Every day, an average of 1,750 travelers from the Sioux Falls metro area hop on or off a plane.
But where are they headed? We took a look at the top 10 most popular destinations for travelers from the Sioux Falls metro area — as well as how much a one-way ticket cost, on average. All figures are averages from a 12-month period ending in March 2023.
A very important caveat — these numbers come from the Sioux Falls Regional Airport’s “Leakage and Retention Study.”
What the study is examining is a phenomenon called “airport leakage,” which is not as gross as it sounds. It refers to someone in an airport’s local market who has instead driven to a different airport to catch their flight.
In the case of Sioux Falls, the three other airports looked at are Omaha’s Eppley Airfield, the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport and the Rapid City Regional Airport. Those four airports combined represent 99.1% of the market share for Sioux Falls travelers across all destinations.
1. Phoenix/Mesa
Phoenix/Mesa is by far the most popular destination for Sioux Falls travelers, with 204 passengers per day in either direction for a total of 148,900 across the four airports, paying $150 per ticket.
Of those travelers, 182.8 per day choose Sioux Falls — which also boasted the lowest one-way ticket price at $147.
11.2 customers drove to Omaha for a $182 ticket, 2.4 customers headed to Minneapolis for a $169 ticket and 1.3 customers went across the state to Rapid City for a $149 ticket.
2. Denver
An average of 135.2 Sioux Falls travelers come and go from Denver each day, with 98,662 in total paying an average of $124.
An average of 129.8 people used the Sioux Falls airport, where the average one-way ticket price was $124.
Another 3.6 customers drove to Omaha, saving just a bit by paying an average of $120. 0.9 customers got a $130 ticket in Minneapolis, and 0.6 customers paid $182 to fly out of Rapid City.
3. Las Vegas
Las Vegas sees an average of 113.3 passengers to and from Sioux Falls per day, for a total of 82,730 travelers paying an average of $117.
108.7 of those passengers came through the Sioux Falls airport, paying an average of $116 for a one-way ticket.
That’s quite a bit lower than the 2.7 customers who paid $154 to fly out of Omaha, or the 1.9 customers who left from Minneapolis for $138.
4. Orlando/Sanford
90.2 Sioux Falls travelers per day head go to or from the Orlando/Sanford area, for a total of 65,830 travelers paying an average of $187 for a one-way ticket to a much warmer climate.
71.5 of them go through Sioux Falls, where ticket prices average at $190.
7.3 customers opted for Omaha and a $174 ticket, while 10.1 travelers went to Minneapolis for a $173 ticket. And 0.3 customers per day headed to Rapid City, where they paid $324 to fly to Sin City.
5. Los Angeles Basin
Every day 67.5 Sioux Falls travelers are going to or from the Los Angeles area, with the 49,269 customers paying an average of $201 for the ticket.
57.9 of those travelers use the Sioux Falls airport, with an average ticket price of $200.
Another 5.7 customers paid $203 after heading to Omaha, with 2.7 customers choosing Minneapolis. The 0.3 customers choosing Rapid City again paid slightly more at $282.
6. Nashville
65.5 Sioux Falls travelers a day fly in or out of Nashville, totaling 47,810 customers who pay an average of $108 per ticket.
60.9 of them are using the Sioux Falls airport, where the average ticket costs just $103.
1.8 customers drive to Omaha and pay $158 per ticket, and Minneapolis sees 2.5 customers a day paying $155. Rapid City again sees 0.3 customers per day forking over $304 to head to Nashville.
7. Dallas/Ft. Worth
The Dallas/Ft. Worth area sees 64.1 Sioux Falls travelers come and go each day, for a total of 46,791 customers paying an average of $255 for a one-way ticket.
55.9 of them use the Sioux Falls airport, where a ticket averages $264.
That’s quite a bit higher than the price paid by the 6.8 customers who go to Omaha, where ticket prices averaged $183, or Minneapolis, where the 0.8 customers per day paid $215. Even in Rapid City, the 0.6 customers per day from the Sioux Falls area paid $260 for their trip.
8. Chicago
63.3 Sioux Falls travelers go to and from Chicago per day, for a total of 46,195 people paying an average of $191 for a one-way ticket.
58.8 of them are using the Sioux Falls airport, where a ticket averages $194.
The 1.4 customers who make the trip from Omaha are looking at a $147 ticket, while Minneapolis has 1.7 customers who paid an average of $142. The 0.6 customers using the Rapid City airport paid $197.
9. Tampa/St. Petersburg
58 Sioux Falls travelers come and go from the Tampa/St. Petersburg area each day, for a total of 42,318 travelers who paid an average of $158 for their ticket.
For the 48.1 of them who used the Sioux Falls airport, that came out to a $157 ticket.
7.8 of them went to Omaha instead, where ticket prices averaged $154. 2.1 customers opted for Minneapolis, paying an average of $190.
10. South Florida
And finally, 54.7 Sioux Falls travelers are going to and from South Florida per day, a total of 39,944 people paying an average of $199 for their ticket.
44.7 of them used Sioux Falls, where ticket prices averaged $193.
The 4.5 travelers who went for Omaha paid $235 on average, and the 5.2 who used Minneapolis averaged $217.
