Sioux Falls at a glance
Here's a look at schools, top employers, libraries, and other community facts.
Public schools
The Sioux Falls School District is the largest district in the state with more than 24,000 students.
The district has four high schools — including the new Jefferson High School, which opened its doors in the fall of 2021. The other three are Washington, Lincoln and Roosevelt High Schools. (Yes, the Mount Rushmore parallel was intentional.)
Sioux Falls also has six middle schools, the newest of which is Ben Reifel Middle School, which opened in the southeast part of town last fall.
At the elementary level, Sioux Falls has 23 schools, all of which offer full-day kindergarten. Of those schools, six offer some sort of specialized programming. Those include: ƒ
- All-City Elementary, which requires a certain time commitment for parents to volunteer in the classroom,
- Eugene Field A+ (as in “arts plus academics”) Elementary has a special focus on integrating the arts into learning, ƒ
- Sonia Sotomayor Elementary is a Spanish Immersion school, ƒ
- Rosa Parks offers Global Studies, ƒ
- Challenge Center — located in Robert Frost Elementary — is a gifted program for students who meet certain testing requirements, ƒ
- And both Rosa Parks and Hayward Elementary have two-way immersion programs where Spanish and English-speaking students learn in both Spanish and English.
You can find more information on individual schools (and find the schools your kids would attend based on where you live) on the Sioux Falls School District website.
Private schools
The Bishop O’Gorman Catholic School system is the largest private school system in the city with six elementary schools, a junior high school and O’Gorman High School.
Other religious private schools include Sioux Falls Christian and Sioux Falls Lutheran.
Sioux Falls also has a couple of non-religious private schools: ƒ
- The Baan Dek Montessori school is a private, accredited option in town for young children. ƒ
- ACE Academy is a private school focused on learning through culture-based curriculum and worldly exposure.
Top employers
- Sanford Health: 11,000 to 12,000 employees
- Avera Health: 7,500 to 8,000 employees
- Smithfield Foods: 3,500 to 4,000 employees
- Hy-vee Grocery Stores: 3,000 to 3,500 employees
- Sioux Falls School District: 3,000 to 3,500 employees
Another major industry in Sioux Falls is finance and banking, with Wells Fargo, Citi and First Premier Bank/Premier Bankcard each employing more than 1,000 people.
Source: Sioux Falls Development Foundation
Higher education
Sioux Falls is home to two private Christian colleges, the University of Sioux Falls and Augustana University.
The city also has the USD Community College for Sioux Falls, which functions similarly to a community college but under the oversight of the University of South Dakota, a four-year state university.
Southeast Technical College is a two-year technical school with programs ranging from veterinary technology to construction to agriculture. It also offers certificate programs for people looking to further their education or add on credentials in their field.
Community centers
Sioux Falls has five community centers, which are joint ventures between the parks department and the Sioux Falls School District. Each center is adjacent to an elementary school and has a game room, computer lab, gym and meeting rooms.
Here’s where they are:
- Kenny Anderson Community Center: Next to Anne Sullivan Elementary in the northeast part of town at 3710 E. Third St.
- Kuehn Community Center: Next to Oscar Howe Elementary in the southwest part of town at 2801 S. Valley View Rd.
- Maricar Community Center: Next to Hayward Elementary in the northwest part of town at 400 N. Valley View Rd.
- Morningside Community Center: Next to Harvey Dunn Elementary in the southeast part of town at 2400 S. Bahnson Ave.
- Oyate Community Center: Next to Garfield Elementary in central Sioux Falls at 2421 W. 15th St.
Local sports teams
Sioux Falls Storm
- Sport: Indoor football
- Season: Roughly March to July
- Where they play: Denny Sanford Premier Center
Sioux Falls Canaries
- Sport: Baseball
- Season: May to September-ish
- Where they play: Sioux Falls Stadium, affectionately known as “The Birdcage”
Sioux Falls Skyforce
- Sport: Basketball
- Season: October to March
- Where they play: Sanford Pentagon
Sioux Falls Stampede
- Sport: Hockey
- Season: December to April
- Where they play: Denny Sanford Premier Center
Libraries
Siouxland Libraries has five branches in Sioux Falls and another eight in the broader metro area. Here’s where you can find them in town:
- Caille Branch: 4100 Carnegie Cir.
- Downtown Library: 200 N. Dakota Ave.
- Oak View Branch: 3700 E. Third St.
- Prairie West Branch: 7630 W. 26th St.
- Ronning Branch: 3100 E. 49th St.
And in the region:
- Baltic Branch: 213 St. Olaf Ave., Baltic, SD
- Brandon Community Library: 305 S. Splitrock Blvd., Brandon, SD
- Colton Branch: 402 S. Dakota Ave., Colton, SD
- Crooks Branch: 900 N. West Ave., Crooks, SD
- Garretson Branch: 649 Main Ave., Garretson, SD
- Hartford Branch: 119 N. Main Ave. Suite A, Hartford, SD (inside the Hartford Senior Center)
- Humboldt Branch: 201 S. Main St., Humboldt, SD
- Valley Springs Branch: 401 Broadway Ave., Valley Springs, SD