Fargo vs Sioux Falls leftover
Moving to Sioux Falls costs you $236 a month
$2,954/mo leftover in Sioux Falls vs $3,190 in Fargo after tax and rent ($236 less). −$2,832 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Fargo leftover
$3,190
a month after tax and rent
Sioux Falls leftover
$2,954
−$236 vs Fargo
Compare Fargo to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Fargo.
Monthly gap
Fargo → Sioux Falls
$236
less / month in Fargo
$2,954 in Sioux Falls · $3,190 in Fargo · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
In 2022-2023, 60 households moved Fargo → Sioux Falls (avg AGI $55,683). 41 went the other way. The whole move →
−$236 / mo
| Per month | Fargo | Sioux Falls | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,375 | $7,243 | −$132 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,529 | $1,449 | −$81 |
| Take-home pay | $5,846 | $5,794 | −$52 |
| Rent | $885 | $982 | +$97 |
| Getting around | $505 | $539 | +$34 |
| Groceries | $349 | $364 | +$15 |
| Healthcare | $393 | $410 | +$17 |
| Utilities | $218 | $228 | +$10 |
| Everything else | $306 | $319 | +$13 |
| Left over | $3,190 | $2,954 | −$236 |
To break even in Sioux Falls, you'd need to earn
$91,000
Household gross, versus $88,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Fargo does now.
The tax difference alone
+$496
A year, in state and local income tax. South Dakota has no wage income tax.
More about Sioux Falls
Fargo, ND in full
State income tax topping out at 2.5%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,054 and 193 sunny days; commutes average 18 minutes.
Sioux Falls, SD in full
No income tax, an 18-minute commute, and nothing to do in February.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Sioux Falls on Sioux Falls wages.
Sioux Falls → Fargo →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Sioux Falls than Fargo?
A one-bedroom is about $885 in Fargo versus $982 in Sioux Falls. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $236 a month lower in Sioux Falls. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Sioux Falls have state income tax?
Sioux Falls is in South Dakota, which has no state income tax.
What changes if you move from Fargo to Sioux Falls?
Take-home pay is recalculated under South Dakota tax, rent is priced at the same bedroom count, and leftover is the gap. The from-to page also lists IRS households that already made the move, when that data exists.
Leftover is take-home after federal, state and city wage tax, minus asking rent at the bedroom count you set, minus a modelled month of groceries, utilities, healthcare, transport and childcare. It is not a cost-of-living index and not a moving quote. The dollar gap between Fargo and Sioux Falls moves when you change the job, remote versus local pay, or bedrooms. How the math works · Leftover vs a COL index · Why a cheaper COL% can still lose leftover.
Rent is Zillow's asking rent for each metro; taxes and living costs are modelled. An estimate, not a quote or tax advice. How this is calculated.