Photo: JERRYE AND ROY KLOTZ MD · CC BY-SA 3.0Most of Castlewood commutes out: there are 0.5 jobs for every working resident
Only 8% work in Castlewood itself; outside it, Watertown draws the most (20%, 14 miles). There are 140 jobs in Castlewood, against 300 working residents. For 4% of workers, the job is at home (South Dakota 10%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Castlewood stands out on work
About 25 minutes each way for Castlewood’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Castlewood workers work from home, vs 10% across South Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 423 commuters (the 4% 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.
Castlewood by day and by night
On a workday 277 residents head out to work, 23 work right here, and 117 people come in from elsewhere.
About 580 people are in Castlewood on a workday afternoon, 22% fewer than live here.
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 employ Castlewood’s residents
Where Castlewood clocks in
20% 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 Castlewood
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Castlewood, 2013 → 2023: 110 → 140. 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 Castlewood’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far it is to work from Castlewood
About 27% 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.
Castlewood and its neighbors
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Castlewood workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castlewood | – | — | — | 25 min | $87,045 |
| Castlewood Township | under 2% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| Florence Township | under 2% | — | — | 14 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Castlewood Township and Florence Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Castlewood’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 Castlewood: questions
What is the median household income in Castlewood?
$87,045 (±$13,266) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,081 across South Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Castlewood?
4.4%, against 11.9% across South Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Castlewood?
25 minutes each way on average, against 18 across South Dakota and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Castlewood work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Watertown (20%, 14 mi), Brookings (11%, 32 mi), Sioux Falls (10%, 83 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Castlewood 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 Castlewood, from the people who make the trip.
More of Castlewood
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.