Work & commute · Wakpala

Work & commute in Wakpala, SD

Most working residents leave Wakpala for work: only 2% work in town. The top destinations are McLaughlin (15%), Mobridge (6%) and McIntosh (4%). Half commute less than 17 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

1 of 53 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

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 52 Wakpala residents head out of town to work, 1 work right here, and 43 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Wakpala.

52live here, work elsewhere

1live and work here

43work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Wakpala goes to work

McLaughlin17 mi away

15%8

Mobridge9.5 mi away

6%3

McIntosh43.1 mi away

4%2

Pierre89.4 mi away

4%2

Rapid City171.2 mi away

4%2

Big Lake, MN329.6 mi away

2%1

Solen, ND51.8 mi away

2%1

St. Francis174.8 mi away

2%1

Hosmer51.6 mi away

2%1

Box Elder164.2 mi away

2%1

Everywhere elseother towns and states

58%31

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

How far

How far Wakpala commutes

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

33%

26%

15%

26%

33%Under 10 mi

26%10–24 mi

15%25–50 mi

26%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Wakpala is balanced between jobs and homes

0.83jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.83 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Wakpala are

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

Jobs based in Wakpala

44 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)0%

Trade, transport & utilities0%

Services (health, schools, offices…)100%

$1,250 a month or less0%

$1,251–$3,333 a month11%

Over $3,333 a month89%

Jobs Wakpala residents hold

53 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)6%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)77%

$1,250 a month or less21%

$1,251–$3,333 a month42%

Over $3,333 a month38%

−68%

Jobs based in Wakpala, 2013 → 2023: 136 → 44. 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.