Sioux Falls Had One of the Fastest-Growing Pre-COVID Economies in America

So much has happened in the world in the last two years that it's sometimes hard to remember what things were like when 'normal' was the rule of the day.

Recently we were reminded about what a run Sioux Falls was on prior to the COVID outbreak two years ago this month and the economic fallout that came with it.

Out of 383 metro areas across the United States, the economy in Sioux Falls was growing at the eighth-fastest rate in the country before the pandemic hit.

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The numbers, reported by 24/7 Wall St., reflect real gross domestic growth from 2001 to 2020, according to figures from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

During that time, the GDP in Sioux Falls was up 103.92 percent to $18.07 billion in 2020, which was the 138th largest in America.

The information industry was the largest mover in Sioux Falls in those 19 years, with an increase of  276.96 percent.

From 2001 to 2020, Sioux Falls saw the fifth-lowest unemployment rate in the nation at just 2.66 percent.

All that for a city with a population of 259,348 in 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is 187th of 383 metro areas surveyed.

Overall, Sioux Falls was one of only nine cities with growth of more than 100 percent from 2001 to 2020.

FASTEST-GROWING ECONOMIES IN AMERICA (2001-2020)

1. Midland, Texas (+142.21%)
2. The Villages, Florida (+301.87%)
3. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California (+195.56%)
4. Greeley, Colorado (+176.43%)
5. Provo-Orem, Utah (+149.37%)
6. Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, Texas (+142.21%)
7. St. George, Utah (+137.48%)
8. Sioux Falls, South Dakota (+103.92%)
9. College Station-Bryan, Texas (+101.48%)
10. Raleigh-Cary, North Carolina (+99.46%)

Nationwide, the gross domestic product has rebounded in 2021 by 5.7 percent.