Photo: Jon Roanhaus · CC BY-SA 3.0Work means Milbank for about half of Big Stone City’s working residents
2% of workers have no commute at all, where South Dakota as a whole has 10%. Only 5% work in Big Stone City; the top destination outside it is Milbank (47%, 10 miles). The average commute takes 13 minutes each way; South Dakota averages 18, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Who commutes out of Big Stone City, and who commutes in
On a workday 158 residents head out to work, 9 work right here, and 162 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 (1.02 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Commuting out of Big Stone City: the destinations
Where Big Stone City clocks in
47% 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.
Making and building: 28% of jobs based in Big Stone City
171 jobs are based in Big Stone City.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Big Stone City, 2014 → 2024: 341 → 171. 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 Big Stone City’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Big Stone City: about 13 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Big Stone City workers work from home, vs 10% across South Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 339 commuters (the 2% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Big Stone City
About 21% 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.
How Big Stone City compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Ortonville (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Big Stone City workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Stone City | – | — | — | 13 min | $63,333 |
| Big Stone Township | 2% | — | — | 14 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Big Stone Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Big Stone 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 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 Big Stone City: questions
What is the median household income in Big Stone City?
$63,333 (±$20,188) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,081 across South Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Big Stone City?
24.9%, against 11.9% across South Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Big Stone City?
13 minutes each way on average, against 18 across South Dakota and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Big Stone City work?
5% work in town.
Can you get around Big Stone City without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Big Stone City, from the people who make the trip.
More of Big Stone City
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.