Work & commute · Watertown

Work & commute in Watertown, SD

67% of Watertown’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Sioux Falls (9%), Brookings (2%) and Sheridan (1%). Half commute less than 3 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

67%

7,776 of 11,670 working residents

Typical commute

3 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

13 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 3,894 Watertown residents head out of town to work, 7,776 work right here, and 5,904 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Watertown.

3,894live here, work elsewhere

7,776live and work here

5,904work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Watertown goes to work

Watertown (in town)right here

67%7,776

Sioux Falls96.9 mi away

9%1,035

Brookings45.6 mi away

2%265

Sheridan6.7 mi away

1%144

Rauville8 mi away

1%134

Mitchell92.6 mi away

1%118

Huron64.1 mi away

1%113

Rapid City304.3 mi away

1%83

Aberdeen74.5 mi away

1%79

Elmira5.2 mi away

1%75

Everywhere elseother towns and states

16%1,848

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

How far

How far Watertown commutes

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

71%

21%

71%Under 10 mi

3%10–24 mi

5%25–50 mi

21%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Watertown is balanced between jobs and homes

1.17jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.17 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Watertown are

13,680 jobs are based in Watertown. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Watertown’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Watertown

13,680 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)29%

Trade, transport & utilities25%

Services (health, schools, offices…)46%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month57%

Jobs Watertown residents hold

11,670 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)28%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)49%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month58%

+3%

Jobs based in Watertown, 2013 → 2023: 13,235 → 13,680. 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.