Where Baker Township earns its living
Employers in Baker Township report 62 jobs; 100 of its residents have a job. Only 2% work in Baker Township itself; outside it, Brookings draws the most (21%, 29 miles). Working residents average 13 minutes each way, where South Dakota has 18 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
How a workday changes Baker Township
On a workday 98 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 60 people come in from elsewhere.
About 190 people are in Baker Township on a workday afternoon, 17% fewer than live here.
0.62 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Where Baker Township goes to work
Where Baker Township clocks in
6% 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.
Baker Township works in goods: 45% of its jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Baker Township, 2014 → 2024: 127 → 62. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Baker Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 13 minutes from Baker Township
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Baker Township workers work from home, vs 10% across South Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 58 commuters (the 12% 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.
Half of Baker Township commutes less than 29 miles
About 23% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Baker Township and the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Baker Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baker Township | – | — | — | 13 min | $110,625 |
| Whitewood Township | under 2% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Denver Township | under 2% | — | — | 32 min | — |
| De Smet Township | under 2% | — | — | 20 min | — |
| Hartland Township | under 2% | — | — | 16 min | — |
| Spring Lake Township | under 2% | — | — | 16 min | — |
| Mathews Township | under 2% | — | — | 12 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Whitewood Township, Denver Township, De Smet Township, Hartland Township, Spring Lake Township and Mathews Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Baker Township’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 2024, 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 Baker Township: questions
What is the median household income in Baker Township?
$110,625 (±$53,276) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,081 across South Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Baker Township?
13.6%, against 11.9% across South Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Baker Township?
13 minutes each way on average, against 18 across South Dakota and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Baker Township work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Brookings (21%, 29 mi), Lake Preston (12%, 2 mi), Arlington (6%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around Baker Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Baker Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Baker Township
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.