Sioux Falls Emerges As Top Choice For Newlyweds Starting Out

This is turning out to be a great time for marriages in South Dakota.

Recently, we shared with you that the Mount Rushmore State had the second-lowest divorce rate in America (5.08 per 1,000 people), trailing only Vermont.

READ MORE: From Divorce Magnet To Stable Marriages, South Dakota's Dramatic Reversal

Now comes word that South Dakota's largest city is one of the top places in the country for newlyweds to put down roots.

Recently, AOL did a deep dive into the numbers behind WalletHub’s 2026 Best and Worst Places to Raise a Family study and narrowed the focus to the perspective of newly married couples, focusing on four key areas:

• Affordability: Cost of living adjusted for early-career incomes and the cost of a first home.
• Socio-economic strength: Unemployment, underemployment, debt per earnings, and the share of families living in poverty.
• Health and safety: Crime stats and access to medical care.
• Education and child care: Good schools and child-care depth.

What they found was that Sioux Falls, already a Top 20 pick on the Best Places list (#18), fared even better for newlyweds, landing in the Top 10.

AOL praised Sioux Falls for its lack of state income tax, its access to health care and finance jobs, and low prices for first-time home buyers.

The 10 Best Cities for Newlyweds in 2026

1. Overland Park, Kansas
2. Plano, Texas
3. Fremont, California
4. Boise, Idaho
5. Bismarck, North Dakota
6. South Burlington, Vermont
7. Madison, Wisconsin
8. Austin, Texas
9. Sioux Falls, South Dakota
10. Lincoln, Nebraska

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