Work & commute · Fort Thompson

Work & commute in Fort Thompson, SD

About one in 4 of Fort Thompson’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Sioux Falls (7%), Gann Valley (5%) and Chamberlain (4%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

27%

62 of 228 working residents

Typical commute

12 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

11 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 166 Fort Thompson residents head out of town to work, 62 work right here, and 146 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Fort Thompson.

166live here, work elsewhere

62live and work here

146work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Fort Thompson goes to work

Fort Thompson (in town)right here

27%62

Sioux Falls137.4 mi away

7%15

Gann Valley20.3 mi away

5%11

Chamberlain17.7 mi away

4%9

Rapid City189.8 mi away

3%7

Mitchell71 mi away

2%4

Pierre51 mi away

1%3

Lower Brule9.5 mi away

1%3

Batesland149.7 mi away

1%2

Miller38.2 mi away

1%2

Everywhere elseother towns and states

48%110

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

How far

How far Fort Thompson commutes

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

49%

15%

32%

49%Under 10 mi

15%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

32%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Fort Thompson is balanced between jobs and homes

0.91jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.91 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Fort Thompson are

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

Jobs based in Fort Thompson

208 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)0%

Trade, transport & utilities13%

Services (health, schools, offices…)88%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month54%

Over $3,333 a month26%

Jobs Fort Thompson residents hold

228 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)9%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)77%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month49%

Over $3,333 a month34%

+11%

Jobs based in Fort Thompson, 2013 → 2023: 188 → 208. 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.