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Labor market · MSA #280

STEM careers in Rapid City, SD — which one fits you?

The Rapid City, SD commuting zone is the real labor market: wider than one town, smaller than the state. 6 counties across South Dakota; 3 metro. Economies: 3 government and 2 tourism and recreation. Flags: 4 a retirement destination, 2 housing stress and 1 population loss.

Home › STEM Compass › Metros › Rapid City, SD

Take the STEM Compass assessmentSee the STEM Farm tracks

6Counties
3Metro counties
156,934MSA population 2025

States: South Dakota

Careers the Rapid City, SD economy leans on

Ranked by how many counties in this zone carry the economy types each family hires into, then by growth. The fit is yours; the demand is local.

Physician Assistant+20%Epidemiologist+16%Medical Scientist+9%Biomedical Engineer+6%Registered Nurse+5%Microbiologist+5%Physician & Surgeon+4%Clinical Laboratory Technologist+4%Computer & Information Research Scientist+20%Software Developer+15%Computer Systems Analyst+9%Web Developer+7%Database Administrator+4%Database Architect+4%Computer Programmer-6%Data Scientist+34%Information Security Analyst+29%Actuary+22%Operations Research Analyst+21%Computer Network Architect+12%Statistician+8%Mathematician+8%Mathematics Professor+7%Biochemist & Biophysicist+7%Chemist & Materials Scientist+6%Physicist+4%Astronomer+4%Industrial Engineer+11%Mechanical Engineer+9%Electrical Engineer+7%Aerospace Engineer+6%Marine Engineer & Naval Architect+6%Civil Engineer+5%Environmental Engineer+4%Chemical Engineer+3%Agricultural & Food Scientist+6%Geoscientist+5%Environmental Scientist+4%Zoologist & Wildlife Biologist+2%Atmospheric Scientist & Meteorologist+1%

Counties in this labor market

Butte County, SDCuster County, SDFall River County, SDLawrence County, SDMeade County, SDPennington County, SD

Metros around Rapid City, SD

Sioux Falls, SD9 countiesSioux City, IA–NE–SD6 countiesBrookings, SD6 countiesMilbank, SD6 countiesMitchell, SD6 countiesAberdeen, SD5 countiesAlliance, NE5 countiesChamberlain, SD5 countiesYankton, SD5 countiesBowman, ND4 countiesMobridge, SD4 countiesPierre, SD4 counties

This labor market, by search

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Questions people ask

Which STEM careers are in demand in Rapid City, SD?

Physician Assistant, Epidemiologist, Medical Scientist, Biomedical Engineer and Registered Nurse lead on local economy fit here; Data Scientist (+34%), Information Security Analyst (+29%) and Actuary (+22%) lead on national growth.

What is a commuting zone?

A Census labor market built from where people actually commute to work. It is the right geography for training and hiring: the job you train for is usually inside your zone, even when it is not inside your county.

Sources. Career traits, education paths and value lines are the STEM Compass assessment library. Employment growth is U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2024–2034. County economic types are USDA Economic Research Service County Typology Codes (2025); labor markets are Census commuting zones (2020). Salary is not shown anywhere in this campaign on purpose: the assessment measures fit and what the work is worth to the world.