McGregor House · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0Aberdeen’s household incomes are lower than in 67% of U.S. towns
Poverty touches 13.8% of residents, where South Dakota as a whole has 11.9%. Aberdeen grades C+ for jobs and income and A− for walkability. About two in three work in Aberdeen; the top destination outside it is Aberdeen Township (7%, 3 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Aberdeen, in a few figures
Most jobs in Aberdeen go to people who live here
Of the 15,123 jobs based in Aberdeen, 60% are held by Aberdeen residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Aberdeen are quick
The average trip to work takes 12 minutes, against 18 across South Dakota. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical South Dakota worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
The four measures behind Aberdeen’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Aberdeen is better than 38% of U.S. towns, #29 of 35 in South Dakota. Unemployment holds Aberdeen’s grade up (3.7%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Aberdeen could be anywhere from C− to B−.
Aberdeen on a workday afternoon
On a workday 4,537 residents head out to work, 9,015 work right here, and 6,108 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.12 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
About 12 minutes each way, quicker than most of South Dakota
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 3.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Aberdeen workers work from home, vs 10% across South Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 13,925 commuters (the 5% who work from home are left out). Across South Dakota: 85% 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.
Out of Aberdeen to work: where people go
Where Aberdeen clocks in
Lines 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.
What work there is in Aberdeen: 15,123 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Aberdeen, 2013 → 2023: 15,990 → 15,123. 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 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Aberdeen’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Miles to work from Aberdeen
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 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Aberdeen is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Aberdeen is more walkable than 76% of U.S. towns, #15 of 35 in South Dakota. Both inputs place Aberdeen near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 14,715 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 8.0% of Aberdeen households have no vehicle (South Dakota 5.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Aberdeen’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Aberdeen is 1,110th of 1,409 U.S. towns of 20,000 to 38,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 845 | Watertown SD | 23,736 | $70K | 9.0% | 1.8% | 67% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 848 | Brookings SD | 25,355 | $63K | 16.9% | 4.5% | 63% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,108 | Bowling Green OH | 31,182 | $45K | 28.6% | 5.7% | 34% | C+ |
| 1,109 | Foothill Farms CA | 36,435 | $68K | 17.6% | 7.1% | 3% | C+ |
| 1,110 | Aberdeen SD | 27,961 | $64K | 13.8% | 3.7% | 67% | C+ |
| 1,111 | South Moline Township IL | 36,062 | $68K | 16.3% | 5.9% | 18% | C+ |
| 1,112 | Norfolk NE | 26,677 | $59K | 14.3% | 3.2% | 47% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,409 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 17% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Aberdeen, the top three, the last and three more from South Dakota.
The towns around Aberdeen
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Aberdeen workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen | – | C+ | A− | 12 min | $64,405 |
| Aberdeen Township | 7% | — | — | 14 min | — |
| Bath Township | 1% | — | — | 19 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Aberdeen Township and Bath Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Aberdeen Township. Darker towns draw more of Aberdeen’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 2023, 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 Aberdeen: questions
What is the median household income in Aberdeen?
$64,405 (±$4,807) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,081 across South Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Aberdeen?
13.8%, against 11.9% across South Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Aberdeen?
12 minutes each way on average, against 18 across South Dakota and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Aberdeen work?
67% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Aberdeen Township (7%, 3 mi), Sioux Falls (4%, 158 mi), Brookings (2%, 115 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Aberdeen walkable?
Aberdeen is more walkable than 76% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.3 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Aberdeen without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Aberdeen, from the people who make the trip.
More of Aberdeen
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, 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. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.