here, providing excellent access to the many Black Hills recreation opportunities and access to a northsouth highway system from Canada to Mexico. Interstate and intrastate motor freight is provided by more than 30 transport companies. Rapid City Regional Airport is the primary commercial service airport for our trade area and is located just 10 minutes east of downtown Rapid City.

We are smart

When it comes to education, South Dakota is wired for success. Not only does South Dakota have the highest percent of high school graduates in the nation, it is also the only state to have virtually every school wired for Internet access. In the Black Hills, education doesn’t end with high school. This region is home to two state universities, a university center, a technical institute and several private universities and colleges.

We want to talk

If you want to learn more about how we can help your business be successful in Rapid City and the Black Hills, give us a call at (605) 343-1880 or visit us at www.rapiddevelopment.com.