Work & commute · Gem

Work & commute in Gem, SD

Most working residents leave Gem for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Aberdeen (47%), Warner (7%) and Groton (6%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

1 of 86 working residents

Typical commute

12 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

— min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

24%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 85 Gem residents head out of town to work, 1 work right here, and 17 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Gem.

85live here, work elsewhere

1live and work here

17work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Gem goes to work

Aberdeen8.9 mi away

47%40

Warner8.2 mi away

7%6

Groton12.9 mi away

6%5

Sioux Falls149.3 mi away

5%4

Brookings106 mi away

3%3

Warner9.5 mi away

3%3

Watertown66 mi away

2%2

Northglenn, CO505.9 mi away

1%1

Barrett, MN123.5 mi away

1%1

Detroit Lakes, MN155.3 mi away

1%1

Everywhere elseother towns and states

23%20

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

How far

How far Gem commutes

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

42%

30%

23%

42%Under 10 mi

30%10–24 mi

5%25–50 mi

23%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Gem is a commuter town

0.21jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Gem are

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

Jobs based in Gem

18 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)56%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)22%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month67%

Jobs Gem residents hold

86 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)17%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)59%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month20%

Over $3,333 a month66%

+50%

Jobs based in Gem, 2013 → 2023: 12 → 18. 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.