Work & commute · Oak Lake

Work & commute in Oak Lake, SD

Most working residents leave Oak Lake for work: only 0% work in town. The top destinations are Brookings (49%), Sioux Falls (9%) and Richland (4%). Half commute less than 17 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

0 of 45 working residents

Typical commute

17 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

— min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

70%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 45 Oak Lake residents head out of town to work, 0 work right here, and 41 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Oak Lake.

45live here, work elsewhere

0live and work here

41work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Oak Lake goes to work

Brookings16.5 mi away

49%22

Sioux Falls66.6 mi away

9%4

Richland11.4 mi away

4%2

Jasper, MN46 mi away

2%1

Canby, MN21.9 mi away

2%1

Pipestone, MN37.5 mi away

2%1

Rochester, MN206.4 mi away

2%1

Billings, MT588.9 mi away

2%1

Bowdle163.4 mi away

2%1

Lake Andes134.1 mi away

2%1

Everywhere elseother towns and states

22%10

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

How far

How far Oak Lake commutes

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

64%

27%

0%Under 10 mi

64%10–24 mi

9%25–50 mi

27%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Oak Lake 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 Oak Lake are

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

Jobs based in Oak Lake

41 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)2%

Trade, transport & utilities98%

Services (health, schools, offices…)0%

$1,250 a month or less2%

$1,251–$3,333 a month2%

Over $3,333 a month95%

Jobs Oak Lake residents hold

45 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)31%

Trade, transport & utilities31%

Services (health, schools, offices…)38%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month18%

Over $3,333 a month62%

+156%

Jobs based in Oak Lake, 2013 → 2023: 16 → 41. 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.