Photo: Not credited · Public domainThere are 1.8 jobs in Bison for every working resident, and 203 people commute in
About one in five work in Bison itself; outside it, Lemmon draws the most (43%, 32 miles). There are 226 jobs in Bison, and 125 of its residents work somewhere. Commuters spend 11 minutes getting to work on average, where South Dakota has 18 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The daily commute in and out of Bison
On a workday 102 residents head out to work and 23 work right here.
About 410 people are in Bison on a workday afternoon, 33% more than live here.
1.8 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Where Bison’s workers come from
Where Bison clocks in
43% of workers
3% of workers
3% 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.
The kinds of work in Bison
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bison, 2013 → 2023: 162 → 226. 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 Bison’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Bison’s commute takes about 11 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 3.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bison workers work from home, vs 10% across South Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 178 commuters (the 11% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Bison
About 24% 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.
The towns around Bison
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Bison workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bison | – | — | — | 11 min | $71,607 |
| Bison Township | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Bison Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Bison’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 Bison: questions
What is the median household income in Bison?
$71,607 (±$24,597) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,081 across South Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bison?
4.9%, against 11.9% across South Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bison?
11 minutes each way on average, against 18 across South Dakota and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bison work?
18% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lemmon (43%, 32 mi), Hettinger (3%, 34 mi), Faith (3%, 40 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Bison 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 Bison, from the people who make the trip.
More of Bison
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.