Sioux Falls metro considered “resilient” in post-pandemic economic recovery

To measure how local economies were faring during one of the most volatile economic periods in recent memory, Brookings Metro launched the Metro Recovery Index in 2020. It included critical insights on certain elements of economic recovery, including jobs, home prices, rents, and commuting patterns. Their newly released Metro Monitor provides a comprehensive look at how the pandemic impacted inclusive growth across 192 U.S. metro areas with populations of at least 250,000, which together are home to 78% of the nation’s population and contribute 84% of the nation’s GDP.

The Metro Monitor examines economic performance across five broad categories: growth, prosperity, overall inclusion, racial inclusion and geographic inclusion. Each category is measured using three standardized indicators. To assess how the pandemic influenced inclusive growth, this analysis examines trends across those indicators over two time periods: 2011-2019 and 2019-2021 during the pandemic.

Sioux Falls metro was one of 50 areas considered “Resilient,” having an inclusive growth score that ranked in the top half of metro areas in both periods, meaning it was a strong performer prior to the pandemic (ranking 18^th) and sustained strong performance through the pandemic (ranking 12^th).