Earning a living in Burke
For 3% of workers, the job is at home (South Dakota 10%). About one in four work in Burke itself; outside it, Gregory draws the most (10%, 7 miles). The trip to work takes 12 minutes 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
Burke at work: what stands out
A big share show a job far from home
32% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Many jobs in Burke pay little
30% of the jobs based in Burke pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Burke 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; with 260 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How many miles Burke commutes
About 32% 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.
What work there is in Burke: 390 jobs
390 jobs are based in Burke.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Burke, 2013 → 2023: 389 → 390. 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 Burke’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Burke: about 12 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 3.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Burke workers work from home, vs 10% across South Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 349 commuters (the 3% 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.
Burke fills up on a workday
On a workday 192 residents head out to work, 68 work right here, and 322 people come in from elsewhere.
About 720 people are in Burke on a workday afternoon, 22% more than live here.
1.5 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.
The towns that send workers to Burke
Where Burke 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 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 Burke: questions
What is the median household income in Burke?
$52,500 (±$13,316) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,081 across South Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Burke?
8.1%, against 11.9% across South Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Burke?
12 minutes each way on average, against 18 across South Dakota and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Burke work?
26% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Gregory (10%, 7 mi), Sioux Falls (7%, 131 mi), Bonesteel (5%, 19 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Burke 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 Burke, from the people who make the trip.
More of Burke
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.