SIOUX FALLS, SD (KELO) — Sioux Falls is one of the fastest-growing cities in America.

A report by SmartAsset ranked cities’ growth based on the census over the past five years. In that time Sioux Falls’ population grew by more than 14 percent, the 27th fastest-growing community in the country.

What the rapid growth means for Sioux Falls in tonight’s Your Money Matters.

“I’m so proud of our city and our city leaders for making it happen,” developer and Lloyd Companies founder Craig Lloyd said.

Business and community leaders say there’s a reason Sioux Falls is finally getting noticed on a national scale.

“We’ve had so many accolades of our business climate, best place to live, best place to work, people are checking out the market and learning about South Dakota and wanting to have a presence here,” Lloyd Companies VP of Commercial Real Estate Raquel Blount said.

“I think we’re doing some things right in our community that are making people want to move here,” Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken said.

Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken credits basics like an investment in infrastructure and public safety as some key reasons people love living in Sioux Falls, but says the real attraction the community itself.

“I think the other thing we have that’s really special here are those private public partnerships that move quality of life assets forward. Jacobson plazas, the zoo, the pavilion, quality of life assets that make a community really livable,” TenHaken said.

It’s the kind of community advancements that have come with the rapid growth in population from people all over the world.

“They’re bringing demand for new lifestyle, the symphony they want to see, they want to see more plays, they want to see more social things, better pools, better tennis, better hockey, it goes on and on for quality of life. Our city has really stepped up to that,” Lloyd said.

Developer Craig Lloyd has helped grow the city over the past five decades, adding new commercial and residential buildings all over Sioux Falls. He says Lloyd Companies has spent the past five years working to keep up with all the city’s new residents.

“We have probably about 2,000 more units that came on the market this year than last year,” Lloyd said.

The growth has also helped to attract new commercial businesses and national retailers to Sioux Falls for the first time.

“Over the last five years we’ve seen an influx of car washes and banks and coffee shops and banks and new restaurant chains and new hotels to the area,” Blount said.

But along with all the good, growing at such a rapid rate also comes with some challenges in finding affordable housing, childcare, traffic and more.

“You can’t press a pause button and say ok, we’re not letting anyone else move here; the growth continues, so we try to do our best to keep up with that growth,” TenHaken said.

The Mayor says city planners expect growth to continue over the next few years, but at a slower rate than the big population jump we saw during the pandemic.