Strong communities are built through shared understanding.

We invest in data, research, and community learning to better understand how housing, education, basic needs, and economic opportunity intersect, helping inform solutions that create broader, lasting impact.

Data Snapshots

2026 — Housing Realities in Rapid City

Reports

2026 — ‘It’s Literally Limiting’ How Transportation Barriers Affect Employment and Quality of Life in Rapid City

Transportation is a barrier for some residents in Rapid City. This report shares what we’re learning about the transportation barriers in Rapid City–using local data to reveal who experiences transportation barriers in teh community and how that affects our ability to provide all residents with access to jobs, healthcare, school, and daily necessities like food.

2023 — ‘Too Expensive, and Not Expensive Enough’ Investing in Child Care to Strengthen South Dakota’s Economy

In nearly every community in the country, child care is both too expensive and not expensive enough. Low margins and constant concern over day-to-day operations also means few programs have time, resources, or capacity to consider long-term expansion or facilities projects that would improve their operations or physical spaces.

2022 — Housing Market Study

This study was commissioned by the Rapid City Strategic Housing Coalition, a partnership between Elevate Rapid City, the City of Rapid City, the Black Hills Area Community Foundation and the John T. Vucurevich Foundation. The study considers the needs and market function of the entire region, with a particular focus on conditions and strategies in Rapid City.

2018 — Rapid City Housing Affordability Study

This report provides a detailed analysis into the state of affordable housing within the Rapid City market that will inform the community and guide future action. For the purposes of this study the Rapid City market includes the census tracts comprising Rapid City and western Box Elder in Pennington County as well as the census tract containing Ellsworth Airforce Base and surrounding areas in Meade County.