Rapid City has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.1 for each
Working from home is the commute for 5% of workers (Michigan 14%). 59 jobs are based in Rapid City, and 520 of its residents work somewhere. Only 2% work in Rapid City; the top destination outside it is Traverse City (18%, 16 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Rapid City in brief
Rapid City is a place people come home to
There are 59 jobs based in Rapid City, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Rapid City has about 870 people in it, 35% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Rapid City workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 35 minutes each way, against 24 across Michigan. Over a year that’s about 268 hours of commuting, 84 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Fewer than half of Rapid City workers earn over $40,000 a year
43% of Rapid City’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 17% earn $1,250 a month or less. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2021, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; 2021 is the newest year Michigan has published; with 520 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Rapid City on a workday afternoon
On a workday 508 residents head out to work, 12 work right here, and 47 people come in from elsewhere.
About 870 people are in Rapid City on a workday afternoon, 35% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2021, primary jobs.
About 35 minutes to work from Rapid City
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Rapid City workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 514 commuters (the 5% who work from home are left out). Across Michigan: 86% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Jobs in Rapid City: what the 59 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Rapid City, 2011 → 2021: 60 → 59. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2021.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Rapid City’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where people from Rapid City work
Where Rapid City clocks in
18% of workers
7% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
How many miles Rapid City commutes
About 20% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2021.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Rapid City and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Helena Township (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Rapid City workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rapid City | – | — | — | 35 min | $73,021 |
| Helena Township | 3% | — | — | 27 min | — |
| Milton Township | 2% | B− | C | 26 min | $88,971 |
Same-state neighbors only. Helena Township: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Rapid City’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2021, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Rapid City: questions
What is the median household income in Rapid City?
$73,021 (±$9,168) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Rapid City?
12.7%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Rapid City?
35 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Rapid City work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Traverse City (18%, 16 mi), Kalkaska Township (9%, 8 mi), Garfield Township (7%, 18 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Can you get around Rapid City without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Rapid City, from the people who make the trip.
More of Rapid City
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2021, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.