Solomon Walters House · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0Brookings draws about half of Bruce’s working residents
Only 3% work in Bruce itself; outside it, Brookings draws the most (45%, 11 miles). A typical one-way commute lasts 20 minutes, where South Dakota has 18 and the U.S. 26. Employers in Bruce report 41 jobs, against 100 working residents.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
A workday in Bruce: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 97 residents head out to work, 3 work right here, and 38 people come in from elsewhere.
About 160 people are in Bruce on a workday afternoon, 27% fewer than live here.
0.41 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 2023, primary jobs.
Where Bruce goes to work
Where Bruce 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.
Bruce makes things: 34% of its jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bruce, 2013 → 2023: 43 → 41. 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 Bruce’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Bruce’s commute takes about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bruce workers work from home, vs 10% across South Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 130 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Bruce
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.
Bruce and its neighbors
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Bruce workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bruce | – | — | — | 20 min | $55,000 |
| Sterling Township | under 1% | — | — | 16 min | — |
| Oakwood Township | under 1% | — | — | 26 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Sterling Township and Oakwood Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Bruce’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 Bruce: questions
What is the median household income in Bruce?
$55,000 (±$28,312) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,081 across South Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bruce?
6.2%, against 11.9% across South Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bruce?
20 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 Bruce work?
3% work in town.
Can you get around Bruce without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Bruce, from the people who make the trip.
More of Bruce
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.