Work & commute · Baker

Work & commute in Baker, SD

Most working residents leave Baker for work: only 5% work in town. The top destinations are Sioux Falls (14%), Brookings (13%) and Arlington (6%). Half commute less than 28 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

5 of 105 working residents

Typical commute

28 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

13 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

12%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 100 Baker residents head out of town to work, 5 work right here, and 65 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Baker.

100live here, work elsewhere

5live and work here

65work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Baker goes to work

Sioux Falls66.3 mi away

14%15

Brookings29.3 mi away

13%14

Arlington11.8 mi away

6%6

De Smet8.8 mi away

5%5

Spring Lake11.3 mi away

5%5

Baker (in town)right here

5%5

Madison29.1 mi away

4%4

Watertown37.8 mi away

4%4

Erwin8 mi away

3%3

Lake Preston1.5 mi away

3%3

Everywhere elseother towns and states

39%41

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Baker commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

20%

21%

36%

23%

20%Under 10 mi

21%10–24 mi

36%25–50 mi

23%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Baker is a commuter town

0.67jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.67 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Baker are

70 jobs are based in Baker. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Baker’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Baker

70 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)44%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)33%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month64%

Jobs Baker residents hold

105 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)36%

Trade, transport & utilities13%

Services (health, schools, offices…)50%

$1,250 a month or less6%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month68%

+43%

Jobs based in Baker, 2013 → 2023: 49 → 70. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.