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A lifestyle with something for everyone is as much a part of Rapid City as the tree-covered mountains
that shelter its 310 miles of wide, paved streets, or, the friendly, western personality that quickly
becomes a part of any new visitor or resident. In this generous land where an endless prairie meets
captivating mountains, a person can explore the freedoms of living as a cowboy or sophisticated city
dweller. And, in the 100 plus years that Rapid Citians have been living in and improving their community,
the entire area provides ample facilities to make the choice easy and fulfilling.
Locals call Rapid City the Banana Belt, as it has one of the mildest climates in the Midwest.
Protected by the beautiful Black Hills, Rapid City residents enjoy low humidity levels and infrequent
precipitation. Extreme temperatures, either cold or hot, are very rare.
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 Perhaps one of the more subtle but pleasant
advantages of moving to Rapid City is its climate. While
the Dakotas have been tagged as the breeding ground for
icy blizzards and scorching summers, it simply isn't so
in Rapid City. Protected by 6,000 and 7,000 foot peaks
in the Black Hills, Rapid City enjoys an envious
climatic location. Summers are warm, but dry, with a
long pleasant fall season. Temperatures can be mild even
in the winter months. January 1992 had a high
temperature of 74o F. The temperature dips below 0o F an
average of only 21 days each year. On this page are
charts that show Rapid City's humidity and climatic
averages.
Rapid City is divided into four
main areas named by local according to compass
direction. South Robbinsdale and North Rapid City make
up the bulk of the community's area with the Downtown
core separating these neighborhoods. West Rapid is a
sprawling, primarily residential neighborhood found
"through the gap" created by a scenic and natural
barrier of Skyline Drive and Cowboy Hill. Wide traffic
arteries provide easy access between the neighborhoods.
Schools, churches, shopping centers and other services
are well located throughout the city, and the greenbelt
that follows Rapid Creek through town makes a
seven-mile-long park never more than a few minutes from
any home.
Rapid City Regional Hospital is one
of Rapid City's largest employers and it is the region's
major medical referral center. Serving a population base
of 320,000, Rapid City Regional Hospital provides
advanced health care for Western South Dakota, and parts
of North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming and Nebraska. The
Hospital's commitment to providing advanced medical
services to Rapid City and the surrounding region has
never been stronger. Rapid City Regional Hospital and
Black Hills Rehabilitation Hospital employ over 2200
people. Over the past several years, the Hospitals have
added new programs and enhanced various existing
services. The Cardiovascular Surgery services, Cancer
Care services, Diagnostic Imaging services, Mobile CT
Scanning, Laser Surgery, Neonatal Intensive Care, Air
Ambulance, Dialysis, Psychiatric and Chemical
Dependency, and Sleep Disorders Center and
Rehabilitation Programs are some of the services offered
by the Hospital. The Black Hills Regional Eye Institute
opened in 1983 as a not-for-profit corporation dedicated
to providing the most modern and complex eye care for
the people of this region. Over 35,000 patient visits
are recorded each year and over 3,000 eye surgeries are
performed at the Medicare certified Eye Surgery Center.
The Institute physicians and staff travel to eleven
satellite clinics throughout the five state area served
to provide treatment of eye problems within the local
communities.
Text source: Rapid City Area Economic Development
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