Work & commute · Opdahl

Work & commute in Opdahl, SD

Most working residents leave Opdahl for work: only 4% work in town. The top destinations are Lake Norden (17%), Brookings (10%) and Watertown (8%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

3 of 71 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

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 68 Opdahl residents head out of town to work, 3 work right here, and 120 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Opdahl.

68live here, work elsewhere

3live and work here

120work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Opdahl goes to work

Lake Norden8.7 mi away

17%12

Brookings36.8 mi away

10%7

Watertown17.7 mi away

8%6

Hayti5.7 mi away

7%5

Lake Poinsett12.6 mi away

6%4

Opdahl (in town)right here

4%3

Bryant9.7 mi away

3%2

Aurora41.5 mi away

3%2

Sioux Falls83.9 mi away

3%2

Cleveland6.4 mi away

3%2

Everywhere elseother towns and states

37%26

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

How far

How far Opdahl commutes

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

41%

27%

17%

15%

41%Under 10 mi

27%10–24 mi

17%25–50 mi

15%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Opdahl is a job hub

1.73jobs per working resident

A job hub

1.7 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Opdahl are

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

Jobs based in Opdahl

123 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities0%

Services (health, schools, offices…)92%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month53%

Jobs Opdahl residents hold

71 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)45%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)35%

$1,250 a month or less27%

$1,251–$3,333 a month20%

Over $3,333 a month54%

+284%

Jobs based in Opdahl, 2013 → 2023: 32 → 123. 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.