Work & commute · Rapid

Work & commute in Rapid, SD

75% of Rapid’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Sioux Falls (4%), Box Elder (2%) and Spearfish (1%). Half commute less than 3 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

75%

24,619 of 33,039 working residents

Typical commute

3 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

18 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

10%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 8,420 Rapid residents head out of town to work, 24,619 work right here, and 24,291 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Rapid.

8,420live here, work elsewhere

24,619live and work here

24,291work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Rapid goes to work

Rapid City (in town)right here

75%24,619

Sioux Falls325.4 mi away

4%1,157

Box Elder7.3 mi away

2%630

Spearfish41.5 mi away

1%427

Rapid Valley4.8 mi away

1%230

Sturgis27.3 mi away

1%188

Pierre145 mi away

0%165

Hot Springs46.7 mi away

0%143

Summerset10.4 mi away

0%142

Deadwood33.1 mi away

0%140

Everywhere elseother towns and states

16%5,198

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

How far

How far Rapid commutes

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

80%

12%

80%Under 10 mi

3%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

12%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Rapid is balanced between jobs and homes

1.48jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.48 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Rapid are

48,910 jobs are based in Rapid. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Rapid’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Rapid

48,910 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month55%

Jobs Rapid residents hold

33,039 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month55%

+9%

Jobs based in Rapid, 2013 → 2023: 44,793 → 48,910. 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.