Welcome to Rapid City ...
The city of Rapid City is located in Pennington County<1> and is the County Seat for Pennington County.
Rapid City was established in 1876.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Rapid City has a population of 77,914 people<2> (see below for details).
The community of Rapid City is 3,280 feet [1,000 m] above sea level.<3> In other words, the elevation of Rapid City is about ½ mile above sea level.
Time Zone: Rapid City lies in the Mountain Time Zone (MST/MDT) and observes daylight saving time
Rapid City lies within the (605) area code.
The ZIP code for Rapid City: 57701<4>
Websites for Rapid City ...
Official Website: www.rcgov.org/
Chamber of Commerce: www.rapidcitychamber.com/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Rapid City had an population of 77,914 people. This is an increase of 14.65% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 30.71% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Rapid City had a population of 67,956 people (or 67.32% of the total population of Pennington County). This makes Rapid City the county's most populous community.
The population of Rapid City represents 8.35% of the population of South Dakota (which has 814,180 people), making it the state's 2nd most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 67,956 people, the population of Rapid City increased 14.01% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 59,607 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Rapid City.
Communities Also Named Rapid City ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 2 communities that are also named Rapid City - they are located in Manitoba and Michigan.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Rapid City.
Communities near Rapid City ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Rapid City.
- Box Elder
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Box Elder have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Box Elder
- Box Elder is located in Pennington County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,564 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Box Elder <6>
- Spokane ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest) - Summerset
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerset
- Summerset is located in Meade County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,691 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Summerset <6>
- Piedmont
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piedmont
- Piedmont is located in Meade County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 895 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Piedmont <6>
- New Underwood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Underwood have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Underwood
- New Underwood is located in Pennington County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 679 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Underwood <6>
- Johnson Siding
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnson Siding
- Johnson Siding is located in Pennington County
- Population from the 2010 Census: 659 people
- Sheridan ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest) - Hermosa
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hermosa have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hermosa
- Hermosa is located in Custer County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 409 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hermosa <6>
- South Canyon Country Estates
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Canyon Country Estates have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Canyon Country Estates
- South Canyon Country Estates is located in Pennington County
- Population from the 2010 Census: 364 people
- Keystone
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keystone
- Keystone is located in Pennington County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Keystone <6>
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Rapid City. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Rapid City.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Rapid City. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rapid City.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Rapid City. Our list includes 36 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Rapid City.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Rapid City ...
Looking for more information about Rapid City? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Rapid City, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Rapid City.
Adding Rapid City to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Rapid City in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Rapid City was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>
From that list, the Rapid City post office opened in 1877.
We also found Rapid City in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Rapid City.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Rapid City: www.rcgov.org/
The official website for Pennington County: www.co.pennington.sd.us/
The official website for State of South Dakota: sd.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of South Dakota's counties, including Pennington, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Rapid City. |
| <3> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Rapid City - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <4> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Rapid City). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Rapid City or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <5> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <6> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <7> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |