Crime & Safety in Rapid City
Rapid City's real, current crime picture runs genuinely ABOVE the national average on every headline figure reviewed this pass -- an overall rate of 46 per 1,000 residents that one major citation described as among the highest in America across communities of all sizes -- and this record discloses this directly and prominently rather than softening it.
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Learn moreA Real, Genuinely Above-National Overall and Violent Crime Rate
NeighborhoodScout's citation reviewed this pass put Rapid City's overall crime rate at 46 per 1,000 residents, described as 'one of the highest crime rates in America' compared to all U.S. communities of all sizes, with Rapid City's violent crime rate specifically described as 'one of the highest in the nation' across communities of all sizes -- a real, genuinely challenging picture this record discloses directly rather than downplaying beneath the city's real tourism and economic strengths.
A Real, Disclosed South-Dakota-Wide Comparison
The same citation reported that more than 99% of South Dakota communities have a LOWER crime rate than Rapid City -- a real, genuinely challenging within-state safety comparison. A cited overall chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime in Rapid City ran approximately 1-in-22.
A Real, Disclosed Data-Currency Caveat This Record Does Not Use to Discount the Finding
This record discloses a real, disclosed data-currency caveat directly: the same citation's stated population figure (79,894) runs noticeably below the City of Rapid City's own more current 2025 population estimate (86,484) -- suggesting the underlying crime-rate calculation may use a somewhat dated population denominator. This record could not independently confirm the citation's exact underlying data-year this pass, and discloses this ambiguity without treating it as grounds to discount the overall below-average safety finding.
Research Current, Address-Specific Data Directly Before Choosing a Neighborhood
Given Rapid City's real, above-national crime picture, movers should research current, address-specific and neighborhood-specific crime data directly via the Rapid City Police Department's own published statistics before choosing a specific target neighborhood, rather than relying on a single citywide aggregator figure alone.
Key takeaways
- Rapid City's overall crime rate (46 per 1,000) was described by one major citation as among the highest in America across all community sizes.
- More than 99% of South Dakota communities are cited as having a lower crime rate than Rapid City -- a real, genuinely challenging within-state comparison.
- A cited overall victimization chance runs approximately 1-in-22.
- This record discloses a real, disclosed data-currency ambiguity in the crime citation's population denominator without using it to discount the overall finding.
- Research current, address-specific crime data directly via the Rapid City Police Department before choosing a neighborhood.
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