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() is a city in Plymouth and Woodbury counties in the western part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,013 at the 2000 census; census estimates showed a slight decline to 82,684 by 2007. Sioux City is the primary city of the four-county Sioux City, IA–NE–SD Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), with a population of 143,053 in 2000 and a slight increase to an estimated 143,157 in 2008. The Sioux City-Vermillion, IA-NE-SD Combined Statistical Area has an estimated population of 156,762 as of 2008. It is the county seat of Woodbury County, in which the large majority of the city lies.
Sioux City is at the navigational head of the Missouri River, about north of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area. Sioux City and the surrounding areas of northwestern Iowa, northeastern Nebraska and southeastern South Dakota are sometimes referred to as Siouxland, especially by the local media. Sioux City is the second largest city in the Sioux Falls-Sioux City, SD-IA-MN-NE Designated Market Area (DMA),with a population of 1,043,450.
Sioux City is the home of Morningside College, Briar Cliff University, St. Luke's College and Western Iowa Tech Community College .
In 2005, Sioux City, along with Coon Rapids and Clinton, was awarded one of the inaugural Iowa Great Places designations.
In March of 2009, the Sioux City metropolitan area was recognized by Site Selection Magazine as the top economic development community in the United States for communities with populations between 50,000 and 200,000 people. The Sioux City metro also received the same recognition by Site Selection magazine in 2008.
Interstate 29 is the major highway in Sioux City and surroundings. It approaches the city from Omaha to the south before curving northwest along the Missouri River near downtown. The highway then enters South Dakota and curves back to the north as it approaches Sioux Falls.
The first people to live in this area were ancestors of those we know today as Native Americans. These inhabitants lived here thousands of years before any explorers from Spain or France arrived.
While the name is not known of the first European man to explore the area which is now Sioux City, it is commonly believed to be an early French or Spanish fur trader. The first documented explorers to record their travels through this area were the Americans Meriwether Lewis and William Clark during the summer of 1804. Their expedition was supported by the federal government. President Thomas Jefferson was eager to hear their report.