What is the ‘REAL’ population growth of Sioux Falls?
l3wis There will be one constant in 2023, more fluff & puff bluster from our esteemed leader;
“$1.9ish billion in building permits we’re going to hit this year. Probably added another 7,000 people to the community, so trying to sustain and keep up with the demands of that growth in 2022 has been challenging,” Tenhaken said.
I would love to see the correlation between population growth and commercial building permits, if one exists (you know, like homelessness and Rec MJ). I would also like to know where the ‘probably’ in population growth comes from? If you do some quick googling, you will see the average population growth in Sioux Falls is about 4,000 people a year yet when the talking heads get in front of a camera they have thrown all kinds of numbers out there. Over the past few weeks I have heard 3.5K, 4K, and even 10K. I guess the mayor is just cherry picking another number from the sky.
I would love to see the breakdown of this supposed population growth;
• How many were newborns? When I researched this a few years ago, it was determined that almost HALF of the new population growth in Sioux Falls was newborns from existing residents.
• How many were dependent minors, stay-at-home parents and retired seniors that are NOT in the adult, full-time workforce?
• How many are working full-time jobs?
• How many are working remote jobs with NO economic ties to the local economy?
• How many have permanent housing they either purchased 100% or are paying a mortgage?
• How many residents have either died or moved away?
• How many simply use Sioux Falls as a permanent address but live 50% or more out of state?
• How many are living in poverty?
It’s easy to pull numbers from your ass but a breakdown would be helpful. One thing I personally have seen over the past 2 years is a constant rotation of these supposed new people. In other words I have seen a lot of newcomers realizing Sioux Falls just isn’t for them and they move on quickly.
The biggest reasons newcomers leave?
• Lack of diversity in healthcare options and insurance
• A lackluster and deficient public transit system and unsafe streets for peds and bicyclists.
• Lack of a living wage
• Lack of affordable permanent and short term housing
• Job growth opportunities in the blue collar sector
When people from out of state tell me they want to move to SD because of all the freedom and liberty here I remind them we do have quite a bit of freedom here, freedom from earning a living wage and having access to affordable housing and healthcare, other than that, it’s a pretty great place to live . . . probably.