Starting range
Average salary
Top earners
About 11% below the U.S. average
Compare to Nearby Cities
| City | Average Salary | Cost of Living Index | Real Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fargo, ND | $82,000 | 92 | $89,130 |
| Omaha, NE | $95,000 | 95 | $100,000 |
| Minneapolis, MN | $110,000 | 110 | $100,000 |
Local Market Outlook
Demand Level
Steady hiring with occasional spikes tied to healthcare and finance technology projects; more openings for mid-level engineers and full-stack .NET developers than for pure legacy specialists.
Top Employers
Key Industries
How Sioux Falls cost of living affects a .NET developer's purchasing power
Sioux Falls' cost-of-living index near 89 means a . NET developer's salary stretches further than in larger Midwest metros.
Median one-bedroom rents in the city center commonly fall in the $800–$1,100/month range and single-family home prices are substantially below Minneapolis or Omaha—this reduces monthly housing spend by several hundred dollars compared with higher-cost cities. Commute costs are low: average drive times are under 20 minutes and gas/parking expenses are modest.
Groceries, utilities, and childcare trend slightly below the national average, which improves discretionary income for families and single developers alike. For a mid-level .
NET dev earning roughly $85K, lower housing and transit costs can equate to an effective lifestyle comparable to a $95K+ salary in a coastal metro. That said, niche goods, out-of-market travel, or luxury urban lifestyles will erode that advantage; local purchasing power is strongest for homeowners or renters who leverage the relatively affordable housing stock.
Why .NET salaries sit where they do in Sioux Falls
Salaries reflect a regional blend of healthcare, finance, and manufacturing tech demand. Large healthcare systems (Sanford Health, Avera Health) maintain significant application portfolios—electronic health records integrations, clinical decision support, and patient portals—often built on Microsoft stacks.
Financial services and operations centers (Citigroup and regional banks) hire . NET developers for internal tooling, batch processing, and web services.
Manufacturing and ag-tech firms occasionally need embedded and backend . NET expertise for telemetry and shop-floor systems.
The labor pool is smaller than in big metros, which prevents extreme downward pressure on pay, but local market scale and cost of living keep median salaries below major tech hubs. Contract and consulting roles occasionally push rates higher for short-term needs (migrations, integrations).
Overall, demand is steady with particular strength in full-stack . NET engineers who can pair C#/.
NET Core with SQL Server and cloud skills (Azure).
Comparing Sioux Falls to nearby cities for .NET developers
Compared to Fargo, Sioux Falls offers similar lifestyle costs but slightly higher median . NET pay; Fargo's smaller corporate footprint keeps salaries close but generally a few thousand lower.
Omaha pays higher on average and has a larger corporate market (regional banks, insurance, logistics), making it attractive for mid-level to senior hires willing to commute or relocate; Omaha's COL is modestly higher but offset by the pay uplift. Minneapolis provides substantially higher salaries—often 20–30% above Sioux Falls—but with a noticeably higher COL.
Commuting from Sioux Falls to these markets is impractical for daily work; relocation or remote arrangements are the typical paths. Remote work has become normalized for many regional employers; .
NET developers in Sioux Falls with strong Azure/DevOps skills can often secure remote roles paying closer to Omaha/Minneapolis rates while retaining local cost advantages.
Typical career progression and timeframes for Sioux Falls .NET developers
Entry-level (. NET junior) engineers usually start on maintenance tasks, bug fixes, and small feature work—expect 1–3 years before moving to a fully autonomous mid-level role.
Mid-level developers (3–7 years) take on system design, code ownership, and mentor juniors; in Sioux Falls this is where most specialists stabilize and capture salary gains. Moving to senior (8+ years) often requires owning large systems (EHR modules, enterprise integrations), leading cross-functional teams, or transitioning into solutions architecture.
Accelerators: mastering Azure services, CI/CD (DevOps), microservices, and domain knowledge in healthcare or finance can shorten timelines and unlock senior-level compensation. Many local senior roles combine applied software skills with domain expertise (HIPAA, banking regs), so cross-training pays off.
Consulting or contract work can also boost rates faster for those willing to take variable work patterns.
Negotiation tips and benefit expectations specific to Sioux Falls
When negotiating as a . NET developer in Sioux Falls, anchor offers using local mid-level and senior ranges: use $80K–$95K for mid-level and $100K–$120K for senior as reasonable targets depending on cloud/DevOps and domain experience.
Emphasize Azure, . NET Core, microservices, and SQL Server experience—these skills command a premium.
Expect employers to offer strong benefits packages (healthcare through large systems, retirement plans, paid time off) and flexibility rather than the highest headline salary; sign-on bonuses or relocation assistance are possible but less common than in big tech hubs. Ask for remote/hybrid flexibility, professional development budget, and specific performance-review timelines tied to raises (e.
g. , 6–12 months goals).
Culturally, local employers value demonstrated reliability, domain knowledge (healthcare/finance), and community fit—use references and concrete project outcomes to strengthen bargaining position.
Related Tools
Sources & Methodology
How We Calculate Salary Data
Location-specific salary data is compiled from government statistics (BLS), employer-reported data, and verified employee submissions. Cost of living adjustments use COLI data from the Council for Community and Economic Research. All figures are cross-referenced across multiple sources and updated quarterly to reflect current market conditions.
Data last verified: January 2026
Data Sources
Official government occupational employment and wage statistics
Self-reported salary data from employees by location
Job posting salary data aggregated by metro area
Council for Community and Economic Research cost of living data
Regional compensation data and cost-of-living adjustments