Work & commute · Dempster

Work & commute in Dempster, SD

Most working residents leave Dempster for work: only 0% work in town. The top destinations are Watertown (21%), Estelline (13%) and Brookings (10%). Half commute less than 19 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

0 of 87 working residents

Typical commute

19 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

15 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

11%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 87 Dempster residents head out of town to work, 0 work right here, and 14 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Dempster.

87live here, work elsewhere

0live and work here

14work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Dempster goes to work

Watertown19.2 mi away

21%18

Estelline7.1 mi away

13%11

Brookings26.8 mi away

10%9

Sioux Falls79 mi away

9%8

Norden11.9 mi away

5%4

Castlewood5.4 mi away

3%3

Hayti12.8 mi away

2%2

Lake Norden14.6 mi away

2%2

Arlington23.4 mi away

2%2

Vermillion130.7 mi away

2%2

Everywhere elseother towns and states

30%26

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

How far

How far Dempster commutes

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

21%

39%

16%

24%

21%Under 10 mi

39%10–24 mi

16%25–50 mi

24%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Dempster is a commuter town

0.16jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Dempster are

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

Jobs based in Dempster

14 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)100%

Trade, transport & utilities0%

Services (health, schools, offices…)0%

$1,250 a month or less0%

$1,251–$3,333 a month7%

Over $3,333 a month93%

Jobs Dempster residents hold

87 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)28%

Trade, transport & utilities29%

Services (health, schools, offices…)44%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month60%

+56%

Jobs based in Dempster, 2013 → 2023: 9 → 14. 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.