Work & commute · Custer

Work & commute in Custer, SD

About one in 3 of Custer’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Rapid City (21%), Hot Springs (5%) and Sioux Falls (3%). Half commute less than 22 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

34%

276 of 809 working residents

Typical commute

22 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

19 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 533 Custer residents head out of town to work, 276 work right here, and 798 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Custer.

533live here, work elsewhere

276live and work here

798work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Custer goes to work

Custer (in town)right here

34%276

Rapid City28.3 mi away

21%167

Hot Springs24.8 mi away

5%40

Sioux Falls343.6 mi away

3%21

Hermosa21.1 mi away

2%18

Hill City11.5 mi away

2%15

Newcastle, WY30.3 mi away

2%13

Pierre168.1 mi away

1%11

Spearfish51.2 mi away

1%10

Box Elder35.1 mi away

1%8

Everywhere elseother towns and states

28%230

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

How far

How far Custer commutes

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

43%

14%

28%

15%

43%Under 10 mi

14%10–24 mi

28%25–50 mi

15%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Custer is balanced between jobs and homes

1.33jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.33 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Custer are

1,074 jobs are based in Custer. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Custer’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Custer

1,074 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)6%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)79%

$1,250 a month or less21%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month44%

Jobs Custer residents hold

809 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)70%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month54%

+9%

Jobs based in Custer, 2013 → 2023: 987 → 1,074. 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.